Coach's Apology After Students Allegedly Pressured for Blood Donations

An apology has come from Chou Tai-ying, a sports coach at the National Taiwan Normal University, amidst allegations of pressuring her student athletes into donating blood for research purposes. Reported by local media, the controversy was brought to light by Taiwanese politician Chen Pei-yu, who claimed that students were warned they would lose academic credits if they refused to participate. An internal investigation revealed that the blood sampling had been ongoing since 2019, questioning the ethical standards behind the research projects.

Chou, acknowledging her problematic request of unqualified students, expressed regret for any pressure she may have exerted, stating, "It is definitely my fault for making you feel the way you did." In tandem, Professor Chen Hsueh-chih, involved in the research, also offered apologies, recognizing the unintentional harm caused to the students and their families.

While initially accused of having students provide three blood samples daily for 14 consecutive days, the internal inquiry found that blood donation had occurred once a day, but ultimately deemed the sampling methods faulty, leading to discarded samples. The principal of NTNU, Wu Cheng-chi, admitted the university's negligence in overseeing the matter and stated that institutional ethics would be re-evaluated.

In response to the situation, Taiwan’s deputy education minister announced a thorough review of the case and the actions undertaken by both Chou and Chen. In a related note, the education ministry hinted at possibly revoking the coaching credentials of one of the university's women's football coaches amidst this scandal.