Despite President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chanting the Taiwanese song in a press conference at the legislature, they urged the government to replace the current national anthem, which they termed a song of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), with Taiwan the Green.
"I don't identify with the current national anthem at all. There is no way that I want to sing it," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (
Chang Jen-chieh (
Taiwan the Green is a poem written by John Jyigiokk (鄭兒玉), a professor at the Tainan Theological College and Seminary. It was set to music by the Taiwanese composer Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然) in 1988.
The song conveys the message that Taiwanese will realize the dream of building an independent nation and has significant meaning for those who advocate Taiwan's democratization, Chai said.
Later yesterday, the KMT legislative caucus told a press conference that they opposed changing the national anthem, saying that the call to change the anthem was intended to shift the media's focus away from government scandals.
"What the national anthem is, is not important. The meaning of singing it is to bear the nation in mind," KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
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Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
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