Junior Baseball Championships canceled after Venezuela rejects Taiwanese team
The Associated Press
Published: August 16, 2007
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GENEVA: The International Baseball Federation said Thursday it has canceled the World Junior Baseball Championships because host-country Venezuela refused to issue visas to Taiwanese players for political reasons.
John Ostermeyer, acting executive director of the Lausanne-based federation, said it had canceled the event after the organization failed to receive assurances from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez or the Venezuelan baseball federation that it would allow Taiwanese players to participate in the Aug. 17-26 tournament.
"We canceled the event because one of the member federations was discriminated against," Ostermeyer said. "And that is completely unacceptable."
Ostermeyer said the situation was complicated because some of the participating teams had already arrived in Venezuela. The tournament was to feature under-16 squads from 10 countries; United States, Colombia, Cuba, Aruba, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, Brazil, Mexico, Japan and France.
"We do not stand in the way if these teams play some friendly games, but under no circumstances will it be referred to as a championship," he said. "It will not have any international recognition in terms of ranking."
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On Thursday, a Venezuelan official said the Taiwanese failed to request visas on time.
"We fulfilled our responsibility as organizers of the tournament," said Edwin Zerpa, president of the Venezuelan Baseball Association. "Unfortunately, their request was not made with sufficient time."
Taiwan is banned from many international activities because of boycotts by China, which says the self-ruled island is a part of its territory and must not be given the trappings of a sovereign nation.
The sides split amid civil war in 1949.
But it is rare for Taiwan to be barred from major sports events, where it participates as Chinese Taipei.
In Taiwan, Lin Tzung-cheng, secretary general of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association, lauded Ostermeyer's move in canceling the tournament.
"We are grateful to the Baseball Federation for taking the quick action that brings justice to us," Lin said.
"If the Venezuela act were to be condoned, any host country of a sports event could bar the participation of countries it doesn't favor," he added.
The IBAF plans to make a formal decision on sanctions to be imposed on Venezuela during a meeting of the steering committee scheduled for next week, Lin said.
He said other teams, including the United States, had yet to arrive in Caracas for the tournament.
Venezuela is not one of the 24 nations that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Its ties with China have warmed considerably under President Hugo Chavez, fueled by a series of deals involving Venezuelan energy exports.
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Associated Press Writer Annie Huang in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.
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