Just as Taiwanese sports fans were celebrating their national soccer teams’ recent wins, the successes have been overshadowed by a fraud scandal involving Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) chairman Lin Cheng-yi (林振義).
Lin was among 14 people arrested during raids on Monday at 12 locations, where authorities also confiscated documents and other potential evidence.
Lin was taken in for questioning overnight at the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office, before being released on NT$1 million (US$31,996) bail late on Tuesday afternoon, after the Keelung District Court rejected prosecutors’ requests to have him detained.
Hangyuan Co (航源事業公司) — a funeral service business managing columbarium towers — of which Lin is the principal owner and chairman, has allegedly been involved in illegal business conduct and profiteering of at least NT$200 million.
Lin’s questioning at the prosecutors’ office came at a time when, as head of the national soccer authority, he was supposed to host Asian Football Confederation officials and foreign dignitaries at Tuesday night’s women’s soccer match between Taiwan and Iran.
Taiwan won 1-0 after Lee Hsiu-chin (李?琴) scored in the 44th minute.
Taiwanese fans and sports officials were buoyed with optimism after the win, as the game followed last week’s victory by the men’s national squad over Brunei to advance into the next qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
After the women’s match, as players and coaches celebrated on the pitch and thanked fans for their support, several spectators joined in a chorus, shouting: “Where is chairman Lin?”
Sports officials and soccer enthusiasts are concerned that the scandal will hinder the nation’s development in the sport, just when the recent winning results indicate the game is progressing in Taiwan.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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