Three diplomatic allies took center stage on the first day of the Taiwan Reading Festival in Taipei on Sunday by showcasing the countries’ books and inviting children to take part in activities to promote their cultures in Taiwan.
Scores of children, accompanied by their parents, crowded he booths of the embassies of Belize, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Saint Kitts and Nevis and Belize, where they showcased the countries’ respective arts and crafts, stories and English-language books.
The booths, which were staffed by English-language teachers, invited children to paint the countries’ respective flags and national symbols, and listen to excerpts read from the books by ambassadors and the teachers.
Photo: CNA
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador to Taiwan Andrea Bowman said her country’s booth wants Taiwanese to explore the similarities between the two countries.
“We can see that through our books and of course you get to understand SVG, because there’s still so many Taiwanese that have no idea of SVG, whereas I can tell you every single Vincentian is aware of Taiwan and aware of Taiwan’s role in SVG without a doubt,” said Bowman, who is the dean of the foreign diplomatic corps.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to Taiwan Donya Francis, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Taiwan, said it gives him a sense of excitement to present his country to Taiwanese.
“I always tell people I’m a Taiwanese, so I always accept the opportunity to give back to Taiwan. Yes, I did my studies here, my bachelor’s and master’s, and so I always look forward for the opportunity to teach Taiwanese about Saint Kitts and Nevis,” Francis said.
At the festival’s opening ceremony, Belizean Ambassador to Taiwan Candice Pitts donated six books — five for children and one for adolescent readers — to the National Central Library, the main organizer of the festival, which is held in early December each year.
She donated the books “to help expose Taiwanese, particularly the children, help them to be internationalized. So, we are delighted to participate in these projects to help build people-to-people understanding between our countries,” Pitts said.
The festival, held until today at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park, features more than 130 booths.
It includes talks by iconic actors and authors, including Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin (林青霞) and Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-yung (白先勇).
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS