Taiwan basketball team face expulsion amid investigation into funding

The Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers have no plans to cease operations or to withdraw from Taiwan’s top basketball league despite allegations surrounding the team’s investment from Hong Kong.

Chinese funds are strictly prohibited from being invested in Taiwan sport businesses, according to the ECFA (Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement), which was signed in 2010 by both parties.

But despite having their investments cleared by officials in July, the Steelers still face questions regarding their funding structure.

The Kaohsiung outfit also faces being pushed out amid a potential merger between the P. League+ and T1, another Taiwanese professional league, which could happen as early as next year.

“Taiwan’s current law allows foreign investment in the sports industry,” Tony Chin To, the team’s owner and the founder of Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager Infini Capital, said.

“We’ve proved on multiple occasions that our investments are legit and were approved by the investment commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

“We are just one of the team’s shareholders. We have other Taiwanese shareholders. If the league or other teams do not welcome funds from Hong Kong, we have no choice but to give up investing and let other Taiwan shareholders carry on.”

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The 37-year-old Chin, who was born in Shanghai before moving to Hong Kong at the age of five, added that the team are seeking clarity from officials.

“We will continue to operate, but we need assurances from the league and the [Chinese Taipei Basketball] association that our investment in Taiwan is safe,” said Chin.

“No investor will continue if an investment cannot be protected by law.”

The Steelers, who finished fifth in the six-team league last season, also released a statement on Monday night saying they “do not want to say goodbye”.

“Unfortunately, in the basketball environment we live in, there are too many interests tied up and cliques operating privately,” the statement read. “People with intentions and local forces are using various unfair means to stigmatise our team to force us to withdraw from the Taiwanese professional league.

“Such disruptions have seriously affected the willingness of the team’s shareholders to continue investing in the team, and had other interested sponsors pondering.”

In an additional statement on Tuesday, the Steelers also called for new P. League+ commissioner Richard Chang to address and deal with the “unfair and unreasonable actions” directed towards the team.

The league then issued a statement on Tudescay evening stating they will adopt the principles of “fairness, impartiality and openness” to properly handle the funding issues surrounding the Steelers. The league also urged the Kaohsiung outfit to resubmit a written notice concerning their previous change of major shareholder.

The Post reached out to the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association for comment but secretary general Lee Yun-hsiang would only comment on the potential merger of the two Taiwanese professional leagues, suggesting the move is going in the “correct” direction.

“I cannot speak for the two leagues, but from the association standpoint, we’d hope they can merge together,” the former national team player and ESPN commentator said. “With two separate leagues, they are actually sharing a lot of resources.

“With 11 pro teams and four more from the SBL (Super Basketball League), we have 15 in total, such a number is quite large considering the population of Taiwan.”