Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) speech at a municipal event sparked protests from several pro-independence activists yesterday after he called Taiwan a “region.”
Hau’s comments came yesterday as he attended a ceremony at Dadaocheng commemorating late Taiwanese lyricist Lee Lin-chiu (李臨秋) that was organized by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
“I am glad to attend the launch ceremony of the statue for Mr Lee Lin-chiu, the pioneer lyricist in the region of Taiwan,” Hau said.
PHOTO: CNA
Hau’s remarks sparked immediate protests from members of the Taiwan Society, who condemned the mayor for belittling Taiwan’s status.
“Taiwan is a nation, not a region! You have hurt our feelings by calling Taiwan a region,” Taiwan Society director Janice Chen (陳昭姿) and several members shouted at Hau as he left the ceremony.
Hau said he heard the protesters’ voices, but declined to make any further comment as he left the scene.
The department held the ceremony yesterday to commemorate Lee, who was one of the most important Taiwanese musicians under Japanese colonial rule along with composer Teng Yu-hsien (鄧雨賢) and lyricists Chen Chun-yu (陳君玉) and Chen Ta-ju (陳達儒).
The department unveiled a statue of Lee at Dadaocheng Park yesterday in honor of the lyricist, and will broadcast classic songs written by him including Watching the Spring Wind (望春風) at the park to introduce the songs to more people.
More activities to introduce Taiwanese folk songs will be organized next year at Dadaocheng, the department said.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
RSS