Two Taiwanese ballparks yesterday became the world’s first to be opened to spectators for professional baseball this year, underscoring the nation’s success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CPBL games had the visiting Uni-President Lions facing the Fubon Guardians at the Sinjhuang Stadium in New Taipei City, while the CTBC Brothers hosted the Rakuten Monkeys at the Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung.
The Guardians hanged on for a 7-6 win after the Lions scored four runs in the top of the eighth.
Photo: CNA
Fubon’s Chiang Chih-hsien hit a solo dinger in the fifth against American pitcher Ryan Feierabend and the Lions’ Chen Yung-chi blasted a three-run homer in the eighth against Fubon’s relief pitching.
In the night’s other contest, the Brothers downed the Monkeys 6-4.
Health authorities on Wednesday said that ballparks could be opened to spectators as long as social distancing rules were enforced, as restrictions are being eased across society. That ended nearly a month of shuttered gates.
Photo: CNA
The CPBL season began on April 12, also a world first for pro baseball this year.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) attended the game in Sinjhuang to ensure proper prevention measures were observed.
The ballclubs invited Chen as a special guest to address the players and fans.
As he walked to the infield, spectators gave him a standing ovation, with many calling: “Thank you, health minister.”
“Taiwan’s prevention measures to combat the pandemic situation had all of our citizens cooperating with diligent efforts to achieve our common goals,” Chen told the crowd. “Today we did not have any new cases ... and that means 26 straight days with zero local cases in Taiwan. This is due to the combined efforts of all of our citizens.”
“Because of these results, we can take the next step to opening up,” he said. “To do this, we have to implement a new lifestyle, which includes personal hygiene practices like washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing and temperature taking. These must be done well at all times.”
“Today we start with opening ballparks, but with limits and in phases,” he said. “Step by step, let us see if we can continue to contain the virus.”
“To maintain a good life, let us do this together,” Chen said. “We can have success in containing the outbreak, so let us cheer each other on.”
Fubon Guardians general manager Chris Tsai presented a bouquet to the minister, thanking him on behalf of sports fans for opening ballparks.
Fubon head coach Hong Yi-chung presented Chen with a placard, smaller versions of which were presented to each spectator and media personnel, to commemorate the occasion.
They read: “Congratulations on being the first fans to attend a baseball game this year.”
The CPBL, in consultation with health authorities, introduced disease prevention conditions for spectators, including advanced ticket purchases online with ID verification, a limit of 1,000 people in designated seats that are staggered for social distancing, mandatory masks, and no eating, although drinking water is allowed.
Cheering and flag waving are permitted.
People began lining up outside the Sinjhuang Stadium in the late afternoon, and temperatures were taken before entry. Seats and tables were set up where each person filled out a health declaration and their recent travel history. Staff checked tickets and IDs, and disinfectant was sprayed on spectators’ hands before they could enter the stadium.
Some spectators complained about the no-eating rule, saying that three hours is too long to go without food.
These games are a test and restrictions would be eased eventually, Chen said.
The eating ban is to prevent virus transmission through saliva, he added.
One fan surnamed Kuo told reporters that he would surely get hungry and would leave the stadium to buy food before returning to the game.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS