National Chiayi University

　　Under severe training of Coach Hyotaro Kondo, whose motto was “never give up and never admit defeat,” the Kano baseball team won the runner-up in the Japan Koshien games in 1931 on behalf of Taiwan. The story was adapted into film KANO by renowned director Wei Desheng. Released this February in Taiwan, the film made waves in both Taiwan and Japan right away with an evocative storyline, and helped make the enthusiastic coach Kondo known to the world. 　　An unveiling ceremony of the Hyotaro Kondo Memorial kicked off in Kondo’ hometown, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan on Oct. 6th. Under invitation from the event organizer, President Chiou Yi-Yuan led the delegation from National Chiayi University to join the ceremony. On the behalf of the university, he expressed his gratitude to Coach Kondo for his hard work and dedication to the Kano baseball team. Without his persevering devotion, NCYU would not have enjoyed the enduring success or become the birthplace of baseball in Taiwan. Shiro Hayashi, President of the Hyotaro Kondo Recognition Society Executive Committee in Japan, specially presented a certificate of gratitude to NCYU President Chiou. 　　In addition to thanking Matsuyama City for their dedication, NCYU President Chiou indicated that the university, dedicated to the educational philosophy of “act local with a global mindset,” has entered into sister school agreements with 57 world-renowned universities. Among them, 6 are located in Japan, and are significant international partners of NCYU. In recent years, NCYU has been enjoying close and active cooperative relations with Kagawa University. 　　According to the university, NCYU President Chiou visited Shimizu Fumito, Vice President of Ehime University, which has a background similar to NCYU, to discuss the possibilities of collaboration between both schools in the future. By extending cooperation and exchange with universities in Japan on the basis of a historical background and friendship established through Coach Kondo, they hoped to carry on the Kano spirit exemplified by Coach Kondo: “struggle to the very end” and “never admit defeat.” 　　Katsuhito Noshi, mayor of Matsuyama, Japan, mentioned that Coach Kondo’s words, “The ball is the soul,” were inscribed on the Hyotaro Kondo Memorial. He added that he planned to reconstruct Matsuyama City as the hub of zeal and passion, and hoped Matsuyama Central Park Baseball Stadium, or Botchan Stadium, a popular local sports center symbolically guarded by Coach Kondo, will become the shrine of baseball in Japan.