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On the afternoon of November 1, President Lai Ching-te met with the national baseball team of the Czech Republic. In remarks, President Lai thanked the Czech Republic for supporting Taiwan, and noted that the Czech national baseball team had come to Taiwan to take part in two exhibition games, not only for the sake of learning from one another, but also to further cultivate friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic. He also stated that the Czech Republic is an important democratic ally of Taiwan in Europe. He stated that the opening of the Czech Centre Taipei this past June shows that our two countries continue to enhance our partnership, and expressed confidence that even greater advances will be achieved in culture and many other fields moving forward.
A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows:
The World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament is scheduled to start on November 10, with Group B opening round games to be played in Taiwan. I would like to thank Chinese Professional Baseball League Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) for inviting the Czech national baseball team to play two exhibition games in Taiwan, not only for the sake of learning from one another, but also to further cultivate friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
As a long-time baseball fan, I am very pleased to meet with the Czech national baseball team here at the Presidential Office. Many team members are actually part-timers whose principal occupations are in such fields as firefighting, teaching, medicine, financial analysis, and real estate brokerage, to name just a few. Everyone’s passion for the sport has earned the team a ranking of number 15 in the world and placed them among the top three in Europe. Indeed, in last year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), the team scored a come-from-behind win over China to take the Czech Republic’s first-ever victory in the WBC tournament. It was an admirable win and an exciting game, and Taiwanese fans were thrilled.
The Czech Republic is an important democratic ally of Taiwan in Europe. Representative of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office David Steinke is here, so I would like to give special thanks to the Czech Republic for supporting Taiwan. Three years ago, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Czech Republic generously donated 30,000 vaccine doses to Taiwan, and when Hualien was hit by a severe earthquake earlier this year, the Czech Republic donated US$150,000 to support reconstruction efforts. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I want to express our deepest appreciation.
The opening of the Czech Centre Taipei this past June signifies that our two countries continue to enhance our partnership, and I am confident that even greater advances will be achieved in culture and many other fields moving forward.
Today is the Czech national baseball team’s second day in Taiwan, so I want to wish everyone a happy and fruitful visit, and I look forward to both teams playing their best in the exhibition games scheduled for tomorrow and the day after.
Also in attendance was Czech Baseball Association President Petr Ditrich.
