August 18, 2017
Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Taiwanese former professional baseball player Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒), the first Taiwanese to appear in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States, will light the flame for the 2017 Taipei Universiade in the Aug. 19 opening ceremony.
Chen will light the flame by symbolically "hitting out" a burning ball that will draw a shining curve in the air as it is guided by wire to light the flame at the Taipei Stadium.
Chen, who has been professional baseball player for 18 years, retired from playing after appearing in his final home game for the Lamigo Monkeys in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in 2016. He is now a deputy captain for the Fubon Guardians, another CPBL team.
He made his major league debut on Sept. 14, 2002 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played in the U.S. for seven years.
With Chen as a pioneer for Taiwanese signed to the MLB, many other local players such as Wang Chien-Ming (王建民), Kuo Hong-chih (郭泓志) and Tsao Chin-hui (曹錦輝) have followed in Chen's footsteps to play major league baseball, ushering in a new era for Taiwanese players.
The 2017 Taipei Universiade, which will be held Aug. 19-30 in various venues in northern Taiwan, will be the largest international multi-sport event in Taiwan's history.
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