Visitors to Taoyuan County’s Sinwu Township (新屋) were left astonished yesterday morning after a replica of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s Yellow Rubber Duck on display in a pond in the township burst during inflation.
The explosion occurred at about 9am when maintenance staff members, amid strong winds, were pumping air into the inflatable duck after it deflated on Thursday evening, allegedly due to temporary power outages caused by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the nation that night.
The 18m bathtub toy, which was put on display a week ago for a 16-day exhibition, quickly deflated after powerful winds and over-inflation caused it to burst, county officials said.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
The Greater Kaohsiung Government, which was the first local government to host the giant duck, came to the rescue of its Taoyuan counterpart by agreeing to lend its own Rubber Duck to the county without charge.
Greater Kaohsiung’s duck is expected to be on display in Sinwu today at the earliest.
Taoyuan County Commissioner Wu Chih-yang (吳志揚) apologized to the public and Hofman over the incident and thanked Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) for lending a helping hand to the county.
Photo: Screengrab from the Internet
Hofman expressed regret over the incident, but said: “It is okay,” as similar accidents had happened to the giant ducks in Hong Kong, Beijing and Osaka.
News of the deflated duck prompted a fervent response among the nation’s netizens, with Taoyuan County Councilor Chan Chiang-tsun (詹江村) even suggesting that Wu lead county government officials in observing a 10-second silence in tribute to the deflated duck, a request declined by the commissioner.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS