On September 13th, Phoenix welcomed the Taiwanese cheerleaders for the first time as the Major League Baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, held their inaugural “Taiwan Day.” Over a thousand Taiwanese expatriates gathered to support the Diamondbacks, including the team’s own Taiwanese-American player, Corbin Carroll, waving the flag of the Republic of China proudly at the MLB stadium.
The President of the Greater Phoenix Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, Huang Xi-heng, mentioned that through the efforts of the Taiwanese community in Phoenix, Taiwan’s Pacific International Sports Marketing Company signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks to organize the Taiwan Day event. The cheerleaders of the Taiwan Professional Baseball team Wei Chuan Dragons, known as “Little Dragons” – Lin Xiang, Xiao Ying, Li Duo-hui, Kiki, and Lin Lin, visited the Chase Field, the Diamondbacks’ home stadium, to perform and showcase the Taiwanese baseball cheerleading culture, allowing Arizona fans to experience the genuine warmth of Taiwan.
The Greater Phoenix Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce prepared a variety of cross-cultural exchange exhibits for the event. Representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles’ tourism department set up booths to promote Taiwan travel. Chen Min-yong, the director of the Overseas Chinese Education Center in Los Angeles, also traveled to Phoenix to cheer for Taiwan Day alongside the Taiwanese expatriate community.
This event set several records, achieving “six firsts” according to organizers. Firstly, it marked the first “Taiwan Day” in the history of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Secondly, it was the first time an event like this was organized by a purely Taiwanese-funded local company for an MLB team. Moreover, the Taiwan Day event at the Diamondbacks’ stadium was the first time for single-day advertising cooperation, breaking the tradition of season-long or annual contracts.
Within 24 hours of ticket sales for Taiwan Day, all limited edition ticket packages were sold out, even the emergency additional tickets were quickly snapped up, prompting Diamondbacks officials to marvel at the speed of sales, calling it the “fastest ticket sales ever.” The ticket packages included jerseys and hats featuring the Taiwanese flag and the word “Taiwan,” with the number “8” (for prosperity) as the jersey number for the first time.
Huang Xi-heng mentioned that this event was the first to begin planning with a zero budget. Under the efforts of Ivy, Vice President of Pacific International Sports Marketing, and General Manager Chen Ming-ju, Taiwan Day culminated in a successful manner. However, they hope that in the future, there won’t be a need for another “zero budget” event planning, aiming to encourage more individuals to join the ranks of promoting Taiwan globally, positioning Taiwan on the world stage. ◇