A front-page story in the Liberty Times highlights a significant development: the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) has secured a title sponsorship for an Italian sports team to promote “Taiwan Excellence.” It is rare to see one nation directly sponsoring a sports team in another.
When one hears of an Italian sports team, the immediate associations are football (soccer) or cricket—sports that are deeply woven into the cultural fabric of Italy.
When you think of Italy, you think of football; when you think of football, you cannot ignore Italy.
However, the reality behind this decision is unexpected. The MOEA has used taxpayers’ money to sponsor an Italian team… in volleyball?
In fact, in this year’s World League, the R.O.C.’s own volleyball win rate was higher than Italy’s. To be honest, Italian volleyball is not particularly strong—one might even call it weak. It is completely incomprehensible why the government would spend a fortune to seek sponsorship from such a team.
This situation is as absurd as the Brazilian government paying to be the title sponsor of the South Korean national football team. You can bet the Brazilian people would overthrow their government over such a move.
If the MOEA’s title sponsorship isn’t a waste of money, then what is?
Does the DPP government repeatedly claim that cutting the retirement pensions of military, public, and police personnel is to save money for Taiwan, only so they can have more money to squander?
What kind of politicians and what kind of government are these? They bully the very people they are responsible for caring for, yet they are willing to scatter vast sums of money in such questionable ways.
This is a living, breathing act of malice unfolding in our contemporary era.