Spectators attending today's National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office will notice the absence of big-name artists. It is especially apparent when compared to the time period of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, when famed entertainers were often seemed eager to accept an invitation to perform on formal occasions.
But due to the huge profits offered by the Chinese market, many Taiwanese entertainers are distancing themselves from taking the stage when it means having to rub shoulders with pan-green officials. Many are afraid of being labeled as "pro-green" entertainers by the leadership in Beijing. The first such singer to suffer from this kind of fallout was Aboriginal singer Chang Hui-mei (
Olympic taekwondo gold medalists Chen Shih-hsin (
Officials at Chinese Television System (CTS), the station authorized to broadcast the National Day festivities, admitted that it ran into some difficulty finding entertainers to perform for the event.
Pop singers such as Jay Chou (
The evening party, which will take place on the square in front of the Presidential Office tonight from 7pm until 10:30pm, will be hosted by Pung Chia-chia (
Aside from an array of cultural performances, military parades and the like during the day's ceremonies outside the Presidential Office, spectators will be treated to a taste of Taiwanese flavor which characterizes this year's National Day celebrations. For the first time, Chen will not lead the crowd in chanting "long live the Republic of China."
"Shouting slogans is outdated -- even the military doesn't do it anymore," said Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
A new National Day design will replace the traditional National Day decorative arch in front of the Presidential Office building. The new logo, designed by a senior high school student, features an image of a green shape of the island with a pair of peace doves painted in gold adjacent to the name "Taiwan" in English.
About 82,000 foreign guests, local politicians and overseas Taiwanese are expected to attend the morning celebration, according to the event organizer.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
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