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Updated Sunday, November 1, 2009 11:26 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Ma vows to free players from interference

Hung is considering disbanding the team — one of only four in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) — after 12 of his players have been implicated in colluding with gambling syndicates to throw games in the recently concluded CPBL regular season. Four have reportedly confessed to accepting money in exchange for throwing games, and had turned in their illegal payment as evidence, including Elephants pitchers Li Hao-jen and Wu Bao-hsien, as well as outfielder Chu Hung-shen, all already fired by Brother Elephants.

As one of the two teams that have been in the league since it was founded 20 years ago and the franchise with the strongest fan base, the Elephants' disappearance could spell the demise of the CPBL, Chao acknowledged.

But Chao, who was speaking publicly for the first time since the scandal erupted, believed the Brother Elephants could still be salvaged. Chao suggested that fans would recover their confidence in the Elephants if they added good players with integrity, comparing the challenge to companies restoring their images after suffering serious debacles.

The CPBL president also criticized prosecutors for their handling of the case, arguing that they had violated the principle of confidentiality during the investigation. He accused them of leaking information that “destroyed players' lives and sacrificing the reputation of the league and the teams.”

The fate of the Elephants, presently Taiwan's most popular professional baseball team, will become clear next week. It is expected that Hung would decide on the Elephants' fate after he meets with Chao Shou-po, president of the CPBL next week when Chao returns home from a trip to Malaysia.

Hung vowed last year during a similar game-fixing scandal to disband his team if any of his players were involved in gambling and game fixing, but he now seems to be having second thoughts. He was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that despite his pain over his players' betrayal of his trust, he could not ignore his team's social responsibility.

Lawmakers of both the KMT and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party promised to accelerate the review and legislation of new rules for heavier penalties, including a maximum sentence of 15 years plus hefty fines for those convicted for manipulating athletic games for illegal financial gains.

After one week of intensive interrogations of the Elephants, prosecutors are reportedly switching their probe to interrogations of players of another two professional baseball teams, namely La New Bears and Hsing Nung Bulls, as quite a few players have been allegedly involved in game-throwing schemes.

In fact, La New's pitcher Chang Chih-chia and Hsing Nung player Hsieh China-hsien were already questioned by prosecutors on Oct. 28, and were listed as defendants after the interrogation. Although they were freed, prosecutors have already grasped more details concerning game-fixing scandals committed by players of the two teams.

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	President Ma Ying-jeou pledged at an anniversary celebration ceremony of the National Chung Hsing University that the government will fully support the development of baseball, and will exercise public authorities to build an environment that can prevent players from being involved in game-fixing schemes. (CNA) Enlarge Photo


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