 Under the arrangement of his sponsor Wang Jen-ta (王人達), the then-president of the executive board of the Republic of China Basketball Association (中華民國籃球協會) and a political ally of James Soong, Cheng Chih-lung ran for and won the 2001 legislative election as the People First Party (PFP) nominee in the first district of Taipei County.His political career, however, was overshadowed by the scandal of extramarital affair with legislative colleague Kao Chin Su-mei, and public censures for inaction.In the capacity of legislator, nevertheless, Cheng Chih-lung was given the credit of working with the government's Sports Affairs Council to give birth to the Super Basketball League, which started to function in 2003.