Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate, officially opened his national campaign headquarters in Taipei yesterday, with the participation of party leaders including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Lai and campaign staff gave a tour for Tsai and other party officials, and introduced the interior, visual displays and decorative items with the theme of baseball and “Team Taiwan,” a homonym in Mandarin also meaning “give strong support for Taiwan” (挺台灣).
“Lai can lead our nation to progress in technical innovation and new prosperity. Among all presidential candidates, William Lai is the most well-prepared and most suitable candidate having the leadership for Taiwan to stride forward,” Tsai said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Society
Tsai pointed out the interior decor and said: “Everyone knows that he [Lai] is a passionate baseball fan. Running an election campaign is much like playing baseball, where the on-field situation could change in an instant, and every inning has its unique circumstances.”
“When the game is on, a team must take up smart strategies and adapt to changing situations. It is vital to seize every scoring opportunity and to defend against each opponent’s turn,” she said. “A baseball game is not played by a single person, and all players matter; it is important to cooperate and execute the strategy to win.”
Lai said that the campaign headquarters is in the same place as Tsai’s campaign office during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
“This place is blessed with good fortune, and it will carry us to victory,” Lai said. “Taiwan can be stronger on the path to democracy.”
Lai thanked the designers for the decor expressing his personal love of baseball, the most popular team sport in Taiwan.
Visitors upon entering are met with a visual that reads “Team Taiwan” over a graphic representation of Jade Mountain, the nation’s highest peak, along with the slogan “The MVP of Democracy” on the adjacent wall. There is a visual of rolling giant baseballs on a wall, while the floor of the office is green, representing the outfield of a ballpark.
Lai said members of the design team are young people, as he lauded them along with others working for his campaign, adding that they provided hope for Taiwan’s future.
“It is like President Tsai said in her address, running an election campaign is like playing baseball, which requires good teamwork. To build up our nation, we also need a good team — made of people from all occupations and all sectors — to unite in this effort, endeavoring to strengthen Taiwan and make a better future. In doing so, Taiwan can also make more concrete contributions to the world,” Lai said.
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