Taiwan’s Hongye Elementary Chases a 2026 LLWS Berth
A school with barely a hundred students is trying to do something it has never done. Hongye Elementary, the team that started Taiwan’s baseball obsession in 1968, wants its first trip to Williamsport.
| Team | Hongye Elementary School |
| Location | Yanping Township, Taitung |
| Tournament | Asia-Pacific Regional |
| Venue | Hwaseung Dream Park, S. Korea |
| National Title Won | March 2026 |
| Taitung Drought Ended | 20 Years |
The team departed Taiwan on June 24 for South Korea to compete in the 2026 Little League Baseball Asia-Pacific Region Tournament. Hongye represents Taiwan in pursuit of a spot at the 2026 Little League World Series. The tournament runs at Hwaseung Dream Park, with Hongye opening play on Saturday against a team from the Philippines.
A Name That Built Taiwanese Baseball
Hongye Elementary sits in Yanping Township, Taitung County, a remote mountain area in eastern Taiwan. Most of its students come from the local Bunun indigenous community. The school carries outsized weight in Taiwanese sports history.
Hongye’s Place in Taiwan Baseball History
1968
Hongye’s Little League team beats a visiting Japanese all-star squad 7-0. That single win sparks a nationwide baseball craze across Taiwan.
1969
Taiwan wins its first Little League World Series title. From 1969 to 1981, Taiwanese teams captured 10 of 13 championships.
1968-69
Hongye itself is found to have used overage players in its lineup. The program fades from prominence for decades afterward.
2026
Hongye wins its first national title in school history, ending a 20-year championship drought for all of Taitung County.
The team never reached Williamsport itself. Hongye fell from prominence after the overage player findings in 1968 and 1969. The program faded for decades, far from the spotlight it once created for an entire country.
Six Years to Rebuild From Nothing
Hongye principal and team manager Fang Ying-feng took over a program with almost nothing left. There were no coaches, few players, and limited equipment when he arrived. He focused on recruiting kids who loved the game but never had real access to training.
“It took six years before we won a national championship. If you take care of the details, championships will come naturally.” Fang Ying-feng, Hongye Principal and Team Manager
That championship arrived in March, when Hongye won the Chunghwa Telecom Hsieh Kuo-cheng Cup. The team beat Pingtung County’s Daping Elementary School 6-5 in the final, ending a 20-year drought for the entire county.
Taiwan’s Recent Form at the Asia-Pacific Level
Taiwan has not lost the Asia-Pacific crown easily in recent years. Taiwanese teams have overcome South Korean opponents for four straight years to claim the Asia-Pacific spot in Williamsport.
4
Straight Years Taiwan Beat South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Spot
29
Years Since Taiwan’s Previous LLWS Title Before 2025
Last year’s run ended in a title. Taipei’s Tung-Yuan Little League represented Taiwan at the 2025 tournament and defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game. That win still feels fresh heading into 2026 and raises the bar for whoever carries the flag this time.
A 12-Year-Old Carrying Big Expectations
Wang Yi-ying
Outfielder and Pitcher · Joined Hongye 2 Years Ago
Expected to play a central role in Taiwan’s Asia-Pacific campaign. Wang says he prefers to focus on the present rather than outside expectations tied to Hongye’s name. “If we’re good enough to win a championship, we’ll earn it naturally,” he said.
Fang has pushed academics alongside baseball at Hongye. Several players rank among the top students in Taitung County despite daily training demands. Coaches stress gratitude as much as skill, encouraging players to make the most of the support they receive.
What Winning Asia-Pacific Would Mean
Path to Williamsport: The Asia-Pacific champion earns one of 10 international spots at the 2026 LLWS. That team joins the International bracket alongside winners from Canada, Latin America, Japan, Australia, and more, all competing for a spot in Williamsport this August.
If Hongye wins, the program would reach the tournament that its own 1968 team never got to play in. The school that sparked Taiwan’s baseball rise would finally complete the trip its early success made possible for everyone else who followed.
A Bigger Goal Than One Tournament
Hongye Elementary is chasing something bigger than a single bracket. A program that nearly disappeared after a 1968 scandal has spent six years quietly rebuilding from almost nothing. Winning the Asia-Pacific would send a team carrying one of Taiwanese baseball’s most important names to the tournament it helped make famous.
The Asia-Pacific bracket plays out at Hwaseung Dream Park over the coming days. See the 2026 LLWS Regionals guide for the full international field, or check the 2026 LLWS schedule for tournament dates.
