Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德).
The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit.
Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present.
Photo: CNA
Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese fans, and EVA Airways vice president Andrew Su (蘇偉仁) threw out the ceremonial first pitches.
Ula Shen (壯壯), squad leader of the Rakuten Girls, said she was proud to bring Taiwan’s cheerleading culture to the World Baseball Classic and MLB stadiums.
Shen said she was surprised that some foreign baseball fans not only knew about the cheerleading squad, but also the name of every member.
Photo: CNA
The cheerleaders also interacted with fans during the event.
Fans Laura Power and Shadaj Laddad said they were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the cheerleaders.
Laddad said he did not expect them to perform, and was happy to have a chance to take selfies with them.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami via CNA
The Oakland Athletics lost 6-3 to the Houston Astros in their game after the event.
In Florida, the City of Miami Beach has designated May 22 as “Taiwan Day” to acknowledge and commend Taiwan’s outstanding achievements in democracy, freedom and economic development.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber presided over a meeting on Monday last week, during which Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami Director General Chou (周啟宇) received the proclamation on behalf of the government.
With a population of 23 million, Taiwan is a country that enjoys democracy, freedom of speech and economic freedom, Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez said at the meeting.
Despite being constantly threatened by China, Taiwan is committed to promoting public and grassroots diplomacy, she added.
Taiwan is not only an important strategic partner of the US, but also the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, the proclamation says.
The city supports Taiwan’s international participation in the WHO, the Interpol, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it says.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS