The Taiwan Lantern Festival opened at the Luodong Sports Park (羅東運動公園) yesterday, with more than 2,000 brightly colored lanterns lighting up the sky.
The Tourism Bureau and the Ilan County Government hosted a ceremony last night to celebrate the opening, attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Ilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華) and other dignitaries.
The VIPs lit the main lantern, shaped like a water buffalo, and then a fireworks display began. The ceremony featured performances by local and overseas groups, including the Lanyang Dancers (蘭陽舞蹈團).
Four secondary lanterns encircled the main lantern: the “Lucky Dragon and Phoenix,” “Longevity of Tortoise and Crane,” “Galloping steeds” and “Leap in Lanyang.” The lanterns were designed by groups ranging from elementary school students to non-governmental groups. Ilan Prison inmates also made 800 lanterns.
Organizers will hand out 130,000 handheld lanterns to attendees. Among those attending yesterday’s festivities were 127 members of China’s Henan Province Travel Association.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan Lantern Festival, the Tourism Bureau also invited lantern collectors to exhibit some of their pieces.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
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A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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