Former Academia Sinica president and Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) yesterday said that Taipei City's lack of venues for international tennis matches was regrettable.
“Taipei, as a metropolis, does not have any tennis center. I feel embarrassed,” Lee said when approached by reporters on his way to the opening ceremony of an academic conference at the institute.
“When the Davis Cup was held here, [the organizers] could not find a good venue. [They] even had to raise funds to make the tournament possible,” Lee said.
The games were held at the Yangming Tennis Center Courts in Kaohsiung last year.
Lee, who has been sponsoring Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳), rebutted Premier Wu Den-yih's (吳敦義) claim that the government had subsidized Lu NT$17 million (US$528,000) over the past eight to nine years.
“Premier Wu said the government had given him NT$17 million, but most of the money Wu was referring to was sourced from the private sector, including CPC [Corp] Taiwan and Chunghwa Telecom Co. The money did not come directly from the government. Many people helped persuade them [private firms] to help [Lu],” Lee said.
Lu's tennis career was brought into the spotlight following his historic win over world No. 7 Andy Roddick of the US during the fourth round of the Wimbledon men's singles on Tuesday last week.
He became the first Taiwanese player ever, and the first Asian since 1995, to make the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam tournament before losing to world No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.
Lu's win put the government's efforts to sponsor professional athletes under scrutiny, as his brother, Lu Wei-ju (盧威儒), told reporters that Lu Yen-hsun had to find sponsors himself and that the government should do more to cultivate the nation's athletes.
The premier said on Sunday in Yilan that it was very difficult for the government to help professional players, adding that the government had given Lu Yen-hsun almost NT$20 million.
In response to Lee's criticism, Wu promised to consider building a tennis center in Taipei capable of holding major events if the government's finances permitted.
Also See: Lu ranking reaches career-high after Wimbledon heroics
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