Director-general of the German Institute in Taipei Birgitt Ory, German expatriates and their Taiwanese friends unveiled the “Buddy Bear” for Taiwan at German Night in Taipei on Saturday.
First created in Berlin in 2001, the Buddy Bear — a sculpture about 2m tall — serves as Germany’s ambassador of friendship, traveling around the world to promote peace and international understanding.
There are 1,300 Buddy Bears and 140 are on exhibit around the world, with each having a unique name and decoration.
The Buddy Bear in Taiwan is painted black with plum blossom-shaped sunglasses, two clasped hands forming a white V-shaped strip across its chest and pants decorated with images representing Germany such as a German soccer player, the German high-speed ICE train and a picture of Albert Einstein.
The bear arrived last month and was unveiled on Saturday after being painted in Kaohsiung by students of the Fengshan and Fenghsin high schools, as well as students of the German School in Taipei, Ory said.
“The plum blossom is Taiwan’s national flower, the V-shaped strip is a feature of the Formosan black bear and the shaking hands symbolize friendship between Taiwan and Germany,” Ory explained.
She said the Buddy Bear would have a busy schedule in Taiwan.
“He will meet the German athletes at the World Games in Kaohsiung [next month] and at the Deaflympics in Taipei, and will make a brief stop at the German School in Taiwan,” Ory said, adding that the Buddy Bear would also attend a concert featuring German music, and an event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in October.
Another reason the Buddy Bear was brought to Taiwan is the theme of this year’s Taipei Film Festival, which began on Friday and will last until July 12.
After the unveiling ceremony, guests were treated to German cuisine and a screening of the movie Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis.
Ory invited everyone in Taiwan to submit suggestions for Buddy Bear’s name.
Richard Pfennig, a native of Berlin studying at National Chengchi University, quickly made his own suggestion: Taibear.
“‘Taibear’ is a combination of Taipei, Berlin and the bear itself,” Pfennig said. “It also reflects my own life as I’m from Berlin and I’m studying in Taipei now.”
“It’s interesting to find a film festival featuring movies about my city when I’m tens of thousands of kilometers away from it,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS