Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday criticized the delay of the Sports Administration in promulgating laws and regulations to supervise sports associations, which they said is allowing associations to obstruct government efforts to reform sports bodies.
The legislature passed long-awaited revisions to the National Sports Act (國民體育法) on Aug. 31 last year, which would require the re-election of all sports associations by the end of March, but the administration has been slow in writing laws to prevent rampant vote-rigging attempts by individual associations, DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said.
The revisions do not stipulate re-election procedures or prohibit re-election when appropriate, which has prompted associations to create fake membership records, increase fees and complicate applications to deter new members, and has helped current association leaders secure re-election, Chang Liao said.
To verify membership for the leadership election, Chinese Taipei Triathlon Association has asked its 4,096 members to personally visit the association headquarters in Taipei between Jan. 12 and Jan. 21 to complete a verification process, a move interpreted as aiming to disqualify members from central and southern Taiwan, Chang Liao said.
DPP lawmakers criticized the agency for the delay in promulgating the act, allowing associations to manipulate the membership process and asked the agency to enact the rules by the end of this month to stem potential vote-rigging, with DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) asking Sports Administration Director-General Lin Te-fu (林德福) to step down if the deadline is not met.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include
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