Taiwan won the Little League Baseball World Series, beating the US team 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and bringing home the highest international Little League title in 29 years. Last time, it was Kaohsiung Fuxing Elementary School that claimed the title for Taiwan in 1996.
For Taiwanese, the name Williamsport conjures up memories of the Little League Baseball World Series, an event that has taken pride of place in Taiwan’s sporting history. In the past, households across the nation would wake up in the middle of the night to watch live satellite broadcasts of young Taiwanese players competing in the US, and the victory over the US team was met with firecrackers set off in celebration. The previous victories remain proud, fond memories for many Taiwanese.
Taiwan and its international status faced serious challenges during the 1970s and into the post-Cold War era. One respite from this was the ability to cheer on the young Taiwanese Little League players in Williamsport. The stress felt by the adults concerned by Taiwan’s problems was borne by young Taiwanese players, who were expected to make a breakthrough. The players on the US team bore none of this stress on their shoulders, and regarded the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport as a summer camp.
Taiwan achieved a streak of 17 titles in the Little League World Series, beginning with the Golden Dragons’ first championship in 1969. US teams had to abandon their “carefree summer camp” approach and take the competition seriously. Therefore, Little League Baseball enforced stricter qualification rules, which required teams to be formed from a single school and forbidding the assembly of all-star lineups. In 2001, the number of teams in the World Series was doubled, with eight US teams and eight international teams. Japan was granted its own regional berth in 2007, allowing its teams direct entry to Williamsport without competing in the Asia-Pacific region. These changes have made it increasingly difficult for Taiwan to capture the title.
In 2003, Taiwan returned to the Little League Baseball World Series, holding tryouts to form a team for Williamsport. Although the World Baseball Softball Confederation later launched the U-12 Baseball World Cup, allowing elementary school students to form all-star teams for competition, Taiwan’s determination to reclaim the championship has never changed.
By this time, the Little League World Series had become highly competitive. Meanwhile, Taiwan was constrained by unreasonable regulations that weakened its strength in the tournament.
Taiwan has long had a solid foundation in baseball. Each failure became a lesson for the next attempt.
Finally, after 29 years, Taiwan was able to bring the trophy home, the first time since regulations on forming the team based on a single school was introduced, proving that Taiwan has the ability to compete on the international stage with other countries.
Baseball, as Taiwan’s national sport, could also be seen as a force to unite the country politically. For 29 years, Taiwan’s experience in Williamsport mirrored that of the Republic of China, a country that has never lost faith in itself. This year, Dong Yuan Elementary School made Taiwan’s dream come true, and the nation is deeply moved.
Sun Chai-re is a financial analyst.
Translated by Lai Wen-chieh
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