Sports Affairs Council (SAC) Deputy Minister Chen Hsien-chung (陳顯宗) resigned yesterday after coming under fire for his comments suggesting that Taiwan should “swallow” the controversial ruling on the disqualification of Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) at the Asian Games in China.
His resignation, tendered early yesterday afternoon, was approved by Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) after he consulted with SAC Chairwoman Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡), Vice Premier Sean Chen said.
JUST SWALLOW
At a press conference held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Wednesday condemning Yang’s disqualification, Chen Hsien-chung, a former judo athlete, said that while athletes should protest against unfair rulings on site, sometimes people have to “swallow” the unjust ruling and respect the decision when their protests are overruled.
Chen Hsien-chung later apologized for his remarks after coming under fire from netizens, sports fans and lawmakers across party lines.
He apologized again on Thursday, saying he did not make himself clear on Wednesday, adding that his choice of word — “swallow” — was a common expression in the sporting world.
His resignation came after some KMT lawmakers early yesterday urged Tai and SAC deputy ministers to step down if Yang’s disqualification in the incident was due to negligence on the part of the council for failing to understand the rules regarding sensors on socks in international taekwondo competitions.
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) said Chen Hsien-chung should resign for his comments.
“After the incident, it was unbelievable that the SAC deputy minister said we should swallow the result. He should step down for this. I believe no one can swallow that,” Wu Ching-chih said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS