Wedding venues running out of slots for 2022 as pandemic backlog lingers

Wedding venues running out of slots for 2022 as pandemic backlog lingers

2022-10-10

The wedding industry is still in tumult as COVID recedes. Wedding banquet venues are running out of slots for events in 2022, as the backlog of delayed weddings lingers on. Couples who more recently decided to tie the knot are struggling to find a venue. And the relaxation of border rules has unleashed a craze for weddings and honeymoons abroad.

A couple inspects a wedding venue. They check out the planned flow of people and the banquet tables, even the dishes on offer. The last two years of COVID have disrupted everyone’s wedding plans, and many couples are unwilling to wait any longer. There are lots of nuptials to cram into 2022.

Miss. Tsai
Bride-to-be
Lots of wedding venues have been first dealing with the backlog of people whose weddings were delayed. So we could only get a slot at the very end. We will have to look at a lot of companies and venues.

There’s a backlog of weddings booked from the pandemic that have still not taken place. Now there are not many good dates left in 2022, and venues are selling out fast. Some venues don’t have space until late 2023.

Weng Ying-hsiu
Wedding reception venue owner
It’s up until the second half of next year, the third quarter more or less. Actually all our enquiries and bookings are 20-30% more than they were. So our small halls are almost 90% booked up.

Lu Hao-ting
Wedding platform owner
With the borders opening, that will mean couples can finally go abroad. Honeymoon destinations may still primarily be the familiar names we knew before, such as the Maldives and island nations of that kind.

This wedding platform owner says that 90% of couples are keen to go abroad as part of their wedding, since border restrictions relaxed. Some popular honeymoon spots are the Maldives and Phuket. After two years banned from traveling abroad, newlyweds are the first to jump at the chance to spread their wings.

邊境鬆綁! 九成新人瘋海外婚禮預算較去年增3%

2022-10-10

前兩年受到疫情影響，不少準新人延後婚禮，改在今年舉辦，加上國門即將開放，準新人瘋海外婚禮，甚至要安排出國度蜜月，婚宴平台業者統計，在邊境鬆綁下，9成新人樂喊終於能出國，不過預算也加高了，平均比去年增加3%，另外，婚宴好日子也被訂滿，甚至要到明年下半年才有場地。

準新人看場地，動線、辦幾桌、菜色通通都要算得精。前兩年受到疫情影響，打壞不少人的婚禮計畫，很多人不想再延後，變得通通擠在今年舉辦。

[[準新人蔡小姐]]
“很多婚宴會館會先去消化前面大家延後的狀況，所以其實我們算是後面才排上來，如果以時程上面來說的話，所以我們的確會需要看很多家，然後問很多場地。”

婚宴會館要消化先前延後的婚禮訂單，還沒消化完畢，如今還有趕著要結婚的，好日子場地一位難求，甚至要到明年下半年才有場地。

[[婚宴會館業者翁盈修]]
“到明年下半年大概第三季左右，其實在整個詢問度跟訂席率，都已經有達到以往的2到3成，所以在小廳房的部分也將近9成滿了。”

[[結婚平台業者陸皓婷]]
“邊境開放，就會讓新人終於可以出國，蜜月旅行的地點，可能還是以過往比較熱門的，比如說像馬爾地夫，這樣子的一個海島國家為主。”

結婚平台業者也統計，邊境管制鬆綁下，9成新人瘋海外婚禮，甚至安排出國度蜜月，以馬爾地夫、泰國普吉島最熱門，畢竟悶了兩年，國門準備大開，當然要把握機會，好好出國玩一番，也帶旺整個婚禮市場。

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Tsai Ing-wen’s National Day address: Taiwan will not leave anything up to fate

President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday delivered her seventh National Day address as the leader of Taiwan. The speech contained plenty of references to cross-strait relations. Tsai stressed that Taiwan remained committed to being able to defend itself, adding that the country would not leave anything up to fate. She urged Beijing to not misjudge Taiwan’s commitment to freedom and democracy, saying that maintaining peace was a shared responsibility of both sides of the strait.

Ceremonial music plays as President Tsai Ing-wen appears at the National Day celebrations. This year is her penultimate time attending the event as president.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Today is the 111th National Day of the Republic of China, and the 73rd National Day since the Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan.

