TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Oakland Athletics stadium hosted the San Francisco Taiwanese Heritage Day event on Saturday (May 25) at a Major League Baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros.

The event drew over 4,000 members of the Taiwanese American community in the San Francisco Bay area, estimated to be near half of the total crowd size. The annual Taiwan Day celebrates the strong cultural relationship between Taiwan and the U.S. by highlighting both countries’ shared love of baseball. 

At this year’s event, organized by Taiwan’s T-League and the local Taiwan representative office, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) threw the opening pitch of the friendly baseball match. Rather than his usual black leather jacket, he wore a special Oakland Athletics jersey, with the Nvidia logo printed on the sleeve, and the no. 93 on the back to mark the year his company was founded, per CNA.  

Taiwan’s new Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) also recorded a video greeting for the crowd. Hsiao thanked event organizers and fans of the Oakland Athletics, while noting some similarities between Taiwan and northern California.

She then introduced a performance by the Taiwanese cheer team, the Wing Stars. The mid-game show featured performances by the TSG Hawk’s Wing Stars cheer team, Taiwanese rapper Dwagie, and musician Feng E.  

Guests who registered early as event sponsors with the T-League each received a limited-edition Oakland Athletics jersey with a special Taiwan Day design on the sleeve featuring a Formosan black bear. Special Taiwan Day meals were also prepared for people at the game that featured braised pork rice, with Taiwanese-style sausages and mixed tea drinks. 

After a strong two-run showing in the first inning, the home team was victorious over the Houston Astros, finishing the game with a score of 3 to 1.