International umpire Po Chun Liu honoured at Sports Elite Awards in Taiwan
Po Chun Liu, the first female to become a baseball umpire in Taiwan, will receive a special commendation at the Sports Elite Awards in December for her dedication to achieving gender equality in sports, the Taipei Times reports.
The Sports Administration stated that Liu, 43, "has dedicated herself to issues related to sports diplomacy and gender equality in sports. Aside from publishing the Woman in Sports magazine, she has raised funds to help female teenage athletes from underprivileged families".
Liu became a certified Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) umpire in 2006. She made her international debut at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup in 2010 in Maracay, Venezuela.
After umpiring at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018 in Viera, Florida, USA, she was featured in Forbes’ 2018 list of the Most Powerful Women in International Sports.
In 2019 she was awarded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Women and Sport World Trophy.
A full time social worker, Liu established the Taiwan Sport Forward Foundation, which helps student athletes in rural areas by providing tutoring, paying for their after-school study programs or offering financial aid.
She is part of the Global Sports Mentoring Program in the United States.
In October 2020, Liu ran a baseball camp for girls in Taipei City to honour the United Nation's International Day of the Girl,