Visitors unacquainted with Taiwan's political scene might think that this country has its own version of "One country, two systems," as leaders of the ruling and opposition camps get set to stage their own separate events on Friday to celebrate the 92nd birthday of the Republic of China.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will celebrate the National Day -- also known as Double Ten Day because it is celebrated on Oct. 10 -- with traditional events in Taipei that start with a flag-raising ceremony in the early morning and climax with a dinner banquet for foreign guests.
Meanwhile, the pan-blue alliance of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) will host their own large-scale celebration in Chiayi.
Since the KMT lost power to the DPP in 2000 after ruling over Taiwan for more than 50 years, neither KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
"President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia and Malawi President Bakili Muluzi will both attend this year's National Day celebration," said Chien, adding that an estimated 7,000 guests will attend the banquet.
Delegations made up of members from the British parliament and Portugal, as well as representatives from Costa Rica, Paraguay and Honduras, are among the foreign visitors attending this year's national occasion.
Guest will be treated to various types local Taiwanese cuisine including Hakka and Aboriginal dishes. The entertainment will feature an array of performances from traditional Gambian and Malawi dancers, as well as performances of Taiwan's string music and Aboriginal dances.
But while invited guests rub elbows with government officials and foreign dignitaries, Lien and Soong will be working the crowd at celebration events in Chiayi hosted by the KMT-PFP alliance.
Lien is heading the pan-blue alliance's joint ticket in the upcoming presidential election with Soong as his running mate.
According to KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (
Tsai said that Lien and Soong will both ride on tandem bicycles, along with other party officials parading through the streets in Chiayi.
"An array of entertainment, including performances by KMT and PFP legislators, will be staged in a bid to show forth the alliance's lively image as it demonstrates to the public its determination to restore hope and bring happiness back to Taiwan's people," Tsai said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS