In the face of a series of natural disasters, the government decided yesterday to tone down the atmosphere of its celebration of the nation's birthday, which falls on Oct. 10.
"Simplicity and solemnity will mark this year's Double Ten Day celebration as the government is preoccupied with relief work necessitated by Typhoon Nari," said Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
To that end, the committee has decided to do away with the national fireworks display, a key component of the celebration in the past, Wang said.
In addition, the committee will reduce the scale of the parade held in front of the Presidential Office on the morning of Oct. 10 and cancel folk shows to be put on by high schools and colleges later in the day.
Typhoon Nari, which brought an unprecedented amount of flooding to the country last week, caused serious damage to some of the schools, Wang pointed out.
He added that a performing group from the US canceled its trip to Taiwan following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11.
Wang said that there will still be an evening concert, but performers will be asked to adjust their repertoire to reflect the theme of solemnity.
The preparatory committee, drawing members from both the public and private sectors, has been planning and programming the national day celebrations since June 26, Wang said.
The scaling back of festivities will save little money, however, as much of the preparation has been completed, Wang said.
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