Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian on Monday met with players from the Chinese Taipei baseball team that qualified to participate in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games by coming in second at the Asian Championship last week in Sapporo, Japan.
President Chen encouraged the players to make good use of the nine months before the start of the Games in Athens to polish their skills. "I want you to lead Taiwan into the world arena with hits and home runs and allow the peoples of the world to know that 'the Taiwanese can make it,'" Chen said. "I've always believed that the baseball spirit of being brave, working hard and never being daunted by losses is exactly the Taiwanese spirit," Chen said.
He likened baseball competitions to Taiwan's international diplomatic situations. "Despite adversities and unjust treatment, the players become braver and more formidable after facing challenges and frustration," he said. "It inspires us to understand that no matter whether we are playing baseball, striving to bring a head of steam back to the economy or broadening our diplomatic horizons, the crucial issue is not how many runs behind we might be, but whether we can pull together, regain our strength and fight again to win," he continued.
On behalf of the team, Chinese Taipei head coach Hsu Sheng-ming presented President Chen with a baseball autographed by the players as a souvenir.