The Chinese Taipei national baseball team () is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked second in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and North America's Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball.
Originally known as United Taiwan (), then the Republic of China (), it was officially re-designated by international federations as Chinese Taipei under the Lausanne Agreement in 1981. The name continues to be a topic of contention, with proposals to participate as “Taiwan” included in the 2018 referendum. Certain media outlets have referred to the team as Team Taiwan.
The team has won five titles in the Asian Baseball Championship (most recently in 2019), a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It won the gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in a sweeping victory by beating South Korea, Thailand, China, Philippines, and finally all-time rival Japan. It achieved eighth place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, fifth place in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12, and first place in the 2024 WBSC Premier12.
The team competed in the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March 2026.
Name
Following the handover of Taiwan to the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945, the ROC government did not devise any baseball development policies. Organized baseball was mostly handled by civilians and some state-owned companies such as Taipower. In 1949, the Taiwan Provincial Baseball Association, predecessor to the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association, was established. In a 1951 international tour to the Philippines, a national team named United Taiwan Team () was sent and competed with a logo that said TW.
In 1954, when the team first participated in the Asian Baseball Championship, it competed under the name Republic of China as part of the government's new sports diplomacy efforts.
Since the expulsion of the ROC from the United Nations in 1971, its national baseball team has competed internationally under the name Chinese Taipei, due to diplomatic pressure from the People's Republic of China, which follows a One China Policy. Within Taiwan, the team is referred to as either 中華隊 (hanyu pinyin: Zhōnghuá Duì; literally, Zhonghua team) or 台灣隊 (hanyu pinyin: Táiwān Duì; literally, Taiwan team). The designation continues to be controversial among the Taiwanese, culminating in a referendum vote in 2018 proposing to participate in the Olympics as “Taiwan”. The proposal failed to get enough votes, with many fearing that the Taiwanese team would be disallowed to compete under the name.
Public opinion According to a December 2024 survey conducted by think tank Taiwan Brain Trust, 71.5% of Taiwanese people believe the team should compete as Taiwan, and 79.6% believe the government should actively push for name changes to Taiwan. In a separate survey conducted by Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, 46% of Taiwanese people prefer to use the term 台灣隊 (Team Taiwan), 35% prefer 中華隊 (Zhonghua Team), 9% who are indifferent between the two, with less than 1% preferring the official Chinese Taipei.
Current roster
Past rosters Chinese Taipei's roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic
Chinese Taipei's roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12
Tournament record World Baseball Classic YearRoundPosition 2006 Group stage 12th 1 2 15 19 No qualifiers held 2009 Group stage 15th 0 2 1 13 2013 Quarterfinals 8th 2 3 17 25 3 0 35 0 2017 Group stage 14th 0 3 20 32 Automatically qualified 2023Group stage 17th 2 2 26 31 2026Group stage 13th 2 2 19 20 2 2 20 22 Total Round 2 6/6 7 14 98 140 5 2 55 22
2006–2017
Chinese Taipei participated in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. The squad included players from Major League Baseball. During the Classic, the team played in Pool A but placed third and did not advance. The team's only victory was a 12–3 win over China.
Taiwan returned in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The squad included players from Major League Baseball. During the Classic, the team played in Pool A against the same teams as in 2006. After losses to South Korea and China, Chinese Taipei was eliminated from the tournament, finishing in 14th place.
Chinese Taipei was required to participate in the 2013 qualifiers as it was eliminated early in the game with zero wins, along with Canada, Spain and Panama. Chinese Taipei was grouped in Qualifier 4 with other teams invited, Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand. Chinese Taipei defeated New Zealand in the first round with a 10–0 win. It then crushed Philippines 16–0. In the Qualifier Round, it met New Zealand again, this time beating the team 9–0 to gain entry into the WBC 2013, where the team was grouped with South Korea, the Netherlands and Australia. The team did not lose any points in the qualification.
Taiwan faced Israel, the Netherlands, and South Korea in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.Israel brings MLB experience to 1st WBC main draw The Chinese Taipei team lost all three games it played and was eliminated in the first round.
2023–2026
Chinese Taipei participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The squad faced Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy, and Panama. The Taiwanese team defeated the Netherlands and Italy, and lost to Panama and Cuba. Since all teams in Pool A finished with a 2–2 record, based on tiebreaker rule, Chinese Taipei placed 5th in the pool and was eliminated in the first round.
Finishing last in the World Baseball Classic 2023 Pool A, the team had to participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic qualification. It played as the host at Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, on February 21–25, 2025. The club played against Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa. The team defeated South Africa and lost to Spain in the first two rounds.
