More than 400 foreign dignitaries are to attend today’s Double Ten National Day events to celebrate the 107th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (ROC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
As of yesterday, 416 foreign dignitaries belonging to 56 delegations had arrived to attend the celebrations, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
By region, 37 delegations comprising 280 guests are from the Asia-Pacific region, followed by six delegations of 59 dignitaries from Latin America, eight delegations of 41 members from North America, three delegations of eight members from Europe and a delegation of seven people from Africa and western Asia, Lee said.
Twenty-one foreign journalists are also to attend, he added.
Guests from the nation’s diplomatic allies include Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, who is on a five-day visit until tomorrow, Saint Lucian Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and Saint Kitts and Nevis Governor-General Tapley Seaton, Lee said.
Scottish legislators Rhoda Grant and Alison Harris are among the invited guests, along with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union Chairman Dirk Toepffer, who is leading a five-member delegation, Lee said.
Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Chairman Keiji Furuya and Japanese Representative Seishiro Eto are leading two separate delegations, Lee said, adding that 223 members from goodwill ambassador associations across Japan are also to join the events.
Guests from the US include Washington-based Heritage Foundation founder Edwin Feulner and several think tank academics who are invited to attend the annual Yushan Forum, which is to be held from tomorrow to Friday, Department of North American Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) said.
The official celebration is to take place this morning in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, followed by a parade that is to depart from the intersection of Aiguo W Road and Zhonghua Road, and end at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. A banquet is to be held at the Taipei Guest House in the evening.
The National Day firework show, which is to last 36 minutes and feature 30,806 fireworks, is to be held in Hualien at 8pm.
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