President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended the New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony in front of the Presidential Office Building.
After the ceremony, Tsai posted a message on Facebook wishing Taiwanese a happy New Year.
At about 6:20am, Tsai and Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), accompanied by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), stepped out of the building to attend the ceremony, which started 10 minutes later.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
It was the second time that Tsai attended the ceremony in her capacity as president since taking office in May 2016.
While the Republic of China (ROC) flag was being hoisted, Tsai sang the national anthem without skipping the part that says “the fundamentals of my party,” as she had done on previous occasions.
The words “the fundamentals of my party” are seen as pertaining to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Photo: CNA
The singing of the national anthem was led by a group of soldiers from various branches of the armed forces who had been commended for their performance, as well as some Taiwanese athletes who participated in last year’s Taipei Summer Universiade and those from the nation’s soccer team.
The ceremony was also attended by members of the public, some of whom had gone there directly from New Year’s Eve countdown parties.
Some people sported national flag stickers on their face as they waved flags and took photographs.
Photo: CNA, copied from President Tsai Ing-wen’s Facebook page
After singing the national anthem, Tsai took to the stage to greet the crowd and welcome the first day of the year.
A concert followed the ceremony, with performances by bands from Taipei Jianguo High School, Taipei First Girls’ High School and Zhongshan Girls’ Senior High School.
Several other bands, such as Wooden Glasses and Funky Brothers, also performed.
Scattered protests took place during the ceremony. Two pro-Taiwanese independence groups were removed by police after waving flags and shouting slogans saying that the ROC is an external regime.
A separate group of about 20 people gathered outside the Democratic Progressive Party headquarters to protest the proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法). The group later marched along Katagalan Boulevard toward the Presidential Office Building, where they held banners, shouted slogans and acted skits criticizing what they said was Tsai’s failure to fulfill her election promises.
The KMT yesterday held a separate New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony in front of its headquarters in Taipei, where KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) performed an exercise routine to music.
The KMT must unite and garner more support for this year’s local elections to return to power in 2020, Wu said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from