Taiwan’s coach apologizes for the “pushing” to students to give blood

A sports coach at Taiwan University has officially issued an excuse for a research project that has allegedly included her forced students to give blood, according to local media.

The 61-year-old Chou Tai-Iing said her intention was to help her team, “because I only had a few players and they were often injured”, but it is not known exactly what the blood was taken.

Taiwanese politician Chen Pei-Ju brought the case to the world in 2024, claiming that students were told that they would lose academic loans if they did not participate.

An internal investigation at the National Normal University in Taiwan (NTNU) in Taipei later found that blood samples began in 2019 and continued in 2024 for various “research projects”.

Coach Cho, who admitted that he was asking unskilled students to help withdraw the blood, apologized on Saturday for putting “any pressure on school and students” through her reckless words and behavior, “Taiwan’s” Focal Information Agency “reports.

“It is definitely my fault that I made you feel the way you did,” she told the students through a statement.

Professor Chen Hsh-Chich, the leader of one of the unspecified research projects, also made an excuse.

He said the goal is to help student athletes, but admitted that this inadvertently led to harm to them and their families.

The internal investigation shows that students gave blood once a day. The samples were thrown away after the investigation found guilty of the way the blood was drawn.

Chen Pei-Ju initially claims that the research project requires players to give three blood samples a day for 14 days straight. She said that players are required to participate in the project for several years.

NTNU principal Wu Jong-chi apologized on Saturday for what he called the negligence of the school. He said the procedures for ethics and supervision of the institution would be reviewed.

The Deputy Minister of Education of Taiwan said the case would be examined by their department, as well as the actions of Chou and CHEN.

Separately, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday that it could cancel the coaching license of a women’s football coach of NTNU without indicating the individual.