Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) introduced members of the city’s new baseball team yesterday, shrugging off questions from reporters on the selection process.
The Taipei City Government formed its own baseball team last week as part of government efforts to revive the sport following the national team’s embarrassing defeat to China at the World Baseball Classic last month.
Hau yesterday presented the baseball team’s flag to head coach Kao Ying-chieh (高英傑), former coach of New York Yankees’ pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民), and joined the 21 players selected for practice at Tianmu Baseball Park.
PHOTO: CNA
The city government had planned to select 25 players for the team, but only recruited 21 players — retired professionals, college and high school players.
Former dmedia T-Rex player Hsu Chu-jien (許竹見), who failed to be selected by the committee, challenged the selection process on Monday, claiming Taipei City Government had included him on a “blacklist” based on rumors that he was involved in gambling and match-fixing.
The dmedia T-Rex team was disbanded after chairman Shih Jian-hsin (施建新) and some of the players were alleged to have been involved in gambling and match fixing.
PHOTO: CNA
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) also called on the city government to explain its selection process.
Hau yesterday dismissed the allegations about a blacklist and said the government simply required team players to display integrity, in addition to professional skills.
Hau said the city government would arrange for team members to serve as school coaches or contractors at municipal departments, so integrity and good behavior were important elements when selecting players.
The local governments in Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Taichung City have also formed their own municipal baseball teams as part of government efforts to nurture baseball talent.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS