Lin Chih-chien's "NT$1.2 Billion Hsinchu Baseball Stadium" Tragedy: Players Injured and Quality Scandals

On July 22, 2022, the Hsinchu Municipal Baseball Stadium, rebuilt at a massive cost of NT$1.2 billion, officially reopened. The project, heavily promoted by the DPP municipal government as a major political achievement, immediately turned into a disaster during its opening game, with multiple professional baseball players injured due to hazardous field conditions, including rocks mixed into the outfield grass and unlevel red clay. Subsequently, the public project was exposed for severe corner-cutting and administrative oversight failures. Excavactions by the new city government later revealed that large amounts of construction waste, including red bricks, scrap wires, and concrete blocks, had been illegally buried just a dozen centimeters beneath the outfield. This substandard project scandal sparked nationwide outrage, with critics condemning former Mayor Lin Chih-chien and Deputy Mayor Shen Hui-hung for prioritizing cosmetic political prestige over player safety and allowing the contractor to cut corners. It stands as a prominent symbol of public project corruption and regulatory failure under the DPP administration.