The government should help nurture the nation's baseball players and make baseball a national sport, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers said yesterday.
"The TSU wants baseball to be a national sport after the excellent performance of our national players in international games. We suggest that Taiwan should have domes nationwide in order to promote the sport," said TSU legislative leader Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙).
The legislators made the comments after meeting National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Lin De-fu (林德福).
The TSU members said they were disappointed with the council after listening to Lin's briefing. They said the center should focus its limited budget on selected sports.
"Only NT$1.8 billion will be used to promote sports, according to the council's annual budget. It explains why Taiwan's sports players cannot shine in the international arena," TSU Legislator Ho Min-hao (
The annual budget of the council is NT$3 billion, NT$1.2 billion of which is spent on salaries.
"The TSU hopes that the Executive Yuan will significantly increase the sports budget next year to push ahead with programs to nurture baseball players," Ho said.
Baseball became a hot topic af-ter the nation's team qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Athens by beating Japan and South Korea in a tournament held in Japan last week. This week, Japanese champions the Daiei Hawks are holding a series of exhibition games in Taiwan.
TSU whip Lo Chih-ming (
The TSU will also ask the government to allocate another NT$15 billion to build three baseball parks.
The domes, which the TSU suggests should be built following the example of Tokyo Dome and other international stadiums, would help players who are used to the red soil of this country's baseball fields to become familiar with the artificial ground found in most international competition sites, the party said.
TSU Legislator Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君) said incentives were necessary to encourage the players.
Taiwan has too few players and teams compared with Japan and South Korea, Chien Lin said, meaning players don't get enough rest between games.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS