Reuters: Chinese Golfers Urged To WD From Taiwan Event By Higher Ups

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This week’s friendly (cautionary) tale for a world of golf eager to cash in on all things golf in China comes in the form of a Reuters report by Peter Reynolds. The short version: sources say someone “high up” in China urged the golfers to pass on this week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship.

China, which views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, has ramped up pressure to assert its sovereignty. Ties have deteriorated since 2016, when President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party came to power.

The United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in its second such operation this year, as its military steps up the frequency of transits through the busy strategic waterway, despite opposition from China.

Shanshan Feng and rookie Yu Liu are the two players, both given billing on tournament websites. Reynolds quotes Liu as saying the late WD was not for personal reasons.