Ximen looks forward to return of tourists as border rules relax

Ximen looks forward to return of tourists as border rules relax

2022-10-10

The relaxation of Taiwan’s border rules is an encouraging sign for Taiwan’s retail industry. In the Ximen Shopping District of Taipei, many businesses are excited about the imminent return of foreign tourists to their streets. Stores that have sat empty through the pandemic are starting to buzz again, and many neglected shopfronts are getting a revamp.

A decorator is busy fixing wires. There’s no time to lose before Taiwan’s borders reopen and a flood of overseas tourists returns to Ximen.

Local business owner
Right now there are quite a few doing renovations around Xining西寧 South Road and the MRT here.

Cheng Chu-yun
FTV reporter
Ximen Shopping District was built on tourists, but became a disaster zone during the pandemic. Up until mid-September, half of the business spaces on Cinema Street were empty. But in just two weeks, renovations have sprung up on many stores and on many roads.

In this pedestrian area and on the main road, there are at least 10 newly opened businesses, mostly food and drinks, clothing and accessories.

Tseng Ching-der
Real estate industry
In the past, the rental rates for stores in Ximending were NT$20,000 or more per ping at their highest. The rates now are about half what they were. And landlords have really been able to experience how much better it is to get in the tenants that are available rather than having the store lie empty long-term.

Real estate agents say that enquiries for Ximen locations are through the roof. Landlords are lowering their rates in an effort to get tenants into their premises. But some say that once the pandemic is past, eventually contracts will expire and the high rates of yesteryear may return.

為旅遊潮提前卡位西門町新開逾10家店

2022-10-10

邊境即將解封，沉寂已久的西門町商圈，最近有不少業者回籠，租下店面開始裝潢，為旅遊潮提前卡位，主要以餐飲業、服飾業和飾品業為主。房產專家表示，有一些房東也將租金打對折出租，待租約到期、人潮回復到疫情前水準時，再趁勢調整回來。

裝潢師傅趕忙看管線，因為搶在國門開放之前，業者早已到西門町商圈卡位，為旅遊潮做準備。

[[附近店家]]]
“現在以西寧南路、捷運這一邊，還是有比較多在整修。”

[[民視新聞記者鄭筑勻]]
“以觀光客為主的西門町商圈，因為疫情成為重災區，截至9月中在電影街空租率甚至還高達5成，不過才過了半個月，現在許多路上，不少店面都開始動工裝修。”

徒步區和主幹道，至少新開10家店，主要都是餐飲業、服飾業，以及飾品業。

[[不動產專案經理曾敬德]]
“在西門町的店面行情，跟以前行情最高每坪2萬元以上的水準，似乎都有打5折的現象，房東也體認到說，與其長期空置，不如先把握現在的租客。”

不僅租客詢問度暴增，房東也先降價求租，待合約到期、人潮回復到疫情前水準時，再來調整租金。

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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