The nation will hold a series of events to commemorate the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth this year, organizers said yesterday.
The events are to continue until 2016, the 400th anniversary of the literary giant’s death, they added.
The British Council in Taiwan, in collaboration with various institutions, government agencies and enterprises, plans to hold a series of events, including theater, dance, literature and exhibitions, the council’s Taipei director Lai Hsin-yuan said.
Photo: CNA
“We would like to use this opportunity to link Taiwan with the rest of the world,” Lai said.
One of the highlights is to be a performance of Romeo and Juliet by Britain’s Royal Ballet at Taipei’s National Theater late next month, he added.
The council also plans to launch an online activity in which the public is urged to personalize famous Shakespearean quotes by making them reflect their own lives, Lai said.
“We hope people will not just take part as watchers, but will also actually get involved with the events,” he said.
The press conference coincided with the first conference of the Asian Shakespeare Association in Taipei from Thursday until tomorrow, which has drawn about 250 scholars and performers from around the world.
Beatrice Lei, chairwoman of the association’s executive committee and an associate professor at National Taiwan University, said that a database featuring Taiwanese actors performing Shakespeare’s works has gone online, with a bilingual interface.
Also, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature has proposed hosting the touring Shakespeare Birthplace Trust exhibition next year. Meanwhile, the International Shakespeare Association (ISA) yesterday announced the theme of its 2016 Congress — “Creating, Recreating Shakespeare” — to be held in England.
“William Shakespeare is not of an age, but for all times,” association chairman Peter Holbrook said yesterday in Taipei.
Holbrook also invited fans of the legendary playwright to visit English event in late July 2016, which he said would be full of spectacular performances and compelling celebrations.
Founded in 1974, the ISA has organized nine Shakespeare congresses. The 10th World Shakespeare Congress is to be held in Stratford-upon-Avon and London from July 31 to August 6, 2016.
The events will take place first in Stratford-upon-Avon, among the key sites of Shakespeare’s personal life and in London, close to the site of his most famous workplace, the Globe Theatre, Holbrook said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS