Kite enthusiasts from around the world will flock to Shihmen Township (石門), Taipei County, this weekend to celebrate this year’s Shihmen International Kite Festival.
The festival will see a host of competitors from home and abroad displaying their kiting skills in competition against each other.
The event has been hosted by the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration since 2000.
This year, the event has drawn the participation of kite fliers from Australia, the UK, the US, Japan, Korea and Malaysia as well as from several local kite fliers associations.
HOME
The Tourism Bureau’s deputy director general Steven Kuo Su (郭蘇燦洋) said Shihmen is now known as the home of kite fliers, as it has the Shihmen Kite Park, which is probably one of the best places to fly kites in the region.
Shihmen Mayor Liang Yu-xue (梁玉雪) said that although the Shihmen International Kite Festival clashes with the kite festival in South Korea this year, the South Korean Kite Association is still sending four representatives to attend the Shihmen festival.
Many kite fliers from other countries still have chosen to come to Taiwan as well.
At the press conference yesterday, the organizers also invited local kite makers to demonstrate special kites, such as Frisbee and parachute kites. These kites can be flown both indoors and outdoors.
MORE THAN KITES
In addition to kites, the festival now includes other wind-related activities, such as windsurfing and sailing, to highlight the various recreational activities available on Taiwan’s Northeast Coast.
Visitors can take the Taipei MRT Red Line to Hongshulin Station (紅樹林站), where a free shuttle bus service heading to Shihmen will be provided every 20 minutes.
The Shihmen International Kite Festival is held every year in September and October.
LIABILITIES MULLED: New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi said Taipei would find out if the firm was legally registered, the guide was licensed and the weather was assessed The assets of Tian Da Local Nature Co are to be frozen after at least four people died after falling into the Beishi River (北勢溪) on an outing the company had organized on Saturday, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. Six people — two adults and four children — were washed away by a flash flood on the river in New Taipei City’s Hubaotan (虎豹潭) area. They were participating in a Nature Joy Camp outdoor activity with a group of 16 adults and 15 children led by a guide surnamed Su (蘇). As of 4:30pm yesterday, four of the missing had been
Taiwanese worked more hours than people in all but three other countries in the world last year, Ministry of Labor data showed. Singapore placed first in average hours worked among the 40 economies surveyed, with an average of 2,288 hours per worker last year, the data showed. The city-state was followed by Colombia with 2,172 hours — based on 2019 data — and Mexico with 2,124 hours, it showed. Taiwan came in fourth, with 2,021 hours, it showed. South Korean workers clocked the third-most hours in Asia, with 1,908 hours, followed by Japan with 1,598 hours, it showed. However, compared with 2019, the survey found
The US 7th Fleet yesterday confirmed that a US Navy ship transited the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday. “The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey [DDG 105] conducted a Taiwan Strait transit in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy [RCN] Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Winnipeg, October 14-15, 2021,” the US 7th Fleet said in a statement. “Dewey’s and Winnipeg’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region,” it added. The transit marked the
‘COUNTERPRODUCTIVE’: The German, French and Singaporean missions said that Taiwan’s COVID-19 restrictions are hindering local projects and business operations Several foreign missions in Taiwan have urged the government to ease its strict COVID-19 border controls, which they say are hurting in-person exchanges and business operations. The missions made the appeal in response to media inquiries on how the border controls have affected their respective countries’ exchanges with Taiwan, amid growing concerns voiced privately by Taiwan-based foreign offices and businesses regarding the restrictions. Taiwan has maintained strict entry requirements since March last year, generally prohibiting most arrivals except for citizens and foreign residents, while it has required those who enter the country to undergo a stringent 14-day quarantine. Although the rules have been
RSS