[The Epoch Times, June 10, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Liu Jingye from Newton City) At noon on June 9, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and the Overseas Chinese Education Center in Boston held the annual Chinese dinner party. Services in various activities. The meeting also invited Liu Baijun, the first female baseball referee in Taiwan, to share her experience in social service and fighting for women’s rights.
Since the beginning of this year, overseas Chinese in the Boston area have held a number of activities such as raising the flag for the New Year, welcoming the Spring Festival, and Newton Taiwan Day. Sun Jianyuan, director of the scripture department, said that in every event, he saw volunteers diligently set up the venue and serve everyone, which moved him very much. He extended his sincere thanks to the volunteers and looked forward to their continued support of various activities in the future.
Pan Zhaorong, director of the Overseas Chinese Education Center, presided over the dinner. He thanked the volunteers for their assistance in various matters in the first half of the year and looked forward to continuing to work with you in the second half of the year. In particular, he mentioned that there will be a “Taiwan Night Market” at the archway in Boston’s Chinatown on June 25, hoping that more people will come to support.
Pan Zhaorong also introduced the “Taiwan Plus” website of the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Twitter homepage of the Overseas Chinese Committee, the overseas Chinese service manual, and the Taiwanese business service manual to the volunteers who participated in the meeting.
The keynote speaker at this meeting was Liu Bojun, the first female referee certified by the ROC Baseball Association. She is currently touring the United States speaking and sharing her experiences of volunteering and fighting for women’s rights with American politicians.
Liu Baijun said that before her, there had never been a female referee in a Taiwan baseball game, so she had been discriminated against and bullied on the field. Later, with the help of the American Yankees, she got acquainted with the executives of the American “All Star” sports brand, was sponsored by the company, and entered the American Professional Referee School with the help of the company.
Liu Baijun said that at this Florida school, she was the only girl in the class and received a lot of love from the school. And the thing that makes her most proud is that the school has rewritten the student registration form because of her, adding a “gender” column to the form.
Through hard work, Liu Baijun became one of 17 students in the Global Sports Mentoring Program in the United States and was awarded the Olympic Committee Women and Sport World Award in 2019. In Taiwan, Liu Baijun is also the first female referee of the World Universiade and the first female referee of the International Baseball Association.
Liu Baijun said that at present, she is still working hard to engage in social services, mainly including helping disadvantaged children, improving gender inequality in sports, and promoting diplomacy through sports. Her wonderful story won warm applause from the conference participants. ◇
Responsible editor: Feng Wenluan
