Sports in Taiwan

Sports are a popular recreation activity in Taiwan. Some of the most common sports include basketball, baseball, football and softball.Martial arts such as t'ai chi ch'uan and taekwondo are also practiced by many people. International-known athletes include Yang Chuan-kwang, Chi Cheng, and Yani Tseng among others.

Baseball is the country's most popular spectator sport. It is commonly considered the national sport in Taiwan. Baseball was first introduced during Japanese rule. The professional baseball league is the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), and the main playoff competition is the Taiwan Series. Taiwan has been "exporting" baseball talents to Japan and United States over the past few decades, such as Tai-Yuan Kuo (Taigen Kaku) to the Seibu Lions, Chien-Ming Wang to the New York Yankees/Washington Nationals, and Wei-Yin Chen to the Baltimore Orioles. The Chinese Taipei baseball team is currently the fourth ranked baseball team in the world.