Internet bulletin boards and the Consumers' Foundation have been inundated with complaints by infuriated Michael Jordan fans expressing their disappointment at the the former NBA star's fleeting appearance on Saturday.
The fans claimed that Nike Taiwan had lured Jordan aficionados to fork out huge amounts of money for his name-brand line of sportswear, but arranged for the "God of basketball" to appear on stage for less than two minutes.
Many of the fans spent thousands of NT dollars buying clothes and footwear for the chance to win tickets in a lucky draw, with a handful even spending between NT$15,000 and NT$20,000 purchasing auctioned tickets online.
"Jordan is not the god any more," said a bulletin-board user nicknamed "hiahaok" on one of National Taiwan University's forums.
Another incensed fan, "airpenny," condemned Nike Taiwan, calling it a "legal swindler group."
Some suggested boycotting Nike products.
With an increasing number of complaints being made to the Consumers' Foundation since Saturday, foundation general-secretary Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said it would collect reports from consumers and assist them in seeking compensation from Nike Taiwan.
"According to Article 22 of the Consumer Protection Law (消保法) and Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法), we can demand that Nike Taiwan respond with goodwill," Cheng said.
Article 41 of the Fair Trade Act provides for a maximum penalty of NT$25 million if the company is found to have violated the law.
The foundation is scheduled to hold a press conference today to answer the criticisms.
Faced with a flood of accusations, Jeanne Huang (
"We are deeply sorry for this unsatisfactory result," Huang said, repeating her apology three times during a telephone interview yesterday.
Stressing that Nike Taiwan aimed to present the spirit and achievements of Jordan in a creative way, Huang refused to say who was responsible for Jordan's brief appearances -- Jordan himself or her company.
"Although most fans had to purchase Jordan's products to win the tickets, our company has not raked in excessive profits because orders were placed six months ago," she said, denying that the company had swindled its customers.
In compensation, Huang said 700 fans would be given a poster featuring Jordan and priority to attend the next event in Taiwan featuring NBA players.
Taipei Prosecutor's Office Prosecutor-General Morley Shih (
"If Jordan fans file a lawsuit, we'll start investigating," Chief Prosecutor Lin Pang-liang (
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
RSS