Taiwan-born astronaut throws 1st pitch at Nationals' Taiwan Heritage Day

Washington, Aug. 29 (CNA) Taiwan-born astronaut Kjell Lindgren threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' Taiwan Heritage Day at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Saturday before the team's game against the Miami Marlins.

Speaking ahead of the event, the Nationals' second Taiwanese Heritage Day, Lindgren said throwing out the first pitch was "right up there in terms of anxiety-provoking" with some of his past accomplishments, including two rocket launches, two reentries through Earth's atmosphere and two spacewalks.

"But I'm really excited to be a part of this celebration of Taiwan heritage," he said, adding that it was "an opportunity to really celebrate the relationship, the partnership, the history between the United States and Taiwan."

Lindgren also said he was "very excited" about future opportunities for Taiwan and the United States to partner as they move forward with efforts to explore the moon and beyond.

The veteran astronaut was chosen for his accomplishments and his connection to both the United States and Taiwan through his multicultural heritage, organizer Millennial Global Youth (MGY) Foundation said earlier this month.

Lindgren, whose Chinese name is Lin Chi-erh (林琪兒), was born in Taipei to an American father who was serving in the U.S. Air Force in Taiwan at the time and a Taiwanese mother.

Saturday's event featured several booths around Nationals Park promoting Taiwanese culture, as well as a performance of the U.S. national anthem by Taiwanese American singer-songwriter Vienna Teng (史逸欣) and a performance by Formosan Groove, a musical fusion project incorporating Taiwanese and American elements.

Participants could also enter a raffle to win a round-trip flight between Washington, D.C., and Taiwan, courtesy of EVA Air, according to the MGY Foundation.

The organizer said about 700 tickets were sold for the event.

Saturday marked the third time Lindgren has thrown a ceremonial first pitch at a Taiwan-related professional baseball event.

In April, he threw the first pitch at a game between the Rakuten Monkeys and Wei Chuan Dragons at Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium in Taiwan. In July, he joined Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to throw the first pitch at the New York Mets' Taiwanese Heritage Day at Citi Field.

The MGY Foundation is a group composed mainly of second-generation Taiwanese Americans that promotes Taiwanese culture, multicultural diversity and community ties.