Taiwan's San Tai Fireworks Industrial Co (
Martyne Gagnon, director of Le Mondial SAQ which hosted the annual event, congratulated the Taiwanese company for its "outstanding performance of craftsmanship and technology."
Taiwan made an impressive debut at the competition which was joined by teams from Germany, Portugal, France, Spain, the US, Australia and the host Canada.
San Tai's presentation was titled "Harmony of the Dragon and Phoenix." The program, embellished with traditional music, demonstrated Taiwan's culture.
The pyromusical extravaganza told the story of the great Chinese emperors and emp-resses with much light, color and music, with components that were designed specifically for the festival that included a 20m dragon and a 15m phoenix.
Before the lights were turned off for the presentation in the evening of July 7, a big boat carrying the national flag of Taiwan blasted the national anthem, with messages about Taiwan's history, geography, weather, population and other information.
Lin Mei-li (林傅美麗), president of the Taiwanese-Canadian Association of Montreal who received the award on behalf of the company in a ceremony Saturday, said Taiwan won the honor and exposure thanks to San Tai Chairman Wang Chieh-yih (王介逸).
Wang has over the past years spent millions of dollars to compete in different parts of the world before being invited to take part in the Montreal event, she said.
In a letter informing Wang of the jury's decision to honor him with a Jupiter award, which goes to the top three performers, Gagnon said, "We are truly honored to have had you as a contestant in the event," and he hoped that Wang will "return to grace our skyline with yet another display of pyrotechnic artistry."
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