The competitive sports driven by championship mentality are gradually giving way to recreational activities that emphasize a happy life—a significant shift in Taiwan’s sports culture. On holidays, along the Jingmei River, Xindian River, Keelung River, and the Erchong Floodway in the Greater Taipei area, one can see “cycling and playing slow-pitch softball” have become the most popular activities, and the same goes for other counties and cities. Coupled with the sweating figures in local gyms, “sports as part of daily life” has gradually become a reality for many.
“At the same time, there are 50,000 to 100,000 people playing slow-pitch softball nationwide. Isn’t this the biggest sport in the country?” Xu Xiongliang, secretary-general of the Slow-Pitch Softball Association, describes the promotion strategy for slow-pitch softball as “an overwhelming army of ants.” Taking the United States as an example, out of a population of 300 million, about 23 million people play slow-pitch softball—almost equal to Taiwan’s total population.
Slow-pitch softball was originally introduced to Taiwan by the U.S. military. In 1990, Taipei City launched the “Unified Invoice Cup” slow-pitch softball tournament. By the fourth edition in 1993, the event reached unprecedented popularity, with over 11,000 participants. Then-President Lee Teng-hui was even invited to attend the opening ceremony. Later, Chen Hedong, known as the “Father of Slow-Pitch Softball,” gathered political and business forces to establish the Slow-Pitch Softball Association in 1995. Currently, the largest slow-pitch softball event is the President’s Cup, which last year saw over 1,700 teams and more than 40,000 participants, making it an annual highlight of the sport.
U.S. Military Introduced Slow-Pitch Softball, Over 1,000 Teams Participate
“Players range from government officials to street vendors; not only do vendors at the Nanmen Market have their own teams, but even debt collection agencies have joined in.” Xu Xiongliang recalled that once, a team that won the championship wanted to go abroad for a competition and asked the Slow-Pitch Softball Association to issue a special letter. It turned out that one of the players was on parole and needed approval from a supervising officer to leave the country.
Many retired professional baseball players have also switched to slow-pitch softball, with many skilled players coming from the Taipei Water Resources Engineering Office (formerly the Maintenance Office). Hong Cheng-chin, the first captain of the former professional baseball team Wei Chuan Dragons, eventually became a “slow-pitch softball person” and emphasized: “Baseball has age limits, but slow-pitch softball doesn’t—you can play for as long as you want.”
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Thanks to the film “Island Etude,” the trend of energy conservation and carbon reduction, and the impact of the financial crisis, cycling has swept across Taiwan in the past two years. The oldest “Cycling Association” is responsible for training athletes for the Asian and Olympic Games, the “Bicycle Riders Association” organizes large-scale road races across the country, and Chen Shouzhong of the “Bicycle Culture Association” has been working hard to connect cycling with leisure, family, and even education.
Chen Shouzhong once cycled around the world in 1998, covering a distance of over 20,000 kilometers. Drawing from his experience, he pointed out: “Cyclists often fall into the ‘numbers myth,’ constantly trying to ride faster and farther, with bike prices often reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But these are just personal goals, completely contrary to the idea of relaxed leisure and even further from deeper elements like parent-child relationships and family education.”
Last summer, Chen Shouzhong, his wife, and their six-year-old daughter Chen Xuan, a family of three, cycled along the ancient Silk Road route (from Xi'an to Turpan), covering a total of 2,100 kilometers over two and a half months. This was a kindergarten graduation gift the couple gave to their daughter.
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“The original idea was for the whole family to go on a bike trip together, especially stopping at fun spots to let our daughter play to her heart’s content. When she got tired from cycling or playing, I would just pull her bike along.” Chen Shouzhong said that after more than two months of close interaction, their parent-child relationship and family cohesion grew stronger. Rather than seeing it as a “grand Silk Road adventure,” it was more like a warm family trip.
Interestingly, on the first day of first grade back in Taiwan, Chen Xuan introduced herself to her classmates by saying: “I just went to the Flaming Mountains where Sun Wukong is (Turpan)!”
Whether cycling or playing slow-pitch softball, both allow people to enjoy the joy of a “slow life” outdoors, even in nature, experiencing the thrill of relaxation. This process of “physical modernization” has given Taiwanese people a greater degree of freedom in how they use their bodies, and sports have begun to integrate more comprehensively with daily life.