Yahoo is currently hosting an online auction of commemorative ticket sets to help the Hwa-Hsin High School baseball team out of its current financial difficulties.
The commemorative ticket sets are limited editions issued by the Taiwan Railway Bureau to celebrate Taiwan's sponsorship of the 2001 Baseball World Cup.
The tournament, which is jointly organized by the city government and the Chinese-Taipei Baseball Association (中華棒協), is scheduled to take place from Nov. 6 through Nov. 18 in the cities of Taipei, Kaohsiung and Chiayi.
This is the first time that Taiwan has hosted an International Baseball Association World Cup and a total of 16 national teams from countries such as Russia, Cuba, the US, Australia, South Africa, Japan and South Korea will participate and compete for the 2001 XXXIV Baseball World Cup Championship.
"Every special edition set features a special World Cup commemorative ticket with picture of the Baseball World Cup mascot, a cultural introduction to the 16 national teams and a Taiwan rail pass," said Chen Chien-tzy (陳倩姿), the creative advisor of the Tribe-Bay Marketing Co, makers of the tickets.
Chen said those with the rail pass will be able to take the railway for free during the two weeks of World Cup activities.
"And it also allows the card-holder to receive a discount at World Cup events and with Mandarin Airlines," Chen said.
Of a total of 9999 special edition sets, Yahoo has agreed to auction off 20.
"These 20 sets feature ticket numbers that are culturally favored by the Taiwanese public," Chen said. "Numbers such as 0001, 8888, 9999, 2001 and 6666."
"I hope the public supports the continuation of the Hwa Hin baseball team by taking part in this auction," said Peter Chen (
In its 33rd year, the Hwa-Hsin High School baseball team has gained a remarkable reputation for its efforts in cultivating and training baseball players who later become well-known professional players in Taiwan and abroad, such as Liu Min-shih (呂明賜), Peter Chen and Frankie Lin (林光宏).
"In addition to celebrating a great international baseball event, I hope the issuance of these special edition tickets also helps reawaken people's enthusiasm for the game of baseball," said Liu, a former president of Hwa-Hsin Alumni Association and a former professional baseball player.
Liu's statement was referring to the public's reduced enthusiasm for the game after a series of gambling and bribery scandals within the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
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