Toucheng ghost grappling competition to return after three years of COVID

Toucheng ghost grappling competition to return after three years of COVID

2023-07-14

In Taiwan, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the Ghost Festival, a period where spirits roam the world of the living. The last day is celebrated in many places with festivals and ghost grappling competitions, in which participants try to climb to the top of gigantic bamboo spires. Toucheng Township in Yilan holds the biggest grappling competition in Taiwan, which is set to make a comeback this year after three years of COVID.

At the sound of the whistle, participants rush up the main pillars of the structure in teams, trying to reach the very top. It’s no easy feat, as the columns are coated in slippery tallow. The event attracts large crowds to Toucheng, which this year has secured a record amount of more than NT$7.6 million in funding from the Yilan County Government to hold the festival. The final climb will take place on Sept. 14.

睽違3年! 宜蘭頭城搶孤今年將恢復辦理

2023-07-14

每年農曆7月最後一天"鬼門關"，很多地方都會舉辦"搶孤"活動，不僅象徵祈福、慎終追遠，更是考驗體能、團隊合作的活動。其中規模最大的宜蘭縣頭城的搶孤活動，過去因疫情的關係已經停辦3年了，今年在各界的盼望下終於恢復辦理。

哨聲一響，參賽者踩著隊友的肩膀，奮力地往上爬，為就是奪下頂端的"順風旗"。竹竿上塗滿厚厚的牛油，讓參賽者一個接著一個滑了下來，這是宜蘭頭城著名的"搶孤活動"，頭城鄉今年獲得公所跟宜蘭縣政府經費的大力支持，目前已有超過760萬元的活動經費，創下歷年之最。

Related News

German releases China strategy report, the first of its kind

2023-07-14

Uyghurs right activists call on world to stand up to Beijing

Uyghur rights groups in Washington are calling on governments worldwide to stand up to Beijing. They accuse China of genocide and want people to remember what happened 14 years ago in Urumqi, China, during violent confrontations between Uyghurs, Han Chinese and the police. The rights groups say not much has changed. Graham Kanwit reports for Voice of America.

These Uyghurs in exile accuse China of arbitrarily detaining their loved ones and carrying out other human rights violations in the Uyghur homeland, which they call East Turkistan.

Officially the region in northwest China is called Xinjiang.

Outside the White House, these Uyghurs say they want independence from China. They are also commemorating an event they will never forget in the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi, 14 years ago this month.

Aziz Sulayman
East Turkistan Government in Exile
Mass killed them, mass shoot them and their bloods stained all of Urumqi city, and all night they washed the blood with the pressure washer in order to hide their crime.

In 2009 unrest in Urumqi was sparked by violence at a factory in southern China. Six Uyghur men were accused of sexually assaulting two ethnic Han Chinese women, which led to brawling that left two Uyghurs dead. In Urumqi, Uyghurs took to the streets, demanding justice for the killings. Amanalla Kashgari says the Urumqi protest started peacefully.

Amanalla Kashgari
They wanted those criminals to be charged and a proper investigation to be carried out. However, instead of their voices being heard and sit down with the officials, they were brutally cracked down by the paramilitary.

According to Chinese officials, nearly 200 people died, most of them Han Chinese. But Uyghur activists say that there were many more Uyghur victims, and that China’s repression in their homeland continues to this day. Several countries, including the United States, have described China’s actions as genocide. In a statement to VOA, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu describes people who call the Xinjiang region East Turkistan as “separatist forces” that undermine China’s national unity. The statement says, “The issues related to Xinjiang are not about human rights. They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. The accusation of ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang is a flat-out lie of the century.”

The protesters at the White House are calling on the international community to take more action. Graham Kanwit, for VOA News, Washington.

2023-07-14

Activists call hypocrisy at organizers and attendants of housing justice rally

The pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party and several NGOs are lashing out at former New Power Party legislator Huang Kuo-chang, who plans to hold a rally to promote housing justice and judicial reform this Sunday. The two main opposition presidential candidates and Hon Hai founder Terry Gou have all expressed interest in participating. The groups say Huang’s call for housing justice is hypocritical as he has 23 pieces of real under his name. They also suggest that China might be behind the rally in efforts to take down the ruling DPP.

The Taiwan Statebuilding Party along with various Taiwan nativist NGOs, do not approve of Sunday’s upcoming rally that’s ostensibly in the name of “fairness and justice.”

Chen Li-fu
Taiwan Association of University Professors
No one is opposed to housing justice, no one is opposed to judicial justice, but why is it occurring this year and led by these people? People are hoping to use this as political capital, this is being done with political interests in mind.

Questioning the reasons behind the parade, the group is also pointing a finger at former New Power Party lawmaker Huang Kuo-chang, along with Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih and Hon Hai founder Terry Gou, who are all expected to attend.

Lin Wei-lien
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
The Christian notion or what is said in the Bible stresses “Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small.” In today’s terms, this is actually very simple. Don’t have double standards. Don’t make calls for fairness and justice, while you yourself are involved in tax evasion, or involved in illegal use of land, and so on.

