Starting today, professional baseball teams can fill stadium seating at 25 percent of capacity, although concession stands are to remain closed to enforce a ban on cooking and food handling at ballparks.
CPBL commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) announced the good news for baseball fans yesterday, with stadiums this evening in Taoyuan and Tainan to be the first to follow the new measures, before further revisions might be made following the weekend.
“Fans in Taiwan have expressed the wish to attend baseball games in person. It requires the CPBL and all five ball clubs to closely collaborate with local and central government officials to establish the necessary prevention measures at ballparks,” Tsai said in a statement.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
League officials called for most tickets to be purchased online in advance, with only limited ticket sales at parks on game day.
Fans must scan a QR code with a mobile phone for real-name registration at the gates, then league staff take their temperatures and disinfect their hands with an alcohol spray, according to the guidelines announced yesterday.
The fans’ designated seats are staggered to comply with social distancing, CPBL head media liaison Tai Si-sung (戴嗣松) said.
“Concession stands will be closed to comply with bans on cooking and handling food, but fans can bring snacks and drinks from outside, although they must wear a mask throughout the game, except for eating and drinking,” he added.
Having fans and cheerleaders is certain to provide a more lively atmosphere during the games, but traditional baseball rallying with trumpets, drums, whistles and musical instruments is still banned.
This week’s games only offer infield seating.
Today’s game hosted by the CTBC Brothers at Taichung is to allow up to 2,400 fans, while the game hosted by the Uni-President Lions in Tainan, which is a smaller stadium, is to allow up to 1,250 spectators, team officials said.
In Sunday’s contest, Wei Chuan Dragons rookie pitcher Hsu Jo-hsi (徐若熙) set a new CPBL record by striking out eight straight batters to start the game, and picked up his first win with 5-1 victory over Fubon Guardians at New Taipei’s Sinjhuang Stadium.
Hsu tossed five scoreless innings, finishing with 12 strikeouts, while yielding two hits and two walks in a gem, and with Japanese closer Junichi Tazawa came in the ninth inning to shut the door against the anemic-hitting Guardians.
CTBC Brothers are in first place in league standing prior to Monday’s contest, 2.5 games ahead of the Lions, and 4.5 games ahead of Rakuten Monkeys in third, with Fubon Guardians and Wei Chuan Dragons in fourth and fifth places respectively.
Taiwanese actress Big S, also known as Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), and Chinese restaurateur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲) officially announced their divorce yesterday, stating the decision was cordial and that they would be raising their two children together. The statement came by proxy through the couple’s legal counsel, filed by both Wang and Hsu. Hsu and Wang thanked fans for their love and support, with the couple saying that fate had blessed them with a time of happiness, and that they were grateful for their time together. They said that while they walked hand-in-hand as husband and wife, they would continue a cordial relationship as
DESTABILIZING: Beijing’s efforts to choke Taiwan, pressure its friends and hamper its democracy are a threat to the world, AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk said China’s provocative military activities near Taiwan are destabilizing and risk “miscalculation,” American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk said yesterday, reiterating the US’ objection to any unilateral changes to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait. Oudkirk made the remarks in a speech at the annual conference of the Association of International Relations in Taipei. “In the Indo-Pacific region, America’s effort to resolve and manage differences with the leadership of the People’s Republic of [PRC] faces distinct challenges,” she said, referencing a range of actions by China that she said run counter to the shared values and interests of the
CCP IDEOLOGY: MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said the CCP’s consolidation around one leader would shrink the space for economic and private endeavors Beijing plans to intensify its unification campaign, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday in an assessment of statements by Chinese leaders, while stressing the importance of consensus among Taiwanese. At a conference on Chinese development and security prospects in the Taiwan Strait, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) noted key developments in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rhetoric. Much attention has been given to the sixth plenum of the CCP Central Committee, which on Nov. 11 issued the party’s third-ever “historical resolution,” paving the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to retain power through next year’s leadership reshuffle, Chiu said. According
EXTRADITION POSSIBLE? The suspect, who is quarantining upon arrival in Xiamen, is accused of killing a coffee trader on a street near his house in Sindian District The suspect in an execution-style murder of a businessman in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) has fled to China and officials are negotiating his extradition, the New Taipei City Police Department said on Tuesday. The suspect, surnamed Huang (黃), took a flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 2pm on that day to Xiamen, where he is staying in a quarantine hotel, as required by Chinese COVID-19 regulations, the department said. Investigators accuse Huang of shooting dead a local coffee trader surnamed He (何) on a street near his residence when he was returning from dropping off his daughter at her
RSS