At last year’s address, Tsai listed out “four commitments” on cross-strait relations. This time around, she enumerated four key areas to enhance Taiwan’s resilience.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
The international community fully understands that upholding Taiwan’s security means upholding regional stability and democratic values. The destruction of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom would be a grave defeat for the world’s democracies. Through our actions, we are sending a message to the international community that Taiwan will take responsibility for our own self-defense, that we will not leave anything to fate.

Tsai said that Taiwan was determined to defend itself. She also directed some words at Beijing regarding its constant military threats and its pressure on Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to cut ties with Taiwan.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
The broadest consensus among the Taiwanese people and our various political parties is that we must defend our national sovereignty and our free and democratic way of life. On this point, we have no room for compromise. The Beijing authorities should not make any misjudgment on account of Taiwan’s vigorous democratic system. They must not mistake that there is room for compromise in the Taiwanese people’s commitment to democracy and freedom, and thus attempt to divide Taiwanese society by exploiting the fierce competition between our political parties. I want to make clear to the Beijing authorities that armed confrontation is absolutely not an option for our two sides.

Tsai called on China to respect Taiwan’s insistence on sovereignty and democracy. She also voiced hope that the two sides of the strait could coexist in peace.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
We look forward to the gradual resumption of healthy and orderly cross-strait people-to-people exchanges after the loosening of border restrictions on both sides, thereby easing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Provided there is rationality, equality, and mutual respect, we are willing to work with the Beijing authorities to find a mutually agreeable arrangement for upholding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This is our shared responsibility.

Tsai ended her address evoking the spirit of Hong Rui-lin, a Taiwanese artist known for his paintings of miners.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
This is the years-long road we have traveled, from a darker time to a brighter future. Today, saying "I am Taiwanese" is a statement of honor and an expression of pride.

As with previous years, the president’s address on National Day contained plenty of words for the other side of the strait.

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Pro-China and pro-independence opposition parties share thoughts on National Day

Though organizers intend the National Day celebrations to foster unity in Taiwan, criticism from opposition parties abounds. On the pro-China side of the political spectrum, officials from parties such as the KMT have protested that this year’s official National Day logo makes no mention of the R.O.C., or Republic of China, which is Taiwan’s official name. KMT Party Chair Eric Chu says its absence is proof that the Tsai administration is taking Taiwan on the road to independence. Meanwhile, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, which advocates for Taiwan’s separation from the R.O.C., says Oct. 10 is not actually a day for Taiwan to celebrate. The party says Taiwan’s true national day will be whenever Taiwan becomes independent from the R.O.C.

Holding up national flags, KMT Chair Eric Chu leads party members in wishing the R.O.C. a happy birthday. The KMT on Monday held a National Day flag-raising ceremony of its own at its party headquarters. The event was attended by former President Ma Ying-jeou, former Taipei mayors Wu Po-hsiung 吳伯雄 and Hau Lung-pin, and Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an among many others. Together, they protested that the official logo for this year’s celebrations did not include the words “R.O.C.”

Eric Chu
KMT chair
The R.O.C. exists. We all exist here together. Defending the R.O.C. is our shared responsibility. We say no to the DPP’s daily attempts to make the R.O.C. invisible, and to eventually destroy it.

Ma Ying-jeou
Former president
The Tsai administration promoted this as the “Taiwan National Day.” The words “R.O.C.” are gone. The only way to change this precarious status quo, is by changing the government, and changing its policies.

Ma once protested the branding of this year’s National Day logo, saying that leaving out the words “R.O.C.” from the design was a DDP “Taiwan independence” tactic. After the flag-raising ceremony at the KMT headquarters, he and Chu headed to the official event at the Presidential Office. Ma chose to forgo the face masks with the official National Day logo, wearing ones with a pattern of national flags instead.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
The work of making the Republic of China, Taiwan, a more resilient country

Ma joined the rest of the officials in applauding after Tsai referred to Taiwan by its official name. At the event grounds, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said that the R.O.C. was still the biggest common denominator in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party on Monday held a press conference saying that the current National Day celebrations are not actually celebrating Taiwan.

