Iconic Brimstone Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the twin-island Federation of Saint Christopher (Saint Kitts) and Nevis is illuminating the Taipei sky at this year’s Taipei City Lantern Festival. Brimstone Hill Fortress, which is one of the most visited tourist attractions on the island of Saint Kitts has also piqued the interest of the millions of visitors to this year’s event. With its cannons sitting atop the structure which rises 400 cm above the ground at the intersection of Zhonghua Rd and Wuchung Street, the replica is almost as imposing in Taipei as it is in Saint Kitts.
At a press conference attended by Taipei City Deputy Mayor Deng to promote the event, H.E. Ambassador Jasmine Huggins stated that the Embassy seized on the opportunity to promote her country and its tourist attractions to the over 5 million Taiwanese citizens who will be visiting the Lantern festival over the 9-day event. “This is an excellent platform for tourism promotion and it also provides an opportunity for the citizens of this great country Taiwan, to learn more about one of its diplomatic allies, and the enduring image of the fortress is similar to the enduring nature of our relationship which began 35 year ago at the dawn of our Independence” Ambassador Huggins said. “It also forms a bridge between our two countries by bringing together an important cultural event in Taiwan and a significant historical monument in Saint Kitts and Nevis and we hope that as the citizens here learn more about Saint Kitts and Nevis they will be inspired to visit our country.”
The prominent Fortress, which at 800 feet high provides a panoramic view of some of the neighboring islands in the Caribbean, is one of the finest surviving examples of the ingenuity of British military engineers and the skill and endurance of the African slaves who built and maintained it. Brimstone Hill gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999 and continues to be a source of immense pride for the citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Ambassador further took the opportunity to commend the Taipei City government for the excellent organization of the event and expressed her appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taipei for their support. 2018 is the Year of the Dog and the main lantern which is comprised of three Taiwanese “Magical Dogs” representing “Go Forward, Go Together and Go Future” is also symbolic of relations between Saint Kitts and Nevis and Taiwan Ambassador Huggins concluded.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
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