With hundreds of people swaying to live jazz and enjoying a delectable buffet, for a few hours on Saturday night, Huashan Cultural Park was Taipei’s own Little Paris.
The festivities to celebrate France’s national day, Bastille Day, drew more than 700 people.
Decked out in the national colors — red, white and blue — the venue offered a slice of home for French expatriates.
Festivities are organized each year for Bastille Day by the Association of France in Taiwan.
MISSING HOME
“Back home, the people would dance in the streets. There were lots of parties and definitely a lot of alcohol,” said Patrick Morain, a student studying Chinese in Taiwan.
Harmonique Sonnette, who arrived in Taiwan two weeks ago with her husband and eight-month old son, said the party reminded her of home, albeit without the fancy fireworks.
The night had something for everyone: a complete bar and French snacks, a magic show and acrobatic performance, and a lucky draw for a wide line-up of prizes donated by businesses.
ARMED WITH BREAD
A rowdy crowd of French nationals and Francophiles with flags painted on their faces — some with baguette in hand — danced to the music of the Wailin’ Souls.
One of the highlights of the party was a performance of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. Upon recognizing the melody, many people stood still as they listened to the 18th century piece symbolic of the French Revolution.
Christian Tron, a retired Air France employee and the treasurer of the host organization, said Bastille Day commemorates the end of the French monarchy and the dismantling of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
The Association of France in Taiwan is a non-profit organization set up by French expatriates in Taiwan in 1991 to provide a venue where French speakers can interact and exchange views.
The group holds regular activities, but its Bastille Day celebration is the biggest event of the year, Tron said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS