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FEATURE : Deaflympics may be too much for Taipei to handle

¡§I¡¦m worried about the city government¡¦s ability to host international sporting events.¡¨ ¡X Chen Yu-mei, Taipei City councilor

Controversy sparked by Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan¡¦s (¦¨Às) remarks last month have cast a shadow over what is scheduled to be the biggest sporting event ever hosted by Taipei City ¡X the Summer Deaflympics, scheduled to run from Sept. 5 to Sept. 15.

Speaking at a panel discussion during the annual Boao Forum in China, Chan, who formerly served as an ambassador for the event, said Taiwan¡¦s freedom made it ¡§chaotic.¡¨

Taipei city councilors from across party lines criticized the city government¡¦s reliance on celebrities to generate publicity for the event, saying the government had failed to spend its budget wisely.

The budget plan approved by the Taipei City Council allocated around NT$7 billion (US$210 million) for the event, with more than NT$1.1 billion set aside for advertising and marketing.

The city invited more than 10 celebrities, including Chan, singer A-Mei (±i´f©f), actress Brigitte Lin (ªL«CÁø) and former NBA star Scottie Pippen to promote the Deaflympics as spokespeople, paying more than NT$80 million for their endorsements.

Chan came to Taiwan last September for the Deaflympics countdown ceremony and to shoot a TV ad for the event. He did not charge an endorsement fee, but the city government spent more than NT$100,000 for transportation and hotel fees.

¡§We had voiced concerns about inviting Chinese stars like Jackie Chan to serve as spokespeople, but the city government ignored our warning. What he brings to the event is nothing but negative publicity,¡¨ Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (®}¨Î«C) said.

Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (²§E®Ë), also of the DPP, joined Hsu in challenging the city government¡¦s choice of a Chinese star, urging it to return the money it spent on Chan.

Emile Sheng (²±ªv¤¯), chairman of the Taipei Deaflympics Organizing Committee said the committee had invited Chan because he had suffered hearing damage from an accident when shooting a film and therefore might understand the feelings of the hearing impaired, Sheng said.

Sheng dismissed the councilors’ criticism about the big budget, and said the budget for the committee was only about NT$1.1 billion, with about 10% allocated to advertising and marketing. So far the city government paid less than NT$5 million for event ambassadors and spokespeople.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (³¯¥É±ö) said inviting celebrities to promote the event via commercials or promotional activities was not enough. She urged the city government to learn from the Kaohsiung City Government and not limit its marketing efforts to domestic promotional events and ads.

¡§The Kaohsiung City Government visited China, Hong Kong and Japan to promote the World Games. The Taipei City Government is treating the Deaflympics like a domestic event. I¡¦m worried about the city government¡¦s ability to host international sporting events,¡¨ she said.

To promote the World Games, which will be held in Kaohsiung City in July, the Kaohsiung City Government invited Yankee pitcher Wang Chien-ming (¤ý«Ø¥Á) to endorse the event. It also held promotional activities in China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong to introduce the Games to the international community, Chen said.

Noting that the Deaflympics was part of the Olympic Games family along with the Paralympic Games and Special Olympics, Chen said the Taipei City Government should expand its vision and put greater effort into increasing the international visibility of the event.

Chen and Chien also shared concerns about facilities for the event. Most of the competitions will be held in Taipei City, but some will be held at venues in Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties.

¡§The city government spent several billion NT dollars on the facilities, but we cannot find a swimming pool that fits international criteria in the city and have to go all the way to Hsinchu County to hold the swimming contest there,¡¨ Chien said.

Sheng defended the city government’s efforts to utilize venues for the events, and said National Taiwan University Stadium and the Taipei Arena are both qualified to host volleyball competition.
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