In a bid to promote cultural exchange between the Aborigines in Taiwan and Australia, the Australian Commerce and Industry Office yesterday donated a set of Australian Aboriginal Children's books to the Taipei City Aborigines' Educational Counseling Center.
On behalf of the Aborigines in Taipei, Kung Wen-chi (
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
According to the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, the date for the book donation was chosen to coincide with Australia's annual Aboriginal memorial week, which this year takes place between July 7 and today. Australia's annual Aboriginal memorial week gives Australian Aborigines a chance to celebrate as well as display the richness of their culture and heritage to the rest of the Australian community.
In addition to the book donation, both Adamson and Kung also attended a ceremony yesterday to kick off a three-month basic English program, a summer program that is co-sponsored by both the office and the council to advance the English proficiency of Aboriginal children.
"We hope that through this set of English children's book and the curriculum, they will help enhance Taipei City's Aboriginal youngsters' interest in learning English," said Kung when expressing gratitude for the Australian Commerce and Industry Office's warm-heartedness and generosity.
"English has become a must-learn language in today's era of globalization," added Kung. "And thus by enhancing the English proficiency of our Aboriginal kids, the kids can become a bridge in promoting cultural exchange between [Taiwan and Australia.]"
Aside from the book donation and program inauguration, yesterday's event also featured several activities such as Australian Aboriginal facial tattoos, traditional artwork and Taiwan Aboriginal dances to highlight the richness of Aboriginal culture.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS