Taiwan Baseball Culture: Cheer Squads, the Taipei Dome and Why Fans Travel for a Game
Taiwan's CPBL passed 3 million spectators in 2025, a league record, and opened that season with 40,000 fans at the Taipei Dome. Cheer squads lead the crowd every inning, Korean cheerleaders worked for five of its six teams in 2024, and TaiwanPlus reports that international fans now travel to Taiwan to see a game live.
A Korean YouTube channel recently reacted to a video of a Taiwanese ballpark that, in the channel's words, has taken America by storm. Its title quotes a viewer: "This should be imported whole." This guide explains what those viewers saw, and why fans from the United States, Japan and South Korea now pay attention to Taiwan's league.
What makes a baseball game in Taiwan different?
Each team in Taiwan's professional league, the CPBL, has its own cheer squad, and the squad leads the crowd from the stands.
Members of the Uni-President Lions' squad, the Uni-girls, told Japan's Pacific League site that Taiwanese cheer squads perform every inning.
Writing for nippon.com, journalist Zheng Zhonglan noted that Japanese travellers who have been to Taiwan often name the energy of the people alongside its food and sights.
How big is Taiwan's professional baseball league now?
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Teams in the CPBL | 6 | The Asia Business Daily, 2024 |
| 2024 season attendance, the record at the time | 2,766,386 | Pacific League, 2025 |
| Date the 2025 season passed 3 million spectators | 6 September 2025 | Pacific League, 2025 |
| 2025 average per game, as of 24 September | Above 10,000, about 35% up on 2024 | Pacific League, 2025 |
| Crowd at the 2025 season opener, Taipei Dome | 40,000 | Focus Taiwan, 2025 |
Why did American baseball fans start watching Taiwan?
Taiwan's league opened its 2020 season on 12 April without fans in the stands.
Taiwan News reported that game as the world's first professional baseball game of 2020.
NBC Sports shared the game's first home run on its official account, and CBS Sports reported on the game.
On 3 July 2026, the American Institute in Taiwan and the Wei Chuan Dragons held a US-Taiwan Friendship Night at Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
What ties Japanese baseball to Taiwan's ballparks?
Japan's Saitama Seibu Lions and Taiwan's Uni-President Lions marked the tenth year of their partnership in 2025 with a joint cheer and performer event at Seibu's ballpark.
At that event, Uni-girls member Maggie invited Japanese fans to the Lions' home, Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium, saying they would find a different side of baseball there.
On 24 November 2024, Chinese Taipei beat Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome to win the WBSC Premier12.
Why are Korean cheerleaders working for Taiwanese teams?
In September 2024, The Asia Business Daily reported that Korean cheerleaders were active in five of the CPBL's six teams.
The same report said as many as 10 Korean cheerleaders had moved to Taiwan in the previous year.
The Rakuten Monkeys signed Korean cheerleader Lee Da-hye in March 2023.
Lee Ju-eun, whose dance for the KIA Tigers went viral in Korea, signed with a Taiwanese team and worked in both countries in 2025.
In November 2025, Korea's KT Wiz played exchange games in Taoyuan with eight of their own cheerleaders. Their game against Japan's Rakuten Eagles drew 6,065, and fans in KT jerseys sang the team's songs.
Do fans really travel to Taiwan just to watch baseball?
Yes, according to TaiwanPlus, Taiwan's English-language international channel.
Its Game On Taiwan series says the Taipei Dome has inspired international fans to travel to Taiwan specifically to watch baseball live.
The same episode calls a night at the Dome a new must-do for sports tourists.
We found no published count of foreign spectators by nationality.
Can you fit a game into a health screening trip to Taipei?
Yes. Our Full-Body Scans and Holistic Exams packages are booked as morning appointments, which leaves the evening open.
- Choose a package and a date on our health screening page.
- Check the official CPBL schedule at cpbl.com.tw for a game that evening or later in your trip.
- Buy your tickets once your screening date is confirmed in writing.
- If your package includes sedation, follow the clinic's instructions for the rest of that day.
Sources
- 挖係桑米西 (YouTube) — "這種東西就該整個進口過來" 現在轟動全美的台灣球場影片 (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Pacific League — 日台"ライオンズ"の美の共演 (3 June 2025, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Pacific League — 【台湾プロ野球だより】観客動員数は初の300万人突破 (13 October 2025, accessed 2026-10-29)
- nippon.com — 台湾野球と日本(中)チアリーダーと観客が熱く盛り上がる (4 October 2020, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Focus Taiwan — 40,000 pack Taipei Dome for CPBL 2025 season opener (29 March 2025, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Taiwan News — World's first pro baseball game of 2020 takes place in Taiwan (13 April 2020, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Taipei Times — Celebrations begin (4 July 2026, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Olympics.com — WBSC Premier12 2024: Japan suffer first loss since 2019 as Chinese Taipei crowned champions (accessed 2026-10-29)
- The Asia Business Daily — "Happier When Visiting Taiwan"... Love Call to Lee Ju-eun (12 September 2024, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Focus Taiwan — CPBL's Rakuten Monkeys sign Korean cheerleader Lee Da-hye (17 March 2023, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Korea JoongAng Daily — Viral Korean cheerleader Lee Ju-eun to leave Tigers after inking Taiwan deal (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Focus Taiwan — Korean cheerleader Lee Ju-eun to work in Taiwan, South Korea in 2025 (11 April 2025, accessed 2026-10-29)
- Ilgan Sports — KT Wiz at the 2025 Taoyuan Asian Professional Baseball Exchange (8 November 2025, accessed 2026-10-29)
- TaiwanPlus — Game On Taiwan: Baseball Nation, Powered by Fans (accessed 2026-10-29)