Sixty outfits designed by local fashion designers may steal the spotlight from thousands of colorful orchids on display at an annual orchid show in southern Taiwan this weekend, the organizers said.
“It is the first time we have expanded the Taiwan International Orchid Show from an exhibition to include a fashion show,” said Tseng Chun-pi (曾俊弼), secretary-general of the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association, which is organizing the event.
Local designers Dai-lee (潘黛麗), Carole Chang (張伊萍) and Gioia Pan (潘怡良) designed 10 garments each using orchids as the theme, he added. The move is part of an effort to broaden the orchid show, to be staged in Greater Tainan from Saturday through March 18, into a more diverse event.
Photo: CNA
“We’re making the annual event a carnival, in which people can see high-quality agriculture, biotechnology, creative culture and tourism,” Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) said.
In addition to orchid displays and competitions, a 330m2 area will be set up for orchid-related products, including beauty masks, perfumes, bags and umbrellas.
“It is not only the most important orchid show in Tainan, but also in the country,” Lai said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Orchids are one of the nation’s most important agricultural exports, the mayor added.
More than 3,000 foreign visitors and buyers have been invited to the fair, including people from Brazil, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which are seen as new potential markets for Taiwanese orchid exporters, the organizers said.
The nation’s flower exports totaled US$194.56 million last year, up 10 percent from a year earlier, government statistics show.
Sales of dancing-doll orchids posted the biggest annual increase, rising 25 percent to US$18.44 million, while sales of moth orchid species grew 16 percent to a record high of US$114.12 million last year, statistics showed.
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
NOMINAL NEWLYWEDS: A man’s family and his wife — his long-term caregiver — are engaged in a legal dogfight over the propriety and validity of the recent union A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled. According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent. Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children. His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999,
RSS