[3] Taipei was chosen to host the 21st Summer Deaflympics in a vote held at the 38th ICSD session, finishing ahead of Athens, Greece.

Below was the vote count that occurred on February 28, 2003, in Sundsvall, Sweden:[4] Preparation for the Games started in 2005, with an estimated total budget of NT$ 4.6 billion for the required infrastructure.

The design uses the blue, white and red color scheme of the national flag and simple, flowing calligraphic lines, evoking the "image of running man".

[14][15] According to Stan Lai, ceremony general director, the opening of the Deaflympics will be a "memorable event that will call forth the beauty of the human heart and reach out to the deaf community."

Completely covered in body paint, Lin will float across a 50-meter projection screen to create the illusion of a goddess walking through air and water.

[16] World-renowned deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie has been invited to perform at the opening ceremony, as well as the local drumming group U-Theatre, and more than 80 children from schools for the hearing-impaired in Taipei and Taichung cities, according to Lai.

[22] In a creative move, a banquet where 12 typical Taiwanese dishes were served at 350 tables dominated the closing ceremony for the 11-day event in Taipei.

The fourth Deaflympics in the Asia-Pacific region will also be preserved in history as the best ever for host Chinese Taipei, which won 11 gold medals, 11 silvers and 11 bronzes.

Nevertheless, the country still fell narrowly short of its self-set goal of 12 gold medals, which officials blamed on the limited source of talent available.

On the political side of the sporting event, the People's Republic of China announced earlier it would be present for the closing ceremony, after having missed the opening, widely thought to have been planned that way to avoid the presence of President Ma Ying-jeou.

The team's deputy leader, Zhao Sujing, told reporters that the 78 Chinese participants had to come together in Beijing from all parts of China first, and that problems with airline ticketing had caused them to miss earlier flights to Taipei.

The People's Republic of China won 12 golds, nine silver and 17 bronze medals, or double its amount at the Melbourne Deaflympics four years ago.

Praising the organization, International Committee of Sports for the Deaf President Donalda Ammons used sign language to say "the Taipei Deaflympics were the best ever."