An online petition has been launched against the Tainan City Government’s sudden decision to cancel this year’s National Kayak Regatta on the Tainan Canal.
The regatta, which was scheduled to take place next month, was started by civic organizations in 2012 and has been held annually in Tainan for the past three years.
A “Support the Continued Sponsorship of Kayaking on the Tainan Canal” petitioner, who asked to be identified only as A-nuo (阿諾), said many Taiwanese and foreigners had participated in past regattas and the event had been growing in popularity.
Photo: Supplied
“The suddenness of the [government’s] announcement has caught many off-guard,” A-nuo said, adding that many people who were planning to attend the event had already made or bought kayaks.
He said a group of students who had already made 20 kayaks for the event were very disappointed, adding that the municipal government’s promise to make the canal into a location of leisure for the city’s residents was in danger of being broken.
He said the government wants to stop the event because it is “unable to maintain lateral ties,” adding that the reason was hard to swallow.
Tainan City Government Physical Education Office director Wu Kuo-min (吳國?) said the event was suspended because it was too similar to other events sponsored by the city government, such as the Bureau of Social Affairs’ rite of passage ceremony for 16-year-olds and the Bureau of Tourism and Travel’s experience camp.
“While the event was good, there was no reason for similar events being held across the different bureaus and offices of the city government,” Wu said, adding that all three units should work together next year to fully capitalize on the event.
The regatta, which would have seen participants kayak waterways spanning 10km, was set to begin from a tourist dock in Anping District (安平), before crossing under 12 bridges as well as the Anping Commercial Harbor.
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