In an effort to compel guests to arrive at wedding banquets on time and not delay the proceedings, the Wuchieh Township Government in Ilan County has introduced a plan to ensure that banquets are served on time. The plan has a monetary reward as incentive.
Starting this year, wedding organizers who ensure their banquets start within 10 minutes of the advertized time will receive a reward of NT$3,000 to NT$5,000, according to the township government's Attending Wedding Banquets On Time Encouragement Rule (
PHOTO:JIANG CHI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
waiting
Waiting idly for minutes, or even hours, for a wedding banquet to start seems to be an unpopular experience shared by too many Taiwanese.
The Wuchieh Township Government arranged an amount of NT$ 200,000 as the encouragement rule's initial reward budget.
According to the rule, Wuchieh residents who hold a wedding banquet of more than 10 tables (excluding cocktail banquets) in Ilan County are eligible to apply for the reward.
In addition, the invitation cards should include information reminding guests to be punctual, such as "to save your time, we will begin our banquet on time. Please be punctual."
Qualify
Residents who qualify with banquets of between 10 and 30 tables will get NT$3,000 if the function starts on time, while those who host banquets with more than 30 tables will receive NT$5,000.
Wuchieh resident Chen Ming-zu (陳民子) was reportedly the first winner of a reward under the new rule on Sunday, as he hosted a wedding banquet of 30 tables for his son Chen Chia-hsiung (陳加雄).
Chen Ming-zu applied for the encouragement rule reward on Jan. 6, but failed to add the required message in the invitations, which had already been sent to relatives and friends.
The Wuchieh Township Government agreed to stretch the rules and the Chen family was allowed to notify guests by telephone instead.
Wuchieh Township Government official Chien Yu-chun (簡玉純) attended the wedding banquet to examine the situation.
From 11am that morning, an hour before the wedding banquet was supposed to start, guests began to turn up.
The 30 tables were 90 percent full soon after, and the banquet started at 12:02 -- a delay of only two minutes.
Wuchieh Township Mayor Lin Yi-kang (林義剛) immediately presented the Chen family with a NT$5,000 reward.
Lin said that the township government will raise more funds to continue promoting the encouragement measures if the new plan proves to be successful.
Guests who attended the banquet on Sunday all voiced support for the new rule.
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