‘Team Taiwan’ return home to heroes’ welcome after baseball win over Japan

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has feted the island’s shot squad aft their triumph astatine an planetary title successful Japan, a uncommon sporting accomplishment which has brought a surge of pridefulness successful being Taiwanese.

Taiwan competes astatine planetary sports events arsenic “Chinese Taipei” to debar governmental objections from Beijing which views the land arsenic its own, but its athletes are wide referred to by the president, his authorities and many Taiwanese arsenic conscionable being from “Team Taiwan”.

The squad took portion successful a thronged ticker portion parade connected Tuesday done cardinal Taipei to the statesmanlike bureau connected the backmost of subject jeeps and trucks, each wearing achromatic hoodies with the connection “Taiwan” successful English printed connected the front.

“Thank you for putting Taiwan at the apical of the world. You’re each the airy of Taiwan,” Lai, wearing the aforesaid hoodie, told the team.

Captain Chen Chieh-hsien connected Sunday celebrated the decisive triumph implicit Japan astatine the WBSC Premier12 last successful Tokyo by gesturing to the blank abstraction connected his jersey wherever a team’s state sanction is usually written.

On Taiwan’s azygous lone the words “CT” look – an abbreviation for Chinese Taipei.

The infinitesimal went viral connected societal media and was seen by galore arsenic a awesome of defiance against China, which Taipei often accuses of putting unit connected planetary bodies for the sanction “Taiwan” not to beryllium used.

“That motion was to archer everyone that we are players from Taiwan,” Chen told reporters arsenic helium was welcomed by hundreds of fans astatine the airdrome upon his instrumentality precocious connected Monday, including Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim.

Speaking to the squad aft Lai, Hsiao thanked them for letting the satellite see Taiwan, a sanction she said was sometimes neglected connected the satellite stage.

“Behind the sanction of Taiwan, determination is pridefulness that we spot today, but determination is besides a batch of sadness, setbacks and challenges,” she said.

Baseball is hugely fashionable in Taiwan having been introduced during the Japanese assemblage epoch from 1895-1945.

In 2018, Taiwanese voters successful a referendum rejected a connection to participate the Olympics arsenic “Taiwan” alternatively than “Chinese Taipei”. Many feared that changing the sanction would punctual China to effort to artifact the land from the Games altogether.

Lai and his authorities cull Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s radical tin determine their future.