Tasa Meng Corp, which runs Taiwan Duty Free, could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,746), after their employees took the front spot in a photograph with government officials and the returning Premier12 baseball champion team.
Taiwan’s national baseball team arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday, returning home fresh off their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 championship in Tokyo.
Tasa Meng employees were accused of “stealing the spotlight” by posing in front of the team for photos with government officials, leaving the athletes in the background.
Photo: CNA
The company’s unauthorized banners and advertisements during the team’s arrival were highly inappropriate, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) told reporters at the Legislative Yuan.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp must determine accountability and Tasa Meng would certainly be fined, Chen said.
The company’s actions not only harmed the airport’s image, but disrupted airport operations, and “chaos would ensue” if other stores similarly disregarded airport protocol, he added.
Tasa Meng’s behavior contravenes their contractual obligations to airport operations, and the company could face a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, Taoyuan International Airport Corp CEO Fan Hsiao-lun (范孝倫) said.
Initial investigations point toward the maximum fine of NT$1 million and administrative procedures would follow to formalize the penalty, Fan said.
Tasa Meng chairperson Ku Su-chin (古素琴) issued an apology yesterday and said she would personally reach out to express remorse.
The company released a statement this morning expressing its “sincere and heartfelt” apologies to the public and the athletes for its actions.
Baseball unites Taiwanese, and the passion and efforts of fans and athletes deserve the utmost respect and support, the statement said.
The company pledged to allocate NT$30 million over five years to fund a seed project for the development of youth baseball in Taiwan.
The project would support underprivileged youth baseball teams by improving their training environments and resources, it said.
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