Braving low temperatures, members of Taipei First Girls’ High School’s (TFGHS) Marching Band, Honor Guard and Color Guard on Monday dazzled the tens of thousands of people lined up to watch the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
The New Year’s celebration, held in Pasadena since 1890, was held under sunny skies this year, but in 6°C weather that did not appear to affect the performers on their 8.85km route.
Placed 58th in the parade’s lineup, the school was one of six international groups that took part in this year’s Rose Parade and one of 76 elements (39 floats, 21 marching bands and 16 equestrian teams) in the procession.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei First Girls’ High School Marching Band Parents’ Support Group
The 125 TFGHS girls were praised by anchors from KTLA, which broadcast the event, for how organized their formation was as they rounded a corner to march toward the event’s main seating area.
“Look at them playing to the crowd here. How beautiful that is,” one of the anchors said of the marching band.
As the TFGHS girls were applauded by the crowd, a woman was heard shouting: “Go, Taiwan.”
Photo: AP
One of the honor guard members dropped her parade rifle, but quickly recovered, maintaining her composure, which won a compliment from one of the anchors, who called her a “professional.”
“I hope they’re very proud of themselves, what it took to get here, what it takes to march this distance,” the anchor said.
Unlike at international sporting events overseen by the International Olympic Committee, the event’s host referred to Taiwan by its official name, the Republic of China, and Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
In the bleachers, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles Director-General Louis Huang (黃敏境) and several alumnae of the school waved Taiwan’s national flag as they cheered for TFGHS.
Honor guard Chiu Jo-an (邱若安) said that at the end of every segment she turned to wave at the crowd, which responded enthusiastically each time, leaving her feeling touched.
She said the most memorable moment for her was when a member of the audience shouted in Mandarin: “Go Taipei First Girls’ High School.”
This is the third time that TGFHS has been invited to the Rose Parade after performing in 1996 and 2005.
Color guard Chen En-hsuan (陳恩瑄) said the audience seemed more passionate than audiences in Taiwan.
People seated on both sides of the road kept screaming, cheering and waving, which was something she was not used to at home, she said.
“Hearing people shouting ‘Taiwan’ and waving the [national] flag, I could truly feel that this event brought Taiwan to the world,” marching band member Ni Chin-wei (倪沁葳) said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS