The government should consider easing the qualification requirements for the position of Sports Administration director-general, as the post has been vacant for more than 500 days, lawmakers said yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) has been serving as acting Sports Administration director-general since former director-general Chang Shao-hsi (張少熙) resigned in August 2021.
Taiwanese athletes are to compete in a series of international games this year and next year, Independent Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The national women’s soccer team is to depart for New Zealand next week for a 10-team inter-federation tournament to vie for one of the final three spots for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in July, he said.
Next month, Taiwan is to host teams competing in Group A of the World Baseball Classic tournament at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, he said.
Group A consists of Taiwan, Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and Panama.
The Asian Athletics Championships and the Summer Universiade are to be held in July in Pattaya City, Thailand, and Chengdu, China, respectively, followed by the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September, Huang said.
The Asian Para Games would be held in Guangzhou, China, in October, he added.
Next year, athletes are to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris, Huang said.
“We are concerned whether the acting director-general can focus on handling matters at the Sports Administration and ensure that athletes are given adequate administrative support,” Huang said.
Despite the urgency, the vacancy was not filled during the Cabinet reshuffle at the end of last month, he said.
“We hope that the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Education can quickly find a new director-general for the Sports Administration who can lead national teams to produce their best performances,” he added.
Huang said he and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wang-chien (張廖萬堅) have proposed an amendment to the Organic Act of the Sports Administration (體育署組織法), which would give the government more flexibility in finding a new director-general.
Chang Liao said that the government has had difficulty filling the post because the candidate must be a certified civil servant or university president.
Sports Administration director-general is a low-ranking post that does not come with much authority, but directors-general are given many responsibilities, Chang Liao said, adding that they often have trouble communicating with other government officials due to their lack of authority.
“We think the Sports Administration should be upgraded to the Ministry of Sports, but amending the Organization Act of the Executive Yuan (行政院組織法) would not be easy,” he said. “Lawmakers across party lines have agreed that we can begin by amending the Organization Act of the Sports Administration, allowing the government to name a special appointee for the job.”
The government has named special appointees for other government agencies, Chang Liao said, adding that an appointee could be chosen from the private sector, which has a larger talent pool.
The proposed amendment would allow the government to recruit individuals with extensive experience in the sports industry, rather than limiting possible candidates to civil servants and school administration officials, he said.
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