Wang Hsing-huan
Taiwan Statebuilding Party
Oct. 10 is not the National Day for the people of Taiwan. What year was it that Taiwan was founded on Oct. 10? The R.O.C. is celebrating its 111th anniversary. That marks the founding of China in 1911. In the future, Taiwan’s national day will be a day to celebrate its independence.

The Taiwan Statebuilding Party says that the R.O.C.’s anniversary is not a celebration for Taiwan. Party members say that Taiwan will only truly have a national day of its own after it becomes a separate entity from the R.O.C.

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Choirs across Taiwan sing national anthem together via live video link

National Day celebrations this year had a special twist: choirs in three places across Taiwan sang the national anthem in unison through a video feed. One of those choirs was in Dongyin, Taiwan’s northernmost island. Back in Taipei, the military’s drill team also wowed crowds by performing an arms dance with their left hands for the first time. It was a day of celebration, and surprises.

Seven military personnel and coast guards stand in formation in front of a children’s choir from Matsu. Together they sing the national anthem in Taipei. This year they were joined by choirs all over the country, via a live video feed.

One ensemble sang at the northernmost point in Taiwan, on Matsu’s Dongyin Island. Another was in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District, where naval officers sing in formation in front of a Ta Chiang-class corvette. It was the first time that choirs in different locations around Taiwan sang together through video feed, symbolizing this year’s National Day theme of unity in national defense.

Back in Taipei, the camera tilts up to show a Chinook transport helicopter flying above the Presidential Office with a massive R.O.C. flag half the size of a basketball court. This year’s National Day celebrations featured a vast array of performances to instill national pride.

Onstage are the musicians of “Pakelang,” an album that won a Grammy design award earlier this year. They dance alongside Indigenous performers beneath the stage holding blue ribbons symbolizing the waters of the East Coast. The Fulin Tigers youth baseball team also joins in, cheering and making swinging gestures in unison.

The military’s rifle drill team also performed, this year performing with their left hands for the first time, wowing the crowds. Overhead, Air Force fighter jets flew in formation, as if taking the baton from the drill team, which was followed by a lively choral performance of a Hakka classic with 111 singers, one for each year since the founding of the R.O.C.

In the final act, five AT-3 jet trainers soar across the sky at 1,200 feet above the Presidential Office, dragging plumes of red, white and blue smoke as they zoom by at 240 knots. The performance was met with cheers of excitement from the crowd, marking a perfect ending for the day’s celebrations.

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Literature on the Dinner Table: new menu for National Museum of Taiwan Literature

A new project at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature aims to put “Literature on the Dinner Table.” A new menu at the Tainan Museum cafe gives visitors a taste of Taiwanese literature — a little more literally than usual. Many dishes are based on famous writings or reference authors’ culinary lives.

Golden yellow eggs are poured into a hot pan and sauteed into a delicious omelet.

Nearby, a chef spreads mashed potato on bread, following up with a squeeze of sauce and some salad leaves. Then it’s burger patties made of tofu and plant-based mock meat. This is how American-style lunch is served at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature.

Lin A-pao
NCKU Dept. of Taiwanese Literature
The idea comes from two essays by Liang Shih-chiu, “Tofu” and “McDonald’s.” The inspiration was that he said writing them was a bit like making hamburgers. So we made them into tofu burgers, following a plant-based diet.

The tofu burgers are inspired by “A Cottager’s Sketchbook,” a collection of essays titled after a place where Liang Shih-chiu once lived. After the burger, visitors can enjoy this “Red Treasure box” dessert – it’s based on carrot, with a lemon cream cheese icing, and it’s inspired by an essay called “Carrot Cake.”

Tsai Chu-erh
Author
I wrote about a conversation that I had with my late mother while I was making carrot cake. I first ate carrot cake at my friend’s home in London, i.e. in the West. I was studying there. It was something I had never eaten in Taiwan. I was really surprised by it.

Su Shuo-pin
National Museum of Taiwan Literature director
We launched this event to bring literature and food together, so that while we’re eating, we can understand how many people have imbued food with very profound meanings that will enrich our lives. The National Museum of Taiwan Literature wants to bring literature into our daily life.

The museum hopes its lunches will transmit Taiwan’s heritage in all its sweet, sour, spicy and aromatic glory. This literature project talks in mouthfuls, not soundbites.

2022-10-10