The Taiwan Pavilion that was erected at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is to be officially lit up in Hsinchu City today and is expected to be opened to the public by the end of the year, according to the city government.
The lighting ceremony, along with a concert and a lantern display, is to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival, the city government said, adding the event stands to attract 100,000 people.
Pulling in more than 700,000 visitors, the Taiwan Pavilion was one of the most popular features of the six-month expo in Shanghai. It was dismantled soon after the expo closed in late October 2010 and was shipped back to Taiwan for reassembly.
The building was designed by prominent Taiwanese architect Lee Tsu-yuan (李祖原), who also designed Taipei 101.
At its center is a ball 16m in diameter consisting of 1 million LEDs that display various images reflecting Taiwan’s natural beauty and diverse culture. Inside the ball is a 12m-wide screen that shows films of Taiwan. There are to be small changes made to the building so that those who have already visited the pavilion can enjoy it as much as those who have not yet seen it, the city government said.
The pavilion not only highlights Taiwan’s cutting-edge technology, but also showcases some of Taiwan’s best natural and cultural attractions, including Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), Yingge ceramics, rocks from Yushan (玉山) and an infinity pool symbolizing the Pacific Ocean.
Hsinchu purchased the pavilion at a cost of more than NT$450 million (US$15.35 million), with the plan of establishing an industrial innovation park as part of its efforts to boost tourism in the city.
The pavilion is to be one of two main facilities at the Hsinchu Science Park, the largest science park in Taiwan, where there is to be an exhibition hall situated in a renovated warehouse, the city government said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai