A life-size statue of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is to be unveiled on Saturday, ahead of his state funeral on Tuesday next week, a temple in Kaohsiung said.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in modern Japan, was fatally shot at close range during a campaign rally on July 8.
The statue is to stand in a garden of remembrance, which was created by Hongmaogang\'s (紅毛港) Baoan Temple (保安堂) in Kaohsiung’s Fengshan District (鳳山) in memory of Abe.
Photo courtesy of Chang Chi-hsiung
The phrase “always a friend to Taiwan” is engraved on the pedestal of the statue.
Temple administrators on Friday said that the statue and its pedestal, which took about two months to make, were delivered to the temple on Friday last week and erected in the garden, next to a stone where Abe’s handwriting of the phrase “Taiwan jia you” (台灣加油) is engraved. Jia you is a Mandarin expression of encouragement.
On the other side of the statue is a cypress tree donated by Lee Ming-chuan (李明傳), board chairman of Woen Jinn Harbor Engineering Co (穩晉港灣), they added.
Temple president Chang Chi-hsiung (張吉雄) said that Abe’s family was informed on Thursday last week about the statue and they were invited to the ceremony through a diplomatic channel.
The temple, the only one in Taiwan to worship Japanese naval officers, has a close relationship with Japan and once welcomed a visit by Yoji Koda, a former Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vice admiral.
Temple administrators added that a number of Taiwanese dignitaries have also been invited to attend the unveiling ceremony, where an orchestra is to perform Japanese music to commemorate Abe.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for
RSS