At least 50,000 people turned up at 6:30am in front of the Presidential Office yesterday to join President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) for the New Year flag-raising ceremony.
Along with representatives of Taiwan's 10 recognized Aboriginal tribes, newly elected independent Aboriginal legislator May Chin (金素梅) led the crowd in singing an Aboriginal version of the national anthem, characterized by an up-beat rhythm and an energetic swing.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Chin, a former singer and a descendant of the Atayal tribe on her mother's side, is a film star best-known for her performance in The Wedding Banquet, directed by Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee (李安).
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The flag-raising ceremony was the second major government-sponsored national event which featured Aborigines.
Taiwanese Aboriginal singer Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), more popularly known as A-mei, sang Taiwan's national anthem at Chen's inauguration two years ago.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
A-mei faced a backlash from China following her performance. Beijing banned her from performing in China and canned a television commercial featuring her. China lifted the ban after a year.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Prior to yesterday's ceremony, the Fu Jen Catholic University's orchestra helped generate a distinctly Taiwanese atmosphere with renditions of well-known Taiwanese folk pieces such as Music of the Farming Village (農村曲) and Four Seasons Red (四季紅).
Following the singing of the national anthem, Chen steered the patriotic, flag-waving crowd to higher levels of fervor by leading it in chanting slogans such as "Long live freedom," "Exalt the Spirit of our Nation" and "Develop Formosa Taiwan."
Performances by the military band and dances by private groups also entertained the crowd as invitees offered each other New Year greetings.
Tseng Jeng-cheng (曾政承), who took the first prize at the first World Cyber Games in Seoul in December, was on hand at the invitation of the Presidential Office.
Tseng was attacked by Chinese journalists for raising the Taiwanese flag and shouting, "Taiwan is No. 1! Taiwan is No. 1!," after his victory.
"I feel touched," he said after seeing the flag hoisted yesterday.
Members of the national baseball team, who brought Taiwan glory by winning a bronze medal at the Baseball World Cup in November, were also present.
The Taipei City Government held its own flag-raising ceremony an hour ahead of the Presidential Office at 5:30am at Taipei City Hall.
"By holding the first flag-raising ceremony [in the country] on the first day of the New Year," said Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), "we hope to signify that the Taipei City Government is ahead of all the other local governments in its readiness for everything that lies ahead in the year 2002."
Kaohsiung City mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also stated his wishes for the New Year.
"I hope that all Kaohsiung citizens will work together to develop our city, " Hsieh said at the Kaohsiung City Government's flag-raising ceremony.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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