BASKETBALL/Male basketball players stand with female players for equal pay

Taipei, July 9 (CNA) Taiwan's national men's basketball team announced on Tuesday that they will take a pay cut for the 2024 William Jones Cup to show solidarity with their female colleagues and draw attention to the issue of unequal pay in the industry.

In a statement issued on Facebook by the Taiwan Professional Basketball Players Association, representatives from the Chinese Taipei National Team -- the official name of Taiwan's national team -- said they will only accept the payment of NT$3,000 (US$92.18) offered by the event's organizers to each female athlete instead of NT$5,000 originally offered to each male athlete.

Expressing solidarity with their female counterparts, the men's team representatives declared: "You'll never walk alone."

"Women players' devotion and passion for basketball are without a doubt no less than the men's," the statement said.

In response, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), one of the organizers of the William Jones Cup, said in a statement that they respected the male players' decision.

Chang Cheng-chung (張承中), the deputy secretary general of the CTBA, said "the association supports men's basketball as well as women's basketball" but he did not comment on the pay gap between men and women athletes in the tournament.

The CTBA is still negotiating with the female athletes and a final decision has yet to be made, he said.

The William Jones Cup, now in its 43rd year, is an international basketball tournament held in Taiwan. Teams from nine countries are participating in the 2024 games, with the women's competition running from June 6-10 and the men's from June 13-21.