Taipei City will officially create its own baseball team next month, with the former coach of New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) serving as head coach, the city government said yesterday.
The city government invited Kao Ying-chieh (高英傑) to form a team of 25 players from retired professional, college and high school players in an effort to revive the sport following the national team’s embarrassing defeat to China at the World Baseball Classic earlier this month.
The defeat sparked criticism of the government’s neglect of the development of baseball.
Local governments including Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Taichung City will put together municipal baseball teams as part of the government’s efforts to nurture baseball talent.
Kao yesterday thanked the city government for taking the initiative in creating the team and said it would help cultivate young players at schools and represent the city in various tournaments.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the team, including Kao, three coaches and 25 players, would be recruited as contract workers under the city government. The city government will arrange for team members to serve as school coaches or contractors at municipal departments once their contracts end.
The city government said about 40 retired or laid-off professional baseball players are working in the city’s Hydraulic Engineering Office.
Kao welcomed interested baseball players to apply with the city’s Sports Office by April 3, adding that individuals who had been involved in gambling or have a record of bad behavior need not apply.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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