Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

The 21st season of Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) kicked off with a confrontation between the Brother Elephants and Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium on March 20. President Ma Ying-jeou threw the first pitch at the start of the game.
During his address, Mayor Hau Lung-bin stressed that he will do his best to convince the Brother Elephants to make Tianmu Baseball Stadium their home ground stadium and to infuse new hope into the national pastime.
The mayor stressed that he himself is an avid fan of baseball, and understands why the sports is at a low point due to arrests of several players involved in game fixing. He cited star players – Chen and Pong – as role models for the younger generation, because they are able to shake off temptations, giving the public much hope for baseball’s future.
Hau recalled that during a recent meeting with Brother Elephant’s President Hung, the longtime proponent of baseball promised him that his team will continue playing and seek even better results.
President Ma remarked that for the exhibition matches between CPBL All-stars and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Taipei City Government invested heavily in the refurbishment of the Tianmu Baseball Stadium. He is very pleased to see professional baseball games being held in a facility that meets MLB standards.