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Chinese Taipei baseball team line up during the Men's Team Baseball Super Round game between Japan and Chinese Taipei during 2018 Asian Games on August 31, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Popular as it is, baseball has been out of the Olympics for more than a decade, until the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in which baseball/softball is back to the stage.
Much to the expectation of Taiwan compatriots, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Team still has chance to keep their Olympic dream alive awaits the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball Last Qualifier to be held in April, 2020, in which only one ticket to the Olympics is awarded to the six participants of this tournament.
Though chance for an Olympic medal is still uncertain, an Asian Games title is far more within reach, as baseball/softball was confirmed to be included in the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
To achieve a title, equally important to the sport officially listed in these competitions, is the right of athletes to join them. The "Olympic model" created in 1981 has protected the rights of athletes from Taiwan to participate in international sports events for almost four decades now.
Over the years, the model stood the test of time when being challenged by external interferences, namely a flagrant attempt to alter the name of Chinese Taipei delegation in 2018.
Baseball in Taiwan
Students in Taiwan get access to baseball from elementary school and middle school. When asked about impression of Taiwan college students who play baseball, Hong Hongyuan, captain of baseball team at Peking University (PKU), one of the top schools in academics as well as baseball in the Chinese mainland, told CGTN that he could tell how good their skills were from the first minutes of the game.
"Some of our best hitters can make a bat at 100 miles per hour. They could reach 120-mph."
In Taiwan, kids grow up knowing Chinese Taipei Baseball Team goes around and claims honors.
They are five-time Asian Championship winners, and have won the first place at Asian Games (2006) and second place at Olympics (1992) and World Cup (1984).
They won bronze in the 2018 Asian Games. There is no doubt that they would want to go for a gold medal in the next annual as one of the best teams in its type in the world.
Major of Hangzhou, Xu Liyi waves the OCA flag as President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) during the Asian Games Closing Ceremony on September 2, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In September, 2019, baseball/softball was officially included in the 2022 Asian Games. The Chinese Olympic Committee together with the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee persuaded the organizing committee of Hangzhou Asian Games to include the sport, as it has long been the passion of Taiwan compatriots.
The Olympic model
On March 23, 1981, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee reached agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the latter's name as committee, use of flag and emblem, should all athletes in the world have the opportunity to participate in Olympic Games as well as other activities sponsored by the IOC.
Before the agreement, athletes from Taiwan missed the 1973 Asian Games, 1976 Summer Olympics, and the 1980 Winter Olympics, after the People's Republic of China (PRC) had been recognized as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations" in 1971.
Benefiting from the "Olympic model," in 2014, the city of Taichung in Taiwan successfully hosted the East Asian Youth Games. It was on the agenda that the city would host this event again in 2019.
In 2018, however, when some political forces and "Taiwan independence" elements on the island, allowed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, flagrantly challenged the "Olympic model," seeking a so-called "referendum" that would give the Chinese Taipei delegation "a proper name" to join the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was essentially a denial of the one-China principle, this event got cancelled by the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC) in the same year.
The IOC rejected the "name-change" in an executive meeting in May, 2018, and indicated that any external interference could be considered a violation of the Olympic Charter rules and result in Taiwan losing its Olympic membership.
The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee reaffirmed the same stance and expressed their view on its official website as well as Facebook, explaining how such a "referendum" could hurt the rights of athletes.
The "referendum" failed eventually.
The "Olympic model" has protected the rights of Taiwan athletes for almost four decades, including the chances of Chinese Taipei Baseball Team capturing awards one after another on the international stage.
Baseball/softball exchanges across the Strait
As the game grew in the mainland over the years, exchanges across the Strait expand also.
The annually Cross-Strait Student Baseball League (CSSBL) has been going on for three years. 24 academic institutions sent out teams to join the most recent event held in 2019.
Students from Taiwan's Shih Hsin University celebrate their victory in the 3rd annual of CSSBL on December 10, 2019 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
Commenting on students' performances from across the Strait, Jiao Chenxi, baseball coach at Peking University, having spent her graduate years in Taiwan, told CGTN that she didn't think the levels vary much between amateurs, though students from Taiwan have more incentives to play, and enjoy better facilities.
"In Beijing, for example, only Tsinghua University has a baseball field. We (at PKU) need to negotiate with our school's football team for the use of the field, as we play on football ground."
Also, students in Taiwan join the game with substantial knowledge of its rules, having been immersed in rich baseball culture, while students from the Chinese mainland start playing mostly by chance, hearing about it on campus or becoming interested in baseball classes only higher education institutions offer.
The passion for the sport grows among Chinese mainland students. With the participation of Chinese Taipei Baseball Team at the Asian Games two years from now, it is thrilling to watch great games at the doorstep. Without doubt, it will be a feast for the eye, and a hopeful opportunity for the team to inspire both professionals and amateur enthusiasts across the Strait.
