TAIPEI, Taiwan As WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup makes its way back to Tainan, Taiwan for the seventh edition of the tournament, Hua Nan Financial Holdings, as one of the closest partners for the hosting Chinese Taipei Baseball Association in promoting and supporting grassroots baseball development in Taiwan, will be in Tainan again to express their supports for the tournament to return to Tainan for the fifth time in its history.
Hua Nan Financial Holdings actually has ties with baseball from the last century. Along with Cooperative Bank, Land Bank, Taiwan Bank, First Bank, and Changhwa Bank, Hua Nan was one of the six government banks in the 1940s to assemble their own baseball teams and won the championship titles in 1958, 1959, and 1965. Two of their players, Sheng-San Tu and Ta-Chuan Kuan, were elected to Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, and 2022, respectively.
While Hua Nan no longer has their own baseball teams representing their red and white color, their minds have shifted to the grassroots development of baseball in the new century. President Robert Li described the origin of the HNFH to start their working relationship with the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association: “It all started back in 2007 when we found out that the lack of resources in rural areas forced many young, talented players to leave their loved sports for economic and employment reasons. So, we started to team up with the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association to carry out the plan called One Baseball, One Dream to help these kids.”
The grassroots program includes setting up baseball funds, holding camps in remote areas, and eventually in most cities and counties wherever baseball is played. It also contains development programs for the Indigenous Baseball Hope Project, Sports Conditioning and Strengthening Clinics, and more. During the process, HNFH also became the title sponsor of the domestic U-12 and U-15 tournaments that serve as qualification contests to form a rep team of Chinese Taipei to compete in international tournaments.
HNFH also became the sponsor of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup starting in 2011, in which the first edition of the tournament was held in Taipei City. “We were there for each and every edition of the tournament as we are welcoming the 7th edition of the game this year,” said Robert Li.
“The reason HNFH has decided to devote our resources to the grass-root level is that U-12 and U-15 are the most fundamental levels, and we know players can learn about self-confidence, endurance, and teamwork along with improving their playing skills. These psychological qualities can be very crucial to their future development.” – Robert Li
It has been 17 years since HNFH started the “One Baseball, One Dream” project, and Li stated that “by participating in grassroots baseball, we can make contributions to a better future for Taiwan baseball development.” He also went on to point out that “by sponsoring the host of the international tournament in Taiwan to welcome all elite players form the world to play, it’s a good way to make these tournaments no long just a competition, but also a great way for Taiwan to know the world, and for the world to experience the passion of Taiwanese people.”
Speaking of the
opportunity to work with the CTBA in sponsoring the WBSC U-12 Baseball World
Cup from the beginning, Li referred to the decision-making process attributed
to a historical achievement of a children’s baseball team in the 60s: “Back in the 60’s a baseball team from Taiwan
called Red Leaves defeated the (Little League) defending Japanese team, and the
successful story has made Taiwan known as the Kingdom of Children’s Baseball.”
“That’s why as soon as we learned about the news that CTBA is hosting
the tournament, we decided to devote our resources to the hosting,” said Li.
“At HNFN, we are also determined to show strong support when it comes to the
time to compete on the international stage.”
It’s never easy to host an international tournament. As Li pointed out “We know it requires extensive planning and accurate execution to host an international tournament, and I want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to CTBA, for their dedication in carrying out each and every edition of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup.”
“With their (CTBA) dedication, the world gets to see how passionate we are about baseball,” – Robert Li.
In preparing the 7th edition of the tournament, Robert Li also has a message to all the players coming to Tainan to complete for the title of World Champions. “There is an old saying in Chinese goes like Meeting Friends by Playing Ballgames, and I believe that represents the core value of all these international tournaments.
“I hope they all become friends at the end of the tournament.” What impressed Li the most during the past few editions was how the athletes applauded their counterparts for great performances, “even if their opponent robbed a base hit away from them.” Li was talking about the game between South Africa and Chinese Taipei in the 6th edition of the tournament, in which South Africa’s Sean Cupido’s hard line-drive was caught by Chinese Taipei shortstop Shu-Wei Yeh as Cupido applauded the effort as he was walking back toward his dugout.
“That is the moment I can never forget, and that is
the moment that matches perfectly with the core value of “Meeting Friends by
Playing Ballgames.”
The XII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup will open on the 28th
of July at Tainan’s Asia-Pacific International Stadium with the U.S.A.
defending their title, while the other eleven teams will compete for the honor.
Tainan City is celebrating its 400th year of establishment in 2024,
and with a year-long celebration, there will be plenty to offer to the
athletes, coaches, and officials. Both Tainan Mayor Wei-Cher Huang and HNFH
President Li invited international friends to enjoy the stay, “I believe it
would be a wonderful and rewarding experience for all of our guests.”
On the opening day, Panama will face the Dominican Republic, and Japan will host Mexico, both at 11 a.m. Korea will host New Zealand, and Czech will take on defending champions USA, both at 2:30 pm. Host team Chinese Taipei will play against Australia at 6:30 pm following the opening ceremony, while last year’s runner-up Venezuela will face Germany at 7 pm.
