Lienchiang County residents were not only surprised to find out that some 67,000 people had entered an online draw to be the county’s “commissioner for a day,” but were even more astonished to find out that the winner was an American.
As Josh Wenger, a New Yorker pursuing his doctoral degree at the National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of National Development in Taipei, entered the draw under his Chinese name Wen Chia-shu (溫賈舒), officials didn’t realize the winner was a foreigner, although the draw was open to anyone who was able to answer at least eight out of 10 questions about Matsu (馬祖).
Wenger visited Matsu yesterday, where he was greeted by Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生).
PHOTO: CNA
“Matsu is really beautiful, I hope I can be a special envoy to promote Matsu and attract more foreigners to visit,” Wenger said in fluent Mandarin while responding to a “question-and-answer” session at the county council.
Wenger also visited the county’s major sightseeing spots.
Lienchiang’s Project Planning Office said the contest winner was required to share his or her experiences of Matsu on the county’s Web site and blog to give people a better understanding of the changes and development on Matsu over the years.
The event, designed to promote Matsu at very limited cost, was declared a success and the county government will consider a similar activity next year, officials 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