The Executive Yuan yesterday denied a local media report that Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
The government objected on Friday to Sina's plans to incorporate the names "Taiwan" or "Taipei" into the team's name when it joins China's national basketball league later this year.
According to the report, the chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (NCPFS), Shiu Yi-hsiung (
But Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平), director general of the Government Information Office, denied that Shiu was arranging a meeting.
"The case is being handled by the MAC and NCPFS, and it is not necessary to deal with it at the [Executive] Yuan level," Su said.
"The two councils are working on how to help Sina and its athletes play in China legally. But using `Taiwan' as a team name to play in China's national league would undermine Taiwan's national dignity and violate Taiwan's regulations," Su said.
Under the Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Taiwanese sports teams and athletes are not allowed to play in China's national leagues. The NCPFS can make exceptions, however, taking into account the state of the sport in question in Taiwan.
Sina's players are professionals but Taiwan has not had a professional basketball league since 1999, when the league folded as a result of a shortage of supporters and sponsorship.
The MAC and the NCPFS emphasized Friday that they are not against Sina's decision to join China's league, but they couldn't agree to its plan to use "Taiwan" or "Taipei" as part of its name.
China has given permission for Sina to enter its top A division without qualifying, but attached the condition that the team must use "Taiwan" or "Taipei" in its name. To meet the condition and help market the team in China, Sina plans to follow that requirement.
Wang Hsun-hui (王勳輝), chairman of the Taiwan Investment Association in Suzhou, eastern China, where Sina plans to be based, said the team's participation in the league would help to relieve homesickness among Taiwanese businessmen and help them to promote their businesses in China.
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