The Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association yesterday evening apologized for barring Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from participating in the World Table Tennis’ (WTT) US Smash in Las Vegas this year.
The apology came after a meeting with the Ministry of Education officials yesterday afternoon.
The ministry on Monday night suspended some of its subsidies to the association and said it would remove the association’s secretary-general, Yeh Kuo-ching (葉國欽), from office if it did not apologize to 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian.
Photo: CNA
The ministry yesterday afternoon invited association officials to discuss the incident and the parties reached a consensus on three matters.
First, Yeh Kuo-ching apologized for barring Yeh Yi-tian from participating in the US Smash competition without the approval of her coach, Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵).
Second, the association agreed to better prioritize athletes, and communicate with them and coaches more clearly.
Third, the Sports Administration and the association would jointly host international table tennis tournaments in Taiwan.
The Sports Administration said that it would reinstate the funding to the association and Yeh Kuo-ching can remain in office.
On Sunday, the administration said that it gave the association one day to apologize to Yeh Yi-tian.
The association only said that it humbly accepted all criticisms about its handling of the incident and would offer an official explanation following a special board meeting.
The association yesterday remained defiant about the Sports Administration’s order, with a managing director of the association saying that the administration heard the incident only from Chuang without verifying it with the association.
Athletes in the government-run Gold Program are obligated to represent the country in international games, the association’s Chen Hsin-yen (陳信諺) said.
“Because the schedule of the Asia Youth Table Tennis Championships clashes with the US Smash, athletes can only choose one. Yeh Yi-tian would represent the country in the former... As someone who is funded by the country to win international games, she should prioritize the championships over the US Smash,” Chen said.
Other players also faced the same dilemma, but only Yeh Yi-tian was unwilling to give up the US Smash, Chen said.
The association’s selection and training committee on May 8 rejected the requests of Yeh Yi-tian and three other players to skip the championships, he said.
Athletes are required to clearly indicate if they would participate in the US Smash before the registration deadline, and if they miss the tournament after they register without any legitimate reasons, their accumulated points could be deducted by the WTT, as had happened to Lin Yun-ru (林昀儒), he said.
“We were trying to protect athletes from being penalized. Even if the WTT was informed that Yeh Yi-tian was not going, we could still recommend another player to participate in the tournament,” he said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS