Braving low temperatures, members of Taipei First Girls’ High School’s (TFGHS) Marching Band, Honor Guard and Color Guard on Monday dazzled the tens of thousands of people lined up to watch the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
The New Year’s celebration, held in Pasadena since 1890, was held under sunny skies this year, but in 6°C weather that did not appear to affect the performers on their 8.85km route.
Placed 58th in the parade’s lineup, the school was one of six international groups that took part in this year’s Rose Parade and one of 76 elements (39 floats, 21 marching bands and 16 equestrian teams) in the procession.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei First Girls’ High School Marching Band Parents’ Support Group
The 125 TFGHS girls were praised by anchors from KTLA, which broadcast the event, for how organized their formation was as they rounded a corner to march toward the event’s main seating area.
“Look at them playing to the crowd here. How beautiful that is,” one of the anchors said of the marching band.
As the TFGHS girls were applauded by the crowd, a woman was heard shouting: “Go, Taiwan.”
Photo: AP
One of the honor guard members dropped her parade rifle, but quickly recovered, maintaining her composure, which won a compliment from one of the anchors, who called her a “professional.”
“I hope they’re very proud of themselves, what it took to get here, what it takes to march this distance,” the anchor said.
Unlike at international sporting events overseen by the International Olympic Committee, the event’s host referred to Taiwan by its official name, the Republic of China, and Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
In the bleachers, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles Director-General Louis Huang (黃敏境) and several alumnae of the school waved Taiwan’s national flag as they cheered for TFGHS.
Honor guard Chiu Jo-an (邱若安) said that at the end of every segment she turned to wave at the crowd, which responded enthusiastically each time, leaving her feeling touched.
She said the most memorable moment for her was when a member of the audience shouted in Mandarin: “Go Taipei First Girls’ High School.”
This is the third time that TGFHS has been invited to the Rose Parade after performing in 1996 and 2005.
Color guard Chen En-hsuan (陳恩瑄) said the audience seemed more passionate than audiences in Taiwan.
People seated on both sides of the road kept screaming, cheering and waving, which was something she was not used to at home, she said.
“Hearing people shouting ‘Taiwan’ and waving the [national] flag, I could truly feel that this event brought Taiwan to the world,” marching band member Ni Chin-wei (倪沁葳) 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