Chou Ling-wen elected as first female CTBA president

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) on Sunday elected Chou Ling-wen (周玲妏), vice president of CTBC Sports Entertainment Co., as its new president, making her the first woman to lead the organization.

Chou emerged as a surprise winner in the CTBA's 14th board election, defeating two previously declared contenders -- Topco Scientific Co. founder Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) and CTBA Vice President Lin Hua-wei (林華韋).

Lin, a former national team player and coach known by his nickname "the principal," had been widely viewed as the frontrunner.

The election was held during the CTBA's 14th general assembly and the first joint meeting of its newly elected board of directors and supervisors, with Chou succeeding outgoing president Jeffrey Koo Jr. (辜仲諒).

In a statement released after her election, Chou said her time at CTBC Sports Entertainment, where she helped oversee major domestic baseball events, had prepared her to serve as a bridge between the association, Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and government agencies.

Calling baseball a language shared by all Taiwanese, Chou said she viewed her new role "not as a position of power, but as unconditional service," adding that she hoped to make the CTBA "the warmest and strongest home" for everyone in Taiwan's baseball community.

She also praised Koo for strengthening cooperation between the CTBA and the CPBL, under which the professional league oversees national team selection and training for top-level international tournaments while the association provides logistical support.

Chou said she would prioritize strengthening grassroots baseball by standardizing competitions at the youth, junior high and high school levels, developing coaching materials, and expanding sports science and injury prevention programs.

Chou, 58, was previously active in politics under the influence of her father, Chou Ping-te (周平德), a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party, and served four terms as a Kaohsiung city councilor.

After leaving politics, she headed several public-sector organizations before joining CTBC Sports Entertainment as vice president in 2024.