Wu Hsin-tai
Taiwan Statebuilding Party
If the Taiwan Statebuilding Party were to organize an anti-China rally, would we ask pro-China politician Wu Sz-huai to take part? Or if Taiwanese society wants to hold a #MeToo protest against sexual harassment, would they ask the perpetrators to join in? If the answer is “no,” then why ask Huang Kuo-chang, who has 23 real estate properties under his name, or Hou Yu-ih, a landlord king, or even Terry Gou, who has his own private jet, and says that urban renewal projects harm the rights of landlords? Why can’t they just be a bit more direct and say this is simply a rally against the DPP?

Aside from critiquing the many problems with the rally’s organizers, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party is also alleging that China is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Wang Hsing-huan
Taiwan Statebuilding Party chair
This is an event aimed at stirring up populist sentiment, inciting hatred and creating confrontation. It’s an activity that caters to China and takes down a nativist Taiwanese administration.

Richard Chen
United Formosans for Independence
We hope all these young people will be able to see clearly and see through all this. These people in the past neglected the trust young people gave them.

The groups are urging the public not to be manipulated and see the facts clearly.

2023-07-14

Ko Wen-je to auction off gifts from outspoken critic, Councilor Wang Shih-chien

2023-07-14

Taipei Fringe Festival to be held from Aug. 19 to Sept. 3

2023-07-14

Farewell ceremony held for Taiwan-made Triton weather satellite

President Tsai Ing-wen joined scientists from the Taiwan Space Agency and other officials Friday to send off the Triton satellite. The object is touted as Taiwan’s first self-made meteorological satellite, with 82% of its development and manufacturing done by local companies and organizations. The satellite will soon be shipped to French Guiana, where it is scheduled to be launched in September, a milestone in Taiwan’s space industry.

President Tsai Ing-wen signs her name on a canvas bag covering what is touted as Taiwan’s first self-made meteorological satellite, Triton. After the signing, officials stand in line to pose with it in farewell, as it will soon be shipped to French Guiana for its launch in September.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
The Triton satellite is like a messenger for the Taiwan Strait. It shows Taiwan’s determination to develop its space industry and be part of the Space Age. It also shows that Taiwanese manufacturing can stand up for itself in the world and up in space.

Taiwan Space Agency
Triton was originally going to be part of the second batch of seven self-made satellites in the FormoSat-7 program. Although the changes came with some twists, we progressed over the past eight years until now. Today, it’s as if we were sending our child abroad. Although we can’t bear parting with it, we are full of hope and joy.

After eight years working on Triton, the team behind the satellite says the farewell feels bittersweet. Triton is being touted as Taiwan’s first self-made meteorological satellite to be launched since the Formosat-7 constellation. It weighs 250 kilograms, and has a volume of more than 1 cubic meter. It uses a GNSS reflectrometry system and will enter orbit at an altitude between 550 and 650 kilometers above the Earth. It’s designed to collect data on sea surface winds to better forecast typhoon paths, heavy rains and air pollution.

Wu Cheng-chung
National Science and Technology Council
The global space industry has only really taken off in the past four years. Taiwan is absolutely not lagging behind. Taiwan passed the Space Development Act and it upgraded the Taiwan Space Agency. It’s thanks to that that today we can launch the Triton satellite.

About 82% of the components in the Triton were made in Taiwan, opening up new possibilities for Taiwan’s space industry. By lending assistance to developers, the government hopes the industry will continue taking off, with the ground segment component industry expected to have a value of NT$300 billion in 2025.

2023-07-14

Green sea turtle spotted in Nan’ao beach in Yilan for first time

2023-07-14

Taiwanese Latin dancer snatches two golds at Hanoi Stars Open

2023-07-14

Housewife builds career as florist and flower arrangement teacher in midlife

Today we meet a flower arrangement teacher who created a new life for herself after the age of 40. Having spent her younger years as a housewife, Tai Su-chen decided to find work as a florist and then open her own flower arranging business. Despite not having access to large amounts of capital, and lacking confidence with digital tools, Tai found her own way to a successful career. Now, she has an online following with her live-streamed flower classes, and is even getting into acting.

Tai Su-chen picks up her floral shears and gets to work. With a few deft snips, the bouquet quickly emerges.

She spins the turntable, rapt in concentration, to find the best spot for the next stalk. After many years as a housewife, Tai’s love of flowers led her to find work as a florist for the first time at the age of 41.

Tai Su-chen
Flower arrangement teacher
I was about 41 when I went to work as a florist. I started learning how to buy stock, how to arrange the flowers, and how to think like a manager. Later I started to think that opening my own store was not the path for me, because that needs a large amount of capital. So I started to build my own business at home.

Tai spent a year studying many skills, getting to grips with everything from stock to managing costs, as well as the art of flower arrangement itself, and how to market herself with analogue methods.

Tai Su-chen
Flower arrangement teacher
We’re already at a certain age, so can’t really use digital products very much. We don’t know how to send out messages about the classes we’re giving. So it was a flyer I wrote myself and then took to get copied at the printer’s, and I took a whole stack of these posters around and put them into each house’s letterbox. And some communities have security who won’t let you post flyers, so we got turned away.

But setbacks didn’t daunt her. Obnoxious customers and rude students have done nothing to quench Tai’s spirit. She has continued to develop her skills, even starting to stream her work online and becoming – who would have thought it – an internet celebrity.

Tai has not let challenges keep her from giving her creative gifts to the world, finding the courage to step out of her comfort zone and create a whole new life.

2023-07-14