Taiwan’s Representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim (???) threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the 16th annual Mets Taiwan Day in New York on Sunday.

Hsiao, the first Taiwanese envoy to the U.S. to have been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on the New York Met’s annual Taiwan Day, wore a No. 11 jersey that symbolized “keeping both feet on the ground,” and she threw a fair ball.

After throwing the pitch, she said it was an honor to perform that part of the ceremony and she appreciated the opportunity to advance Taiwan-U.S. relations, along with Taiwanese-Americans and baseball fans.

Prior to the ceremonial first pitch, President Tsai Ing-wen (???) gave a pre-recorded address to the 20,000 baseball fans at the Citi Field park in Queens, and she commended the “inspiring” Taiwanese athletes who competed at the recent Tokyo Olympics.

Tsai also thanked the U.S. for extending a much-needed helping hand to Taiwan by donating 2.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

At the end of the video, Tsai and Hsiao appeared together, cheering for the Mets and Taiwan.

Before the start of the Major League Baseball game between the Mets and the Washington Nationals on the annual Taiwan Day, a video clip of some games’ highlights at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium was also played on the big screen.

According to Taiwan’s representative office in the U.S., the fierce competitions featured in that video symbolized the global fight against COVID-19, while the clips of the U.S.’ donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan highlighted the friendship between the two sides and support for each other through thick and thin.

As part of the Mets Taiwan Day event, 2,350 limited editions of the Mets Taiwan Day jerseys were produced by the team, in collaboration with the Taiwanese-American group “Hello Taiwan.” Last month, all of the jerseys had sold out.

Two years ago, at the Met’s Taiwan Day event, President Tsai was featured in a video that promoted popular Taiwan landmarks and snacks.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel