The banks of the Tamsui will come alive with the sound of boisterous gongs and drums as 10 select puppet troupes stage their finest plays for 10 days starting Friday.
Organized by the National Traditional Arts Center, the 2004 Joint Outdoor Puppet Performance and Contest for Promising Young Leading Performers will start wowing onlookers at Tamsui's Chingshui Temple courtyard and at the Golden Shore, the waterfront walkway between the Tamsui MRT station and the ferry pier, at 7:30pm every day until Aug. 29.
In addition to these performances, an exhibition of puppets, stage settings and props will entertain visitors. Classes for making puppets will also be offered.
"Traditional Taiwanese puppetry plays an important role in transmitting Hoklo [commonly known as Taiwanese] culture to the next generation, and is a highly effective means of preserving local languages," said Wu Chin-fa (吳錦發), vice chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, at a press conference yesterday to announce the event.
"During an earlier period when economic conditions were more difficult, Taiwanese puppetry nourished the people with its educational and entertaining elements," Wu said. "It is rich in cultural material."
Wu said that the council has dedicated itself to promoting Taiwanese puppetry and Taiwanese opera by holding such festivals, which offer opportunities to local troupes to learn from each other.
"I expect the shows to inspire our audiences to feel love for Taiwanese cultures," he said.
Detailed information about the event, including a program schedule, can be obtained at the Web site www.ncfta.gov.tw.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS