The New Taipei City Government yesterday hosted a joint funeral ceremony for 10 people, including two Japanese, whose ashes were scattered at sea about 6km from the city’s Bali District (八里).
The two Japanese were identified by their family names Takahashi and Sato, the New Taipei Department of Civil Affairs said.
The Taiwanese widow of Takahashi, who died in his 70s, said half of her wishes had been fulfilled after bidding farewell to her husband at the ceremony, the department said in a statement.
Photo: Lai Hsia-tung, Taipei Times
Takahashi’s widow said she had asked their children to scatter her own ashes at the same site after she dies, to keep a promise she made to her husband, the statement said.
Sato’s widow, who is also Taiwanese, said she and her husband had long lived in Japan before he passed away in February.
“He was so fond of Taiwan and he said many times he wanted to ‘visit every place around the country to appreciate the beauty of the island,’” his widow said.
After learning of the city government’s plan to hold a joint funeral ceremony at sea, she returned to Taiwan with her husband’s ashes last month to scatter them at sea, Sato’s widow said.
“I finally helped him realize his dream,” she said.
Department of Civil Affairs Director Ko Ching-chung (柯慶忠) said ceremonies that involve the scattering of ashes at sea sponsored by the city are free of charge and accessible to all families who lost a loved one regardless of their household registration or nationality, as long as they submit a permit for cremation.
From the time when New Taipei City was upgraded to a special municipality in December 2010 to last month, 12,384 people had received green burials sponsored by the city, up from 1,666 such burials conducted when the area was designated as Taipei County, Ko said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS