Taipei’s annual Eid al-Fitr celebrations yesterday returned to Daan Forest Park after a two-year hiatus, with about 10,000 attendees enjoying an array of attractions, including a halal bazaar, outdoor cinema and interactive cultural exchange booths.
Festivalgoers were required to wear masks and observe social distancing amid rising COVID-19 cases nationwide.
They were also required to show proof that they had received at least two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine to enter venues such as the main stage, outdoor cinema and cultural experience area, organizers said, adding that attendees were also not allowed to eat or drink at the festival.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Indonesian festivalgoers Adi Putri, Dew and Tini said that despite high COVID-19 case numbers, their employers had still encouraged them to attend, asking only that they wear a mask and stay vigilant in avoiding close physical contact.
Ani, who is also Indonesian and said she has lived in Taiwan for eight years, said that although she had come with friends from her home country, they decided to stay out of the festival’s main venues as there was “too much hustle and bustle.”
However, she said some of her friends, many of whom work as caregivers for older people, were unable to attend because their employers had asked them not to go to events with large crowds amid the current outbreak.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said in his speech at the opening of the festival that after a two-year pandemic-imposed hiatus, the city had resolved to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Taipei this year despite the challenges.
Eid al-Fitr, also known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast, marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by