Olympic taekwondo gold medalist Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) will be told by the government to decline offers to teach in China, the official in charge of sports affairs said yesterday.
National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Chen Chuan-shou (陳全壽) said at the Legislative Yuan that the taekwondo champion will be instructed to follow rules governing athletes in national teams, including a prohibition of such people going to China to take up formal teaching positions.
The top sports-affairs official said that Chen Shih-hsin and her father were contacted at his office on Tuesday.
He said that they had clarified recent media reports that a Shanghai-based martial arts institute has presented her a letter inviting her to teach at the school.
Chen Shih-hsin said that she had received a letter of appointment from the Shanghai Qingpu Martial Arts Institute during a recent visit to Shanghai, but she said she thought it was just a kind of honor and that she received no payment from the school.
"I didn't even bring the letter back to Taiwan," she said.
Chen Chuan-shou said that recipients of national sports medals should return cash prizes to the government if their behavior was thought to "infringe upon national interests."
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