Premier Liu Chao-shiuan on Friday requested the Kaohsiung City government and the Sports Affairs Council (SAC) to resolve an NT$200 million (US$6.06 million) budget shortage for the 2009 World Games through negotiations. Making the appeal during a safety inspection of the World Games main stadium, Liu said that to ensure the success of the event, it should in principle be held by the local government and supported by the central government because of its importance to the country. The city and central government should find ways to narrow the budget shortage on the basis of not wasting public funds, Liu added. SAC Minister Tai Hsia-ling, who was with Liu in Kaohsiung, said that once the city government applies for funds legally and reasonably, the SAC will carefully review the application. The SAC slashed an NT$845 million budget approved for the World Games by NT$230 million earlier this month because of what it described as inflated and overlapping funding requests by the city government. After further discussion, Kaohsiung still finds itself NT$190 million short of its targeted budget. Meanwhile, during his inspection of the World Games venues, the premier expressed his concerns over the event's safety measures, the parachuting events, and the certification of the athletes' villages and personnel and urged the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) to pay particular attention to these areas. The premier noted that if individuals duplicate their applications for permits, it could cause a loophole in security preparations. Referring to the kidnapping of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Liu asked the KOC to step up measures to ensure the safety of the hotels that athletes will use. The premier also agreed to Kaohsiung's requests for the central government to send 600 military police to maintain security during the event and to grant visa-free treatment to Kenyan guests who will visit Taiwan during the games, slated to be held July 16-26. 