Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), who is to takeover as head of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), on Thursday said he would add a sixth team to the league.
Tsai made the remarks after he was tapped to head the organization when CPBL commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) finishes his second term next month.
Tsai’s position was confirmed on Thursday when top executives of the CPBL’s five teams met with Tsai at his office at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, later emerging with smiles after reaching an agreement for him to take the post.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
It comes with no salary, and is largely a ceremonial position. As commissioner, Tsai would be responsible for league operations, attending international meetings, planning and overseeing staff’s day-to-day work.
Tsai outlined his vision for the league, saying that finding corporate backers to start a sixth team was a top priority.
The CPBL is comprised of the Uni-President Lions, CTBC Brothers, Fubon Guardians and Rakuten Monkeys, with the Wei Chuan Dragons set to join next season.
The Dragons, started in 1989, were one of the four founding teams in the league before they disbanded in 1999.
“All five clubs and Taiwan fans are in full support of the league expanding to a sixth team, which could join in the coming years,” Tsai said. “Then the CPBL can grow more vigorously, and have different combinations for game matchups.”
However, Tsai said he knows it would not be easy.
“The CPBL in the past decade has operated with four teams, and waited a long time to welcome the Wei Chuan Dragons back. It can be difficult to find a big corporation in Taiwan willing to invest in pro baseball, as its executives must have a passion for the game, and deep pockets to sustain a team,” he said.
A Democratic Progressive Party legislator with his base in Taichung, Tsai yesterday received hopeful news from his fellow party member and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who confirmed speculation that several Kaohsiung-based businesses were showing interest in sponsoring a team to enter the league in the next few years.
“We have a large manufacturing base in Kaohsiung, with large companies for financial support, and can look for other businesses to participate in a team’s launch with sponsorship. We will take it one step at a time, but the talk of getting back to pro baseball has been a hot discussion in our city for some time,” Chen said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or