The government today said it is to investigate allegations from a legislator that several female National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) soccer players were forced to give blood by their coach for a medical trial.
An NTNU coach cooperating with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) on a multi-year research program forced the athletes to give blood three times a day for 14 days, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said, citing a complaint from a player.
The coach allegedly became verbally abusive and threatened to withhold credits required to graduate if the athletes failed to cooperate, she said when addressing the NSTC.
Photo: Wu Pai-hsuan, Taipei Times
Chen said that student athletes should not become "lab rats" and asked the council to conduct a thorough investigation.
The NSTC leads the Precision Sport Science Research project, which is in its second term.
As part of the project, the “Predicting sports performance of elite female football players through smart wearable measurement platform” research paper required sports science researchers to cooperate with the women's soccer coach, leading to an uneven power dynamic, Chen said.
The coach has already been cooperating with researchers for a number of years, she said.
Some athletes were required to withdraw from training for up to six months as part of a control group, Chen said.
Students unwilling to participate were threatened with being docked as much as 32 academic credits over the course of their four-year degree, she added.
Initially, blood samples were taken by those with no medical training, and compensation for the trial intended for the students was collected by the coach, who claimed it would be used to contribute to team expenses, she said.
Chen provided online messaging chat logs and voice recordings provided by the students, accusing the coaches of inappropriate conduct, including asking the students to only sign the consent form after providing blood samples and threatening students who had posted about the incident on Instagram with expulsion.
When the students approached the Legislative Yuan to make an appeal, they did not receive the support of their fellow students, as their graduation was in the hands of the coach, Chen said.
NSTC Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) vowed to conduct a thorough investigation.
The university would first conduct an internal investigation before passing the results on to the council, Wu said.
If the allegations are found to be true, the program organizers would be in breach of the NSTC’s strict research guidelines, Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines and academic integrity, he added.
The study was conducted by groups such as the Cognitive Intelligence and Precision Healthcare Research Center at National Central University, the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at NTNU and the rehabilitation research department at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
The study monitored athletes' cognitive and physiological performance and resistance to illness and injury.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS