An exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the World Federation of Taiwanese Associations (WFTA) opened yesterday in Taipei, with President William Lai (賴清德) issuing a congratulatory message.
Founded in Vienna on Sept. 7, 1974, the WFTA is the largest Taiwanese organization abroad. Its mission calls for the determination of Taiwanese in asserting their identity, national sovereignty and democratic values.
This 50th anniversary exhibition, which first opened in Vienna, is on display at the National 228 Memorial Museum until Nov. 30.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
At the opening ceremony yesterday, presidential adviser Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) read Lai’s message, in which he said hoped the exhibition would reflect Taiwanese patriotism, reinforce the importance of national sovereignty and shine a light on the country’s future.
Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) of the Democratic Progressive Party said in a speech that while Taiwanese can today travel, study abroad and return without issue, that was not the case 50 years ago.
During the authoritarian regime, students returning from overseas were closely monitored by the government, she said, adding that young people might not understand the struggles of previous generations.
She commended the WFTA for collecting historical records to remind visitors that today’s freedoms were not easily achieved.
The goal of the exhibition is to evoke the emotions of those who left Taiwan years ago and trace the history of the overseas Taiwanese movement, especially their efforts in promoting democracy in their homeland, the WFTA said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS