President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he would push for the NT$500 bill’s design to be changed from representing baseball players of Taitung County Nan Wang Elementary School to last year’s Premier12-winning national team.
Lai made the remarks at a news conference for the launch of a special exhibition — “Behind the Champion: The Road to Victory” at National Taiwan Museum — which celebrates Taiwan’s World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship win.
Taiwan in November made history with their first-ever Premier12 championship, beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome in the final.
Photo courtesy of the CPBL
“Thank you again to the national team for bringing glory to the nation,” Lai told the news conference. “The team showed Taiwan’s spirit on the international stage through their baseball skills and as president, I am proud,” he said, adding that during his recent diplomatic visits, many overseas Taiwanese expressed pride in the players’ performances.
The highlight of the exhibition is the 12kg trophy that the team won.
Lai said that the trophy’s weight gave him a “shock” when he picked it up.
Everyone should see this exhibition, Lai said, thanking CPBL commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒), chairman of Taiwan’s national baseball association, for organizing the exhibition.
The exhibition shows every step of the team’s journey, Lai said, adding he hopes people appreciate the effort the players put into their victory.
The team will appear on Taiwanese currency, Lai said, referring to the NT$500 note, which currently depicts the team who won the Little League World Series in 1998.
“I always believe that if you have people, you have land, you can have history, you can write your own stories and sing your own songs,” Lai said. “The spirit of Taiwan is its 23 million people, from different backgrounds and different walks of life, coming together to make its spirit.”
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