Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said the government decided to cancel the annual firework show that is part of the Double Ten National Day because of safety concerns.
Wang also serves as director of the National Day Celebration Organizing Committee.
He told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning that he had agreed to a suggestion from the Kaohsiung City Government a few weeks ago to call off the fireworks after it could not find a safe location from which to launch the display and voiced concerns about the cost.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The city government scouted three potential venues for the annual fireworks show, but after a thorough evaluation, none were able to meet its safety standards. As Kaohsiung was already troubled by insufficient funds, it proposed canceling the event,” Wang said.
Asked whether the central government has considered holding the national day festivities in a different city or county, Wang said given the psychological trauma the nation has endured as a result of the Color Play Asia disaster on June 27 at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) in New Taipei City, it was best that this year’s firework display be called off.
However, the cancelation would not be official until it is put on the record at the committee’s second meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 10, he said.
It will be the first time that a Double Ten National Day is not marked by a fireworks display.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) had welcomed Wang’s announcement on April 28 that her city would host the national day fireworks display for the first time in 15 years, saying she would work with the committee to determine the most ideal location for the show.
Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) yesterday said that the city government decided against the fireworks display for two reasons.
“The city government originally planned to hold the show at the mouth of the Love River, but later abandoned the idea because of the construction work in the area for the Asia’s New Bay Area project, which also impeded the search for other suitable venues,” Ting said.
The city government also decided that it was not cost effective to spend NT$6 million (US$185,368) on the fireworks, Ting said.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
RSS