Stormtroopers and Jedi Knights led by the most famous Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, took over the Taipei 101 skyscraper yesterday to mark Star Wars Day.
May 4 is globally recognized by Star Wars fans as a commemorative day because “May the fourth” is a pun on the movie series’ most iconic line — “May the Force be with you.”
Brandishing luminescent light sabers and particle beam blasters, the cosplayers took the elevator up to the Taipei 101 Observatory on the 89th floor, where they met up with about 100 other diehard Star Wars fans dressed as their favorite characters.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Every year, Taiwan’s Star Wars fans celebrate the event at an iconic location in the country to help give it exposure, said Makoto Tsai (蔡榮洲), the organizer, himself a diehard sci-fi aficionado and arguably Taiwan’s No. 1 hardcore Star Wars fan.
“I want to use this opportunity to show iconic places in Taiwan to the world because Star Wars Day is a global event and everybody will be watching. I just want to use this opportunity to show off my country,” Tsai said.
Richard Wu (吳育達), Taipei 101 senior director and head of corporate branding and communications, said that he was extremely happy that Taiwan could still hold Star Wars Day despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as the event means so much to the fans.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
“Star Wars fans in Taiwan are some of the few worldwide who are able to hold the celebratory event, and Taipei 101 is very honored to be able to be part of it,” Wu said.
Other places in Taiwan that have previously hosted Star Wars Day include Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the Presidential Office Building, Tsai said.
At the observatory, Star Wars fan Alexandre Cailleaux, 35, who joined the event as smuggler Han Solo, said: “The fact that the government and Taiwan in general are so careful about it [the COVID-19 pandemic] and manage it so well that we can have this kind of event is amazing.”
“I’m French, and right now we couldn’t even imagine having this kind of event there,” Cailleaux said.
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