Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday welcomed news that the New York Mets invited Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Mets Taiwan Day on Sunday next week.
“We are pleased to announce Taiwan Ambassador to the United States — Ms Bi-Khim Hsiao will throw out the honorary first pitch for the 16th annual Mets Taiwan Day,” the Mets Taiwan Day Facebook account posted on Friday.
In previous years, the Mets invited tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳), movie director Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) and chemist Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) to throw the Taiwan Day first pitch at Citi Field.
Photo courtesy of the New York Mets
Hsiao is the first Taiwanese representative to the US to throw the pitch at the event, DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said, adding that the post by the Mets was a rare occasion when the representative’s title has been acknowledged publicly.
“This means that Taiwan’s participation in private and official events in the US could take place on the table and become normalized,” she said.
“Hsiao’s first pitch will become a symbol for the unshakable friendship between Taiwan and the US,” DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said, adding Hsiao’s appearance at the Mets event would boost recognition of Taiwan.
The Mets 2,000 limited edition Taiwan Day jerseys, which were made in collaboration with Taiwanese-American groups and bore the “Hello Taiwan” logo, sold out last month.
Additional reporting by Ni Wan-chun
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of