After local media reported that a Nantou County bikini contest would be held on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, County Commis-sioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) yesterday clarified that a final decision had not been made on the venue for the event.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) and CTI-TV, among other media outlets, reported yesterday that the Miss Bikini World 2006 finals were going to be held on the grounds of the Chung Tai Chan Monastery, with the hope of promoting the county's local culture and luring tourists.
Lee said in a press conference on Tuesday that the contest should be held at the monastery because the temple there was a "marvel" that contestants -- who will arrive from many countries for the swimwear spectacular -- should see. He said holding the event at the monastery would help put Nantou County on the map, according to yesterday's reports.
Lee contacted the temple last week and gave them three days to mull over the idea, the reports said. Later he visited Master Weijue (
But Lee said yesterday during a press conference that although Weijue had agreed to host the bikini competition, the nation's Miss Bikini World 2006 Committee had not made a decision on where the event will be held.
Chen Chi-han (
The committee won't officially announce its final decision until Aug. 12, Chen said.
Lee said that he hoped to promote tourism in the area, and that the pageant could be held at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) and Puli Township in addition to the monastery.
"If bikinis are not appropriate for the monastery, then the category in which contestants wear traditional outfits from their countries can be held at the temple, while the bikini segment can be held at Sun Moon Lake," Lee said.
At first Weijue did not think it was a good idea to host a beauty pageant, since the Buddhist faith preaches against vanity, the Liberty Times reported.
But he then agreed that the contest could be held at the Pu Tai Elementary and Junior High School grounds, situated next to the monastery.
Master Chienyun (
Chienyun acknowledged that some might be scandalized at the monastery's decision to allow a bikini contest on the temple grounds, but he stressed that the school where the contest would be held is separate from the dojo -- a hall where Buddhists practice meditation, the report said.
Also, the school was built with public contributions, so lending the ground to the county for activities was a way for the monastery to give back to the public, he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
RSS