President Ma Ying-jeou met with the new President of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) Riccardo Fraccari at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of February 4. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed deep appreciation to Mr. Fraccari for making the long trip to Taiwan. He also expressed his hope that Mr. Fraccari will provide strong support and encouragement for Taiwan's concerted efforts to promote the development of baseball.
The president commented that baseball is Taiwan's national pastime and the government has consistently been a strong supporter. Taiwan is home to about six million baseball fans, and the level of baseball played in Taiwan is among the top five in Asia and the world, he said. The president added that Taiwan maintains frequent contact with the IBAF.
President Ma remarked that over the past 10 years, Taiwan has hosted 13 international baseball tournaments, and quite a few famous players in the international baseball arena have come from Taiwan, including pitchers Wang Chien-ming and Kuo Hong-chih. People have been quite impressed by the performance of these two players in Major League Baseball in the United States, he said. The president told Mr. Fraccari that the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association is currently applying to hold the 17th Intercontinental Baseball Cup tournament later this year. He said he hopes that Mr. Fraccari will support Taiwan's efforts in this regard, adding that the government will do its utmost to ensure that the tournament is a success.
President Ma noted that baseball is no longer an Olympic sport, which is deeply disappointing to baseball fans throughout the world. Currently, the IBAF is working to get baseball back into the Olympics. The ROC, the president said, fully supports this effort and will ask International Olympic Committee Member Wu Ching-kuo and the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association to work together toward this goal.
President Ma said that Taiwan encountered various problems last year in terms of the development of baseball. What transpired deeply disappointed and frustrated the nation's baseball fans. In response, he said he personally convened two meetings at the Presidential Office to discuss the baseball-related issues. Representatives of professional baseball teams here, as well as player and fan representatives, in addition to the Sports Affairs Council and the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association sat down and discussed various problems facing the sport with the hope of preventing similar problems from recurring in the future. President Ma stressed that the government and private sector will need to work hard to revitalize enthusiasm in baseball here. For this, he has specially designated this year to be the year of revitalizing baseball in Taiwan. The government will make every effort to promote baseball and will provide at least NT$1.5 billion of funding for this initiative. In addition to increasing the number of baseball teams, the government wants to see a strong foundation with regards to baseball education, thereby reviving passion for the sport. The president also noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers will come to Taiwan and play here between March 11 and March 14. President Ma said he hopes Mr. Fraccari's visit will help to generate enthusiasm and support the development of baseball here.