Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday rejected accusations from opposition lawmakers that his recent trip to Japan to watch Taiwan compete in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) involved misuse of public funds, saying the visit was entirely private and paid for out of his own pocket.

Cho drew public attention after appearing at Tokyo Dome on Saturday to support Taiwan during the team’s game against Czechia. He returned to Taiwan that evening.

During a legislative session on Monday, KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) accused Cho of potentially misusing public resources and suggested the trip could involve corruption amounting to millions of Taiwan dollars.

Premier Cho rejected the allegation, detailing that the visit took place during his leave and was personally funded.

Cho said, “I don’t want the Legislators to find fault with the Cabinet, so I paid for everything myself. I have all the receipts; I didn’t claim a single penny of public funds. Even the cost of the tour bus I took was my own money. I bought all the entrance tickets one by one from the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association, asking them to buy them for me. Of course, my security personnel came with me. I only had three bodyguards with me; the rest were other staff members, and I even paid for their expenses.”

The premier said his main purpose in attending the game was to support Taiwan’s national team at a critical moment in the tournament. He said he also hoped to visit team captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲), who had been hurt earlier in the competition, but ultimately decided not to interrupt the team’s training.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) added that Cho followed normal procedures in applying for the trip and did not receive special assistance.