After the Taipei City Government “encouraged” staffers to promote the Taipei International Flora Expo, civil servants at 12 district offices and household registration offices yesterday started the day by joining the “flora expo dance,” confusing residents who visited their offices.
Civil servants have been practicing the 30-second dance, aimed at promoting the expo, in their offices during lunch hours or after work since last month, with the city’s Department of Civil Affairs asking all district offices to start dancing this month when offices opened and to invite the residents to join in the “fun.”
At the Xinyi District Office at about 8:30am yesterday, dozens of civil servants danced, while several people waiting for service watched.
“I don’t know whether it’s a flora expo dance, and I don’t care, as long as it doesn’t affect the office’s efficiency,” a man named Chen Yan-chun (陳言中) said.
One office staffer, who asked not to be named, said she felt embarrassed dancing in front of other people, but as a public servant, she and other workers “had no choice but to cooperate with the city government’s order.”
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the city government “encouraged” all civil servants to learn the dance, but wouldn’t force anyone to practice it.
Shrugging off concerns about the impact on efficiency, department Commissioner Huang Lu Ching-ju (黃呂錦茹) said workers could use the 30-second dance to boost their energy for the day, while residents who visit the offices could also join in as a form of morning exercise.
Huang said the daily dance time would last until the end of the expo in April. The decision of those who do not want to join the dance would be respected, Huang said.
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