The government yesterday set the goal of helping the national baseball team advance to the semi-finals of the next World Baseball Classic as it approved a four-year proposal to boost the sport.
Under the proposal, each of the four teams in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) will be subsidized NT$10 million (US$300,000) per year by the government to set up lower league teams that play at least 60 games in a regular season.
The government will also help establish an amateur baseball league, lifting the number of amateur teams from two — Taiwan Power Co (台電) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) — to 12.
Government Information Office Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said nine more amateur teams would be formed by Taipei City Government, Taipei County Government, Taoyuan County Government, Taichung City Government, Kaohsiung City Government, Taitung County Government, Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp (台酒公司), China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
Each of the amateur teams will also be subsidized NT$10 million per year, Su said.
The government will also sponsor colleagues and high schools NT$10 million each to hold competitions every year to cultivate athletic skills, the proposal said.
Su said the government would also seek amendments to the related laws and regulations to thoroughly resolve the problem of gambling and match fixing.
The proposal will cost the government NT$1.26 billion over four years, Su said.
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
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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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