President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of October 14 at the Presidential Office met with the Kuei-Shan little league baseball team from Chinese Taipei that won the Pony League's 2011 Bronco World Series in the United States. The president congratulated the youngsters on their achievement.
President Ma remarked that the team from Taoyuan County’s Kuei-Shan Elementary School was nearly unable to participate in the 2009 Little League competition at Williamsport, Pennsylvania due to financial constraints. Ultimately, local supporters came forward to provide the funding needed to enable the team to take part in the competition and eventually won the international division. This year, a team from the school continued with its outstanding tradition and won the Pony League's 2011 Bronco World Series, he said. In addition, the president pointed out that this year the International Baseball Federation held its 12U Baseball World Championship in Taiwan and the team from Chinese Taipei won the competition. The president commented that the outstanding performance from the young baseball players here proves that Taiwan is a global powerhouse in little league baseball, and Kuei-Shan Elementary School is the best of the best of the nation's little league teams.
The president stated that baseball is Taiwan's national sport. The government designated last year as a year to revitalize the sport in Taiwan, and the Executive Yuan's Sports Affairs Council is spending NT$1 billion on developing baseball here. The government, the president said, is formulating means and listening to the voices of baseball clubs, baseball players, and baseball fans with the desire of improving the environment for baseball here. The excellent performance of Taiwan's youth baseball teams over the past two years indicates that the efforts that have been made are bearing fruit.
President Ma stated that the baseball team from Kuei-Shan Elementary School has received strong support from the Taoyuan County government. In addition, the team is receiving long-term support from corporate sponsors, with the hope that this baseball tradition can be continued in the next generation of players. The president encouraged the young players not only to do their best on the baseball diamond, but also to pay attention to their studies. As they work to develop a career in baseball, they cannot forget to cultivate expertise in other areas, he said.
The Chinese Taipei team from Kuei-Shan Elementary School was accompanied by the school's principal Fu Biyu (傅璧玉) and coach Li Zhengda (李政達), along with Sports Affairs Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) and Taoyuan County magistrate John Chih-Yang Wu (吳志揚) to the Presidential Office to meet and receive congratulations from President Ma. The team's captain, Qiu Jiliang (邱繼諒), represented the team in presenting a baseball to the president signed by all of the team's players.