Palau's national baseball team is seeking gold in an upcoming regional tournament. To help its chances, the team has come to Taiwan for a two-month training program. It's a reflection of Taiwan and Palau's diplomatic ties and, more importantly, a mutual love for the game.
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00:01A friendly game of baseball on a sunny afternoon in Taiwan's Taoyuan.
00:08The National Taiwan Sport University's school team faces off against a special away team, Palau's national squad.
00:18Palau, a Pacific Island nation and one of Taiwan's 12 diplomatic allies, has sent its players here to sharpen their baseball skills.
00:27Taiwan has solidified its place as a baseball powerhouse after winning the Premier 12 tournament last November.
00:37The exchange project was a personal request from one leader to another.
00:57Taiwan and Palau share a mutual love for baseball.
01:12Both countries were first exposed to the game as Japanese colonies.
01:17And the sport's popularity has stood the test of time in both places.
01:23So the exchange program is a natural way to foster relations.
01:28This is a particularly proud moment for the Palauan ambassador in Taiwan, as many of the players on the national team are his former students.
01:36They're all out of high school. They're adults now.
01:41And representing Palau makes me proud, not only being a school principal for them, but for them to represent the Republic of Palau.
01:50During their time here, the Palau baseball team got hands-on training to help improve all aspects of their game.
01:57From hitting to fielding, each player was given the guidance to achieve greater success on the diamond.
02:03In Taiwan, in Asia baseball, you guys are more quick. Yeah, fast. Yeah, with everything, styles are more up to speed.
02:13They even got a private clinic in pitching from Taiwanese baseball great Chin Ming Wong.
02:18And the trainers and coaches here have seen great improvements in the team.
02:23In this period of time, the support and training process has become very big.
02:30In passing, passing, passing, passing, passing, passing, stability, and stability, this is a very important point.
02:36It's a very important point. It's a very small amount of difference in the difference in the difference in the difference in the difference in the difference.
02:39But beyond baseball, this exchange is about building ties, not just between countries, but also between people.
02:48These players from Palau and Taiwan may not speak the same language, but both sides are fluent in baseball.
03:06And with a deep mutual love for the game, baseball is enough to build ties and foster friendships.
03:13It's a real diplomatic home run. Hank Xu, Justin Wu, John Su, and a Leslie Liao in Taoyuan for Taiwan Plus.