Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has feted the island’s baseball group after their victory at a world championship in Japan, a uncommon sporting achievement which has introduced a surge of delight in being Taiwanese.
Taiwan competes at international sports activities occasions as “Chinese language Taipei” to keep away from political objections from Beijing which views the island as its personal, however its athletes are extensively referred to by the president, his authorities and lots of Taiwanese as simply being from “Crew Taiwan”.
The group took half in a thronged ticker tape parade on Tuesday by way of central Taipei to the presidential workplace on the again of army jeeps and vans, all sporting black hoodies with the phrase “Taiwan” in English printed on the entrance.
“Thanks for placing Taiwan on the prime of the world. You’re all the sunshine of Taiwan,” Lai, sporting the identical hoodie, advised the group.
Captain Chen Chieh-hsien on Sunday celebrated the decisive win over Japan on the WBSC Premier12 ultimate in Tokyo by gesturing to the clean house on his jersey the place a group’s nation identify is often written.
On Taiwan’s uniform solely the phrases “CT” seem – an abbreviation for Chinese language Taipei.
The second went viral on social media and was seen by many as a logo of defiance towards China, which Taipei regularly accuses of placing stress on worldwide our bodies for the identify “Taiwan” not for use.
“That gesture was to inform everybody that we’re gamers from Taiwan,” Chen advised reporters as he was welcomed by tons of of followers on the airport upon his return late on Monday, together with Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim.
Talking to the group after Lai, Hsiao thanked them for letting the world see Taiwan, a reputation she mentioned was generally uncared for on the world stage.
“Behind the identify of Taiwan, there’s delight that we see at this time, however there’s additionally plenty of unhappiness, setbacks and challenges,” she mentioned.
Baseball is massively widespread in Taiwan having been launched throughout the Japanese colonial period from 1895-1945.
In 2018, Taiwanese voters in a referendum rejected a proposal to enter the Olympics as “Taiwan” fairly than “Chinese language Taipei”. Many feared that altering the identify would immediate China to attempt to block the island from the Video games altogether.
Lai and his authorities reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying solely Taiwan’s folks can determine their future.
