Celebration Canada is to return to Hakka Cultural Park in Taipei on July 1 after years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Canadian representatives said on Thursday.
This year’s event is special, as Canada Day falls on a Saturday, allowing people to more easily celebrate with Canadians, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan told a news conference in Taipei.
Taiwanese and members of the international community can join Canadians for the national day festivities, with food and drink, live music and activities for kids, Canadian Chamber of Commerce chairman Brandon Thompson said, adding that admission is free.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The outdoor party would have poutine — French fries with gravy and cheese curds — maple syrup snacks and other Canadian food, along with Moosehead beer and international food items, Thompson said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has abated, there would be a return to the full program of activities, including sharing a Canada birthday cake, live music, a raffle, mini-hockey, a poutine eating contest, and face painting and other children’s activities, including a bouncy castle, he said.
Air Canada is providing two economy-class tickets to Canada and vouchers for hotel accommodation as the top prizes in the raffle, as well as Canadian-made shirts and other items of clothing, he said.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the event’s main organizer, with sponsors including Air Canada, EVA Airways, Northland Power, Bank of Montreal, Moosehead Beer, TCS Experimental Education, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and others, Thompson said.
Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Trade and Investment Director Ed Jager said he looks forward to a large crowd at the event enjoying the party and the booths, while learning about the important relationship between Taiwan and Canada, which share many commercial links.
Trade and business links are expected to increase this year as the global economy recovers from the pandemic, boosting tourism and air travel between Taiwan and Canada, so it is likely that the number of Canadian tourists to Taiwan would rise, while young people might be drawn to visit Taiwan on school exchanges, or to teach English or find other work, Jager said.
Air Canada is working to restore direct flights between Taiwan and major Canadian cities and airline officials are making adjustments as demand for flights changes, Holiday Tours sales manager Jennifer Shi said, speaking on behalf of Air Canada.
For the summer travel season, Air Canada hopes that bookings would return to 90 percent of what they were before the pandemic, Shi said.
Before direct flights are restored, people traveling on Air Canada routes can check in their baggage at the international airports in Taoyuan or Kaohsiung and collect them in Canada after a stopover in Japan, South Korea or Hong Kong, she said.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS