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.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS