Lawmakers yesterday passed amendments to the National Sports Act (國民體育法), which include articles aimed at eliminating nepotism and barring political influence within sports associations amid calls to reform the sports sector.
The amendments include an article stipulating that sports association presidents cannot have terms that exceed four years and must not serve more than two consecutive terms.
The article states that at least one-fifth of sports association members should be active or former athletes of the national sports team, while neither independent directors nor directors representing organizations should make up more than half of membership.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
In a bid to root out nepotism, something associations have been accused of, the amendments ban presidents and secretaries-general from hiring spouses or relatives within the third consanguinity, and the rule is to apply even if they were hired before the top officials took up their role.
The Ministry of Education, which oversees sports associations, is to inspect and evaluate them annually, the amendments state, adding that associations must comply with inspections and provide any requested information.
The amendments include rules on arbitration to deal with disputes between associations and athletes.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
According to the amended act, athletes protesting a decision made by an association can file for arbitration with any institute certified by the ministry within a given period and the association cannot deny them that right.
To help ensure financial transparency, the amendments mandate that sports associations truthfully disclose annual budgets, balances and subsidies they receive from government agencies.
The amended act also requires associations to introduce internal audit systems.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), who introduced several draft amendments and was instrumental to the legislative effort, said that the passage of the amendments was a gift to athletes who competed for Taiwan at the Taipei Summer Universiade, which concluded on Wednesday; all the athletes who have been treated unfairly due to red tape; and all rising sports stars.
“Over the years, athletes have had to put up with the frustration of submitting to pressure from insulated and conservative associations that have the right to decide who represents the nation at international events,” Huang said.
“I hope that from now on, athletes and associations will no longer have to compromise for the nation,” he said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
CLASSIFIED BRIEFING: The ministry said the special budget focuses on building a comprehensive defense system and strengthening the domestic defense industry The Ministry of National Defense yesterday released information on seven categories of weapons systems to be procured under a stalled NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.57 billion) special defense budget, including precision artillery, long-range missiles, air defense anti-tank missiles and more than 200,000 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Executive Yuan approved a draft version of the budget on Nov. 27 last year and submitted it to the legislature for review. The legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday invited Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to deliver a classified briefing and answer questions at a closed-door session. Koo said he hoped to provide lawmakers
RSS