Legislator Xu Fugui accompanied the family members of Pingtung gymnasts to the screen to file a lawsuit against Jiang Jiandong for breach of trust.

Legislator Xu Fugui accompanied the family members of Pingtung gymnasts to the Pingtung District Prosecutor’s Office to ring the bell and file a complaint. (Provided by Xu Fugui Service Office)

[Reporter Ye Yongqian/Pingtung Report] In response to the fact that Jiang Jiandong, secretary-general of the Gymnastics Association of the Republic of China, arbitrarily gave up the opportunity for athletes to participate in international competitions on behalf of the association, legislator Xu Fugui, accompanied by lawyer Cheng Yaoliang today (10th), together with athlete coach Qiu Yiting, two athletes’ families and others, went to the Pingtung District Prosecutor’s Office to ring the bell and report Jiang Jiandong for suspected breach of trust. Xu Fugui called on the judicial authorities to intervene in the investigation to clarify the truth in order to safeguard the rights and interests of gymnasts and defend the public trust of sports groups.

Xu Fugui pointed out that the Gymnastics Association of the Republic of China is the only external window for my country’s national gymnastics team to participate in international competitions. Matters concerning the participation of national team athletes fall within the scope of the Selection and Training Committee’s jurisdiction according to law. After many years of training and competition, Pingtung gymnasts Pan Caichen and Li Jiawei have received the opportunity to participate in the World Competitive Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in October this year. Accepting or giving up the opportunity, in addition to taking into account the athletes' willingness to participate, should be decided by the training committee in accordance with the law, and cannot be arbitrarily determined by the secretary-general.

However, Jiang Jiandong responded to the International Gymnastics Federation (WG) on behalf of the association to give up the opportunity to participate, without informing the players and coaches in advance, and without seeing the relevant resolutions of the selection and training committee. The association even accused the coach in a statement afterwards of not proactively reporting the situation, and said that there was still a considerable gap in the actual test scores between the two players, which objectively did not meet the professional standards for the national team. This move not only seriously damages the public trust and operating system of the Gymnastics Association, but also directly deprives athletes of their rights to represent their country on the world stage, and is suspected of violating Article 342 of the Criminal Code of breach of trust.

Legislator Xu Fugui, accompanied by his lawyer, went to the Pingtung District Prosecutor's Office to ring the bell and file a complaint. (Provided by Xu Fugui Service Office)