Taiwanese basketball junkie lives her dream in Europe

Nancy Liu has often woken up during the past six months not knowing where she was. All she knew was she was somewhere in Europe -- and that's exactly how she wanted it.

Liu is an uncommonly dedicated sports fan, even by basketball junkie standards. She quit her job and visited 33 European cities in in 63 days from March to May this year to watch professional basketball games in person.

"I love the swishing sound of a basketball going through the net. And I'm uncomfortable if I don't play basketball for two or three days, " said Liu, who started playing basketball in fifth grade when she attended an international school in Beijing, China.

Already familiar with the American basketball scene, including the professional National Basketball Association (NBA) and the college game, Liu said her passion for the sport took her to the other side of the Atlantic to explore an area she was less familiar with the game played.

Liu quit her job at an international trading company and started to map out her plan to visit as many European teams and leagues as possible.

Helped by the many friends she made while volunteering at various local sporting events, including the Jones Cup basketball tournament, the Kaohsiung World Games and the Taipei Deaflympics, Liu set up about 70 percent of her itinerary before departing on what she called, "A Basketball Dream -- Ballin' Europe."

The basketball-loving girl, who majored in applied chemistry at Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, began her basketball pilgrimage at a Swiss professional league game in Geneva less than 24 hours after arriving there.

In the following two months, the journey took Liu to numerous cities in eight countries -- Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece.

In all, Liu attended 25 games and watched 50 teams play in various European domestic leagues as well as the Eurocup Finals and the Euroleague Final Four, both top-tier European basketball competitions.

Liu estimated that she slept an average of less than three hours a night during her stay in Europe and visited as many as three cities in one day.

After the two-month trip, she spent three months in Beijing to work as an intern at NBA China and returned to Taiwan for a day before resuming her travels.

This time she visited Turkey for the 2010 FIBA Men's World Championship and attended all of the tournament's games, while getting to see her favorite player -- Rudy Fernandez of Spain -- perform in person.

To save money during her European travels, Liu said she spent all but one night staying at friends' places, and ended up spending only around NT$200,000 (US$6,377) for the trip.

"Most of my budget was spent on transportation -- flight tickets, train tickets and bus fare, " Liu said. She also had to overcome "the unthinkable" in Europe, such as a French railway strike and the disruption of Euro air traffic by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland that left European skies bathed in inpenetrable ash.

Though basketball was at the center of her trip, Liu said it had even greater significance because she used every opportunity to let everyone know she's from Taiwan.

"This was my way of promoting Taiwan to the world, " she said.

Newspapers in Serbia and Greece gave extensive coverage to her ambitious trip, according to Liu. She was also interviewed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) during the World Championship.

Liu recalled that her parents expressed concerns about the trip when she first brought up the idea, but her father finally gave the go-ahead because "he didn't want me to miss the opportunity to realize my dream."

Her European trek has not brought her dream to an end. If anything it was only the beginning of loftier ambitions, including a return to Europe for the 2011 European Championship, which will be held in Lithuania next summer.

Liu's dream now extends beyond watching basketball games.

"I want to be involved in and initiate basketball-related nongovernment organization (NGO) projects which inspire children and the underprivileged through the sport, " said Liu, who described herself as being "broke" and is looking for a job to support her future plans.

"Basketball has been the inspiration to lift myself out of bed every morning since I was 13. I hope that the sport -- and my journey -- would be an inspiration for other people as well, " she said. By CNA Staff Reporter Chris Wang enditem/ls

Abuse case shows lack of knowledge of Muslim culture: Arab officials

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) A recent scandal in which a Taiwanese employer forced Muslim workers to eat pork exposed a lack of knowledge of Islam in Taiwan and could harm Taiwan's international image, representatives from the Middle East said in Taipei Saturday.

While most of them accepted that it was an individual case, the diplomats urged the government to take notice of the severity of the incident, which has drawn international criticism and a protest by labor activists and migrant workers May 16 to demand respect for religious freedom.

"It shows that the Middle East is misunderstood here. And it is an opportunity for Taiwan to learn more about Muslim culture, " said Sulaiwan Al-Mughairy, Director of the Commercial Office of the Sultanate of Oman-Taiwan, on the sidelines of a Middle Eastern Culture Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and representative offices of various Middle Eastern countries.

He said he had learned of many cases in which Muslims are prohibited from praying five times a day and observing Ramadan -- the Islamic month of fasting -- and that such employers should be punished severely.

Muzaffer Eroktem, representative of the Turkish Trade Office, said the incident was an individual case but emphasized that all religions should be respected.

Taiwan has good reasons to know more about the Middle East, as there are 60,000 Muslims in Taiwan and bilateral trade between Taiwan and the region in the first half of the 2009 reached US$27.1 billion, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Hou said, adding that 83 percent of Taiwan's oil imports come from the region.

Hou admitted that Taiwan's understanding of the Middle East is limited, which is why the cultural exhibition will also be held in the central city of Changhua May 29-30 and in Pingtung City, southern Taiwan, June 5-6.

Representatives from Jordan and Saudi Arabia also attended the exhibition, which showcased food, artifacts, paintings, clothing and travel information relating to the Middle East. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Taiwan aims to repeat World University Games success

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Riding high on the success of two years ago, the Taiwanese delegation is confident of a repeat performance in the upcoming biennial World University Games (WUG) , which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, a spokesman for the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation (CTUSF) said Thursday.

In 2005, Taiwan won six gold, two silvers and three bronzes -- its best performance in WUG history -- in Izmir, Turkey, CTUSF Secretary-General Wei Shiang-ming said, adding that not many expected the delegation to do so well prior to the games.

Taiwan is sending 16 men's and women's teams and a total of almost 200 university athletes to participate in 14 categories of sport in the WUG, which will be held from August 8 - 18, in various venues throughout the Greater Bangkok area.

Women's softball, table tennis, badminton and tennis are among the categories in which Taiwan is hopeful of winning medals, Wei said.

"Two thirds of the women's softball team members came from the national team. They are experienced. And most of the top local tennis, table tennis and badminton players are included in the delegation this year. That's why we're optimistic, " he said.

This year, for the first time, the biennial meet has introduced an age limit of 25 years-old on all participating athletes. The new rule is expected to benefit Taiwan, Wei said, as most Taiwanese athletes peak during their college career.

TURKISH FOLK DANCE TO DEBUT IN TAIWAN

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) Turkish folk dance will be introduced to Taiwan for the first time with four performances in three major cities May 10-13, organizer Anatolia Formosa Association (AFA) said Thursday.

The four shows have been arranged for Taichung May 10 at Feng Chia University Library and Taichung City's Lecture Hall of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, May 11 at the Tainan Municipal Cultural Center, and May 13 at Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, said AFA secretary-general Ersin Ozkan.

The AFA is a private, non-profit organization established in 2006 by Turkish and Taiwanese members living in Taipei who share the goal of promoting Turkish culture and strengthening the friendship between Turkish and Taiwanese peoples in Taiwan.