Groups and individuals dubbed the “Glories of Taiwan” will join floats from around the nation this Sunday at the National Day parade, the Council for Cultural Affairs said yesterday.
“The parade will be the most creative National Day float parade in the nation’s history,” said Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁), who doubles as chief executive of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Centenary Foundation.
Sheng said participants would include vegetable-selling philanthropist Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊), who was listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential individual list earlier this year, Olympic taekwondo medalist Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) and Taipei Jingmei Girls High School’s tug-of-war team, which won this year’s World Indoor Championships.
PHOTO: CNA
The parade will also feature floats designed by a number of government agencies, 10 local governments and several enterprises.
EIGHT GENERALS
The Jyou-Tian Folk Drum and Arts Group, dressed in the costumes of the Eight Generals (八家將), will join the parade, accompanied by 200 heavy-duty motorcycles, Sheng said.
Sheng added that the group planned to spend two months next year crossing the Sahara Desert in the Eight Generals costumes to mark the Republic of China’s centennial anniversary.
Other participants will include top model Patina Lin (林嘉綺), who will lead 101 models in the parade.
The parade will begin at 2pm on Sunday from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall’s Liberty Square and head toward Sun Yat-sen Memorial on Renai Road.
Celebrations are expected to conclude at 6pm, the council said.
FLIGHT DISRUPTION
In related news, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday that part of the air space for civil aviation flights would be closed this Sunday to make way for the fireworks display on the Double Ten Day.
The aviation authority estimated that 10 flights departing from or landing at Taipei Songshan Airport between 7pm and 8pm on Sunday would be affected by the measure.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
See MOFA on page 3
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS