Just days away from competing in the four-man bobsled event at the US Winter Games, Taiwan's Olympic team is self destructing.
A major row over credentials-for-friends has led to a formal complaint against the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (
It has been accused by the Chinese Taipei Amateur Luge and Bobsleigh Association (中華民國雪車雪橇協會) of taking its guest passes to attend Olympic events and giving them instead to friends of Olympic committee members to curry influence.
In a copy of the complaint faxed to the Taipei Times, the association claimed that one of the people who received a guest pass boasted about it at a public gathering. "At a dinner party on Monday, Tang We-tsu (
As a result there were no guest passes for the honorary chairman of the luge and bobsled association Hsu Chi-you (
The association said the Olympic committee then lied when it claimed all the guest pass holders were approved by the National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, the Legislative Yuan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"How could someone who is not in the Taiwan delegation be granted a guest pass so easily?" the association asked, demanding an answer from the Olympic committee.
`No comment'
The Olympic committee was contacted by the Taipei Times and said though it was aware of the row it was not able to comment at this time.
Meanwhile, pilot Chen Chin-san (陳金山) and the other three athletes in the four-man bobsled team are risking life and limb preparing for Saturday's first competition run.
Their practice times so far have not been promising, as they have been getting used to a new sled with just days to go before the race.
The depressing catalogue of problems with funding for a bobsled and equipment has given Taiwan's athletes little time to practice for their event in Utah.
There has been talk of setting up a Taiwan bobsled association in the US and funding it through private donations, so as to gain some independence from Taiwanese officialdom.
As it is, the team's preparations for this Winter Games have been poor and a threatened boycott three days before the opening ceremony didn't help.
Despite the training-run woes and internecine feuding in the Team Taiwan camp, it hasn't all been boardroom meetings and bruising bob runs for the nation's Olympic champions.
The team secured a competitive sled thanks to Granite High School in Salt Lake City and they have been cleared to run on Saturday, Feb. 23.
Also, there have been lighter moments, including a trip to watch street races in the outskirts of Salt Lake City. Similar illegal burnups featured in the recent film, The Fast and the Furious and are illegal in the US.
Bam Bam's back
Steve "Bam Bam" Lynch -- who along with fellow trucker the "Texas Outlaw" rescued Taiwan's Olympians on the way to Salt Lake City -- also returned for a visit.
A source on the team who wished not to be named said the gathering of street racers was particularly nervous because of the extra police and soldiers on hand to protect the Olympics from terrorist attacks.
He said, "A lot of the older street racers have been lying low due to the high level of security that is felt all around Salt Lake City.
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