Oh to act as World Cup spokesman

Sadaharu Oh, a Japan-based professional baseball manager of Chinese descent, has promised to serve as a spokesman for next year's Baseball World Cup.

The annual international competition is scheduled to be held in Taichung in November, an aide to Taichung Mayor Jason Hu said on Sunday.

The aide said Hu, who is in Japan on a six-day visit, met with Oh in Fukuoka, Japan, on Saturday.

The aide quoted Hu as saying that the former baseball star still has a Taiwan passport and draws great attention and respect from the people in Taiwan.

Hu has also invited the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, the baseball team that Oh is currently managing for, and other Japanese baseball teams to conduct spring and winter training camps in Taichung, the aide said.

The aide quoted the mayor as saying that Taichung has Taiwan's best climate, a large population of enthusiastic baseball fans and the new International Baseball Stadium, which he said Japan's national baseball team manager Senichi Hoshino had spoken highly of.

After the meeting, the aide said Hu visited the Fukuoka Dome to watch a baseball game.