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2008 TaiwanFest was held at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto this weekend. Major sponsors include China Airlines and the goverment of Republic of China.

The President of Republic of China – Ma Ying-jeou seems very happy to see such an event in Canada to “Promote Taiwanese Culture”.

Taiwan Uncensored

The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy sponsored an exhibition called “Taiwan Uncensored” to “present a true picture of the island”.

The first part of the exhibition tells visitors that the Dutch occupied the island of Taiwan and weren’t driven away by Chinese Qing Dyanasty at the beginning, so it proves that China didn’t consider Taiwan a part of China.

The exhibition then skips the part of history when the Chinese drove the Dutch away and set up a county, and later a province in Taiwan.

The second part of the exhibition praises the Japanese invaders for “helping” to develope the island.

Ironically, the “Taiwan Uncensored” exhibition also doesn’t mention a thing about the Republic of China government in Taiwan after Japanese defeat in WWII.

TaiwanFest Cinema

The Government Information Office of ROC has released 5 different videos describing the culture, festivals, geograph, and the stories of Taiwan.

Surprisely, even The Lantern Festival in Taiwan and Taiwan’s Festivals don’t use mention “China” or “Chinese” even once. They use “the anncestors of people in Taiwan” or “the Han people” instead of “Chinese”; “Lunar New Year” instead of “Chinese New Year”; “The other side of the strait” instead of “Mainland China”…… After watching those films, you will have the impression that Taiwan has a rich history of thousands of years and 諸葛亮是台灣人.

These films must have been made during the pro-independence former Taiwanese government period.

Returen to Innocence

Amis Kakeng Musical Group brings the music of the aboriginal Amis people of Taiwan to Canada.

Yunnan Dai Dance

The Eco Dance Association was established in Taiwan in 1981. It is famous for its modern and Chinese cultural dances.

Yunnan is home of many minority ethnic groups, including the Dai people. Dai people are buddhists and like to dance. They also live in Northern Thailand.

Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments

補破網

A famous Minnan language folk song. It’s also sung by famous Madarin singer Teresa Teng.

這一閩南語名曲也曾被鄧麗君相中,以國語演唱,歌名:想你想斷腸

Chinese Kungfu Bartending

功夫調酒,一邊練中國功夫,一邊調酒. 高雄商專的帥哥真了不起.

The Grand Hotel in Taipei 圓山大飯店

The Grand Hotel in Taipei was built in 1952 for the single purpose of entertaining foreign dignitaries, providing their lodging and dining needs. It is also a visible showplace of Chinese architecture and culture. Each of the eight guest levels represent a different Chinese dynasty, as reflected through the murals and general decor.

Young chef Chen Chi-wen (陳麒文) demostrated how to make Mayogee Dumpling.

Chef Yan is of Hakka Chinese decent and specializes in Shanghai & Sichuan cuisines. But this time, he demostrated how some of the popular snacks are made, including Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken.

Chef Liu grew up in Hong Kong and specializes in Cantonese cuisine.

Republic of China State Banquet Menu

陳水扁總統就職慶典晚宴菜單

Wei’s Taiwanese Food

There are two Taiwanese food restaurants at the World Cafe. This one hanging a “I Love China” flag is pro-China, another hanging green Taiwan flags is pro-independance.

吃飯也分藍綠. 現場有兩家台灣美食餐廳. 這一家中式裝飾,掛著”我愛中華”旗子的顯然是挺藍. 另外一家掛滿台灣綠旗的當然是台獨派了.

台灣名點 – 鹽酥雞飯