Controversy sparked by Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan’s (成龍) remarks last month have cast a shadow over what is scheduled to be the biggest sporting event ever hosted by Taipei City — 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 (張惠妹), actress Brigitte Lin (林青霞) 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 (徐佳青) said.
Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏), 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 (盛治仁), 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 (陳玉梅) 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 (王建民) 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? efforts to utilize venues for the events, and said National Taiwan University Stadium and the Taipei Arena are both qualified to host volleyball competition.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS