Amid stalling fundraising for next year’s Summer Universiade, the Taipei City Government said it would accept donations from Chinese businesses.
A source in the city government said that Taipei has made a list of items that Chinese businesses can donate, including artificial grass and equipment needed for gymnastics competitions.
As the Universiade is to be held in August during typhoon season, organizers have decided to use artificial grass, which is less likely to accumulate water and become muddy, the source said.
However, as artificial grass costs three times as much as natural grass and there are no domestic manufacturers, the Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee said it has been in talks with Chinese sporting equipment maker Taishan Sports in the hopes that the firm can donate artificial grass.
The firm is the only sports equipment manufacturer approved by the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce and was the official sponsor of the 2005 National Games of the People’s Republic of China and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, suggesting that it has close ties with Chinese authorities.
The committee said that it had signed an agreement with Taishan Sports to accept artificial grass and gymnastics equipment, an announcement that was met with ire by several Taipei city councilors.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) denounced Taipei’s acceptance of Chinese resources, saying that the move was “not worthwhile.”
The city government would not incur significant expenses if it purchased the gymnastics equipment, Wang said, adding that Taipei should not allow China to “lay its fingers” on the city for the sake of small benefits.
Wang said the deal confirmed rumors that Taipei’s securing of the bid to hold the Universiade came with Beijing’s consent, adding that speculation of clandestine negotiations on the bid date back to former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) tenure as mayor.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐弘庭) urged Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to disclose the details of the agreement to prove that Ko had not allowed Taipei to be taken advantaged of.
Ko said the city hopes to obtain 10 percent of the Universiade’s NT$17.1 billion (US$543.69 million) budget from donations.
Taipei would first solicit donations from Taiwanese firms, while Chinese businesses are welcome to “fill the gap,” Ko said.
Asked whether he was worried that accepting Taishan Sport’s donations would spark negative feedback from the public, given the firm’s reported ties with Chinese authorities, Ko said that most Chinese businesses are government-owned.
“Donations are donations. What do you care if they are in New Taiwan dollars or in US dollars?” he said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
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