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| Taiwan's baseball scene has seen a huge surge of global interest in the last few weeks. (Photo by= Bangkok Post/AFP) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] Taiwanese baseball fans were allowed to cheer their teams at live stadium games on Friday, after the island kept coronavirus infections down and its professional sports leagues running despite the pandemic. Taiwan's baseball scene was a huge surge of global interest in the last few weeks after it became the first professional league to begin a new season.
"I feel very proud that Taiwan is the first to start a baseball season and the first to allow spectators back. I plan to come to every game in this season," 19-year-old college student Sam Kao told AFP.
Some social distancing measures remained in place. Attendance at each game is limited to 1,000 people while spectators are required to wear face masks and at a distance from each other. Another match taking place simultaneously in central Taichung city also attracted many fans.
All of the four teams in Taiwan's professional league CPBL began streaming games with English commentary, racking up millions of views as game starved fans around the world tune in. Thanks to effective tracing, quarantine and testing, Taiwan reported just 440 confirmed cases and six deaths. Baseball is the most popular sport in Taiwan with some 240 games scheduled for the current season.