Olympic Games Qualification recordYearRoundPositionMethod 1992 Silver medal 2nd 6 3 67 34 1991 Asian Baseball Championship 1996 Did not qualify 1995 Asian Baseball Championship 2000 Did not qualify 1999 Asian Baseball Championship 2004 Preliminary 5th 3 4 23 28 2003 Asian Baseball Championship 2008 Preliminary 5th 2 5 29 33 Final Qualifying Tournament 2020 Did not qualify(withdraw from final qualifying tournament due to COVID-19) 2019 Asian Baseball Championship Total Silver medal 3/6 11 12 119 95
Barcelona Olympics, 1992
On 26 July 1992 and the following ten days, Chinese Taipei competed against seven other national teams from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The teams played each other seven rounds and the top four on the table advanced to the finals. Chinese Taipei eventually advanced to the finals, beating Japan 5–2 in the semi-finals. It struggled in the final against Cuba, suffering an enormous defeat. The score was 1–11. Nonetheless, it won a silver medal, which is the best result it has achieved so far in the Olympics.
Game Summary
26 July 1992 - Round 1, Chinese Taipei defeated Italy 8–2.
27 July 1992 - Round 2, Chinese Taipei lost by one run to the United States. The final score 9–10.
28 July 1992 - Round 3, Chinese Taipei sought its second victory over the Puerto Ricans. The score was 10–1.
29 July 1992 - Round 4, Chinese Taipei dominated the Spanish. The final score was 20–0.
31 July 1992 - Round 5, Chinese Taipei beat the Dominican Republic eleven to nothing.
1 August 1992 - Round 6, Chinese Taipei faced one of its two main rivals from Asia - Japan. It acquired its fifth victory by beating Japan 2–0
2 August 1992 - Round 7, in the final round, Chinese Taipei suffered another defeat to the Cubans. This time Chinese Taipei scored only one run. The score was 1–8.
4 August 1992 - Semi-final, Chinese Taipei defeated Japan 5–2 and would play against Cuba in the final.
5 August 1992 - Final, Chinese Taipei was defeated by Cuba. Final score 1–11.
Athens Olympics, 2004
Chinese Taipei qualified for the 2004 Olympics by finishing 2nd in the Asian Baseball Championship. The team ended up finishing 5th in the tournament.
Beijing Olympics, 2008
The team qualified for the 2008 Olympics by finishing 3rd place in the Final Qualifying Tournament.
On August 15, Chinese Taipei lost to China for the first time in an international baseball event. However, it had been suspected by DPP legislators that Beijing set up the schedule unfair to Chinese Taipei. Chinese Taipei was scheduled to play the latest game the day before. It was estimated that the players could only get three hours of sleep.Liberty Times (in Traditional Chinese) This allegation was rebuked by the governing party KMT as playing politics over baseball games as well as by the International Olympic Committee as common scheduling practice. The IOC further gave examples of other games being scheduled in a similar matter
The team finished 5th in the tournament.
WBSC Premier12 Year Round Position Ranking 2015 Group Stage 9th 2 3 27 25 4th 2019 Super Round 5th 4 3 24 15 4th 2024 Champions 1st 6 3 40 23 5th 2027 To be determined Total 1 Title 3/3 12 9 91 63
2015 Chinese Taipei came in ninth in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Tournament.
2019 Chinese Taipei came in fifth in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, in November 2019.
2024 Chinese Taipei won the 12-team 2024 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, ending Japan's 27 winning streak in international tournaments. This is the first time the team has won international tournaments.
2009 IBAF World Cup
Chinese Taipei participated in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, which occurred between September 9 and September 27, 2009. The team went 1–2 in the first round, losing to Mexico and Australia, but winning against Czech Republic. Chinese Taipei entered the second round as a wild card. Chinese Taipei went 5–2 in the second round, pulling off victories against Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, and Mexico. The team qualified easily for the final round, but finished in 8th place, going 1–6 and losing the game for a 7th place title.
Intercontinental Cup
The team's first appearance at the Intercontinental Cup was in 1973. Since then, the team has won two bronze medals, one in 1983 in Belgium and one in 2006 in Taiwan. Taiwan did not participate in the 1975, 1979, 1981, 1993 and 1997 Intercontinental Cups. It is currently ranked 7th in the Medal Winner Ranking.Baseball - Intercontinental Cup Cuba, Japan, Nicaragua and the United States remain Taiwan's four biggest rivals in the Intercontinental Cup.
As the host of the recent 2006 Intercontinental Cup, Taiwan won its second bronze medal after beating Japan in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup final 4–0.
Asian Baseball Championship Chinese Taipei has twice finished in first place, 10 times in second place and 10 times in third. The team competed again in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship which was held in Taiwan.
2009 Asian Baseball Championship