Chou Ling-wen Becomes 1st Woman President of CTBA

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 3 August 2026

Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) has elected Chou Ling-wen as its president, a first woman to assume the leadership of the organization since its inception, marking a significant milestone for women in sports leadership and sports governance. She was elected at the first joint meeting of the board of directors and supervisors at the CTBA's 14th General Assembly, replacing out-going president Jeffrey Koo Jr.

Chou defeated two rivals, J.W. Kuo, founder of Topco Scientific Co and Lin Hua-wei, vice president of CTBA. The former national baseball player and coach, Lin, was considered to be the top contender before the election.

Key Highlights

• Chou Ling-wen becomes CTBA's first woman president, creating historic leadership milestone
• She succeeds outgoing president Jeffrey Koo Jr., leading CTBA's next chapter
• Her agenda focuses on grassroots baseball, youth development, and sports science.

After being elected, Chou noted that she had gained the necessary experience from sports administration that would help bring the cooperation between the CTBA, the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), and government agencies to a new level. She said that the job is "not a position of power, but unconditional service," and that she would make the association "the warmest and strongest home for Taiwan's baseball community.

She also credited the work of the outgoing president Jeffrey Koo Jr., who's noted for enhancing the links between the CTBA and CPBL. As per the current agreement, CPBL will be responsible for national team selection and preparations for big international tournaments, while the CTBA will handle the administrative and logistic support.

Chou said in her presidency, her focus will be on reinforcing the grassroots baseball and launching standardized competitions at the youth, junior high and high school levels. She will also be looking to increase coaching resources, increase sports science and improve injury prevention programmes to assist athlete development and supporting the next generation of athletes and strengthening women-led sports administration.

Prior to his career in sports administration, Chou worked in politics and public service. Her father Chou Ping-te is a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and she was elected to four consecutive terms as a councilor in Kaohsiung City. She has subsequently served in leadership roles in a number of public sector organizations before joining CTBC Sports Entertainment as Vice President in 2024.

While working with the sports organisation, Chou had the opportunity to participate in the management of large-scale home baseball games, learning about sports management and coordinating stakeholders. Based on her own experience, she believes that such interaction would boost the cooperation of various important institutions involved in Taiwan's baseball development.

Chou's appointment is a leadership step for the CTBA, becoming the first woman to lead the association. Her election is also indicative of growing diversity in the senior leadership of sports organizations, which still has a significant number of women in athlete development and strategic planning roles, alongside governance and administration positions.

She is likely to be dedicated to boosting grassroots involvement, strengthening player development systems, and improving the cooperation among baseball's governing bodies to develop the sport's future.