Hundreds of members of the Mongolian community in Taiwan, joined by visiting Mongolian prosecutors, gathered in Taipei yesterday to commemorate Genghis Khan.
Standing in the middle and facing a portrait of Genghis Khan perched atop nine layers of offerings of fruit and flowers, Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Minister Kao Su-po (高思博) presented incense, wine and fine silk in a gesture of respect to Genghis Khan.
Chief secretary of the commission Chien Shih-yin (錢世英) said later that nine was the most auspicious number in the Mongolian culture. Nine items were placed on each of the nine rows.
Standing behind the minister were prominent members of the Mongolian community in Taiwan, most of whom came to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1949, prosecutors visiting from Mongolia as part of a training program and representatives from other government agencies.
Descendants of the first generation of Mongolians who came to Taiwan and Mongolian university students studying in Taiwan also attended the ceremony.
After the main ceremony, the ritual was performed a second time by Mongolian members of the public.
“It is a tradition that was established by Chiang Kai-shek [蔣介石] in 1941 for the commission to hold a ritual showing the government’s respect for what Genghis Khan accomplished,” Chien said, adding that it was a gesture of respect by the KMT government, which was then located in China, toward Mongolians.
Many Chinese, including Chiang and his followers, have viewed Genghis Khan as a great ruler in Chinese history instead of an invader whose descendants later occupied and ruled China.
“Aside from the political aspect, many people from Mongolia were surprised and happy to see a foreign government showing respect to a man they consider a national hero,” Chien said.
However, when the Taipei Times asked a Mongolian student studying at National Chengchi University how he felt about a government that long considered Mongolia part of its territory holding a ceremony in honor of Genghis Khan, he declined to answer.
The student declined to spell his name in the Latin alphabet.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS