Nearly 400 people gathered at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington on Wednesday for a night of Taiwanese folk music and night market snacks.
They were attending a two-hour tourism promotion event, titled “Time for Taiwan,” organized by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau’s New York office to highlight the nation’s delicious food, thriving culture and diverse music.
Deputy Representative to the US Andrew Kao (高振群) and Taiwan Tourism Bureau in New York director Thomas Chang (張維庭) attended the event on behalf of the Republic of China (ROC) government.
Photo: Nadia Tsao, Taipei Times
The highlight of the event — in addition to the live performances of six classical Taiwanese folk songs by the New Asia Chamber Music Society — was a speech given by US travel writer Pauline Frommer about her trip to Taiwan in February last year.
Frommer opened her speech with an introduction to the “319 shooting incident,” which refers to an attack on then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) in Tainan on March 19, 2004, one day before the presidential election.
The first thing Chen did after he received medical treatment was to contact the US government to ascertain whether the shooting was part of China’s agenda to use force against his country, which underscored Taiwan’s unique political status, Frommer said.
The award-winning writer also praised Taiwan’s democracy developments, saying it was commendable that its people was able to transform the nation from authoritarianism to democratic governance without carrying out a bloody coup.
Turning to Taiwan’s soft power, Frommer said the country boasted a rich and diverse culture, thanks to its endeavors to preserve traditional Chinese culture and the remnants of the Japanese colonial period.
Taiwan was also Asia’s friendliest nation, Frommer said, where people could enjoy their time at a local night market, without having to worry about being disturbed or forced to buy something.
The event concluded with a tasting of several Taiwanese night market delicacies, including bubble teas and Taiwanese-style yansuji (鹽酥雞) fried chicken.
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