Not having the Taipei Dome is only one factor that might affect the nation’s bid to host the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) said, adding that the organizer would take various factors into consideration when deciding the venue for the tournament.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) could today announce the host country for the international baseball tournament next year. The competitions in Asia are scheduled to take place in two venues, with one of them being in Japan.
The other venue would be in Taiwan or South Korea.
In an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), CTBA secretary-general Richard Lin (林宗成) said that South Korea has a better chance of winning the bid this time because it has raised its royalty for hosting the tournament and would host the games at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Should Taiwan lose to South Korea this time, it would be in part because Taiwan does not have a venue like the Gocheok Sky Dome, he said in his interview with the Liberty Times.
However, Lin said that whether Taiwan has a baseball stadium like the Sky Dome is only one factor that the WSBC would consider when it decides the venue.
Other factors, including the country’s weather, its transportation system and its previous experience of hosting the tournament, would all be taken into consideration, Lin said.
Lin said that South Korea only became a viable host after it resolved the issue of its cold weather by building the Sky Dome.
Lin said Taiwan still has the advantage over South Korea, even though the association has never mentioned the Taipei Dome as a probable venue in its bid to host the international competition.
Lin said the association has proposed the games be held in Kaohsiung, which has fair weather.
Previously, the CTBA had proposed that the games be held in Taichung as well.
Apart from the weather, Lin said Taiwan has also raised its royalty for hosting the game.
Meanwhile, the baseball teams would not encounter problems in arranging accommodation, Lin said.
In addition to support for the tournament from the government and fans, Lin said that the association has accumulated extensive experience in hosting the game since 1999, which is a great advantage.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including
RSS