On the evening of October 6th, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Toronto (TECO Toronto) held the 2017 National Day Reception at The Ritz-Carleton Toronto in celebration of the 106th birthday of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The reception was hosted by Catherine Y. M. Hsu, Director-General of Toronto TECO. Over 400 distinguished guests, including politicians from three levels of the governments, members of diplomatic corps and leaders from academia, media, business, the police and Taiwanese communities joined the celebration.
In her welcoming remarks, DG Hsu first thanked the guests for their attendance. She then told the audience that Taiwan under the leadership of President Tsai, Ing-wen has strived to create a new era of democracy, freedom, prosperity and security. DG Hsu also stressed that the new government, after taking office in May 2016, has adopted policy to transform Taiwan’s economic structure, which is in its implementation phrase now. Several projects under the 5+2 Innovative Industries initiative have been put in motion. With this new economic momentum, Taiwan welcomes more investments from Canada with open-arms, and hopes a bilateral consultation on Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) between the two countries can be launched soon.
DG Hsu also reminded the audience that despite daunting challenges, Taiwan continues to uphold freedom and democracy, and expand international engagement.
Take press freedom as an example; Taiwan ranked first in Asia by the Reporters without Borders in its 2017 report. The organization also chose Taiwan to establish its first Asia bureau in July. Taiwan successfully hosted two important events this year: Summer Universiade and World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT), showcasing Taiwan’s soft power and positive image. DG Hsu also mentioned that at the closing ceremony of Universiade, the Canadian team displayed a long banner written“謝謝你 台北,”meaning“Thank you Taipei.” Numerous Taiwanese were touched by this friendly gesture. It is this friendship and the shared core values of democracy, freedom, peace and human rights that will bring Canada and Taiwan even closer in the future.
After DG Hsu gave her remarks, several dignitaries also stepped onto the stage and offered sincere congratulations on the ROC’s 106th birthday, commending Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and prosperity.
In addition to gourmet food and fine wine, the reception also featured brilliant and diverse performances. Members of the dancing group “Atayal Taiwan First Nation M-yu Dancers”, wearing traditional clothing of Taiwan’s different indigenous peoples, performed a set of dances entitled “A Glimpse of the Beauty of Taiwan.” The performance showcased Taiwan’s vigor and touched people’s hearts with its original and creative music and dancing. Aside from the group’s dance performance, Canadian flutist Ron Korb also entertained the guests with a wonderful flute performance that mixed East with West, a total new experience of music enjoyment for the audience. Last but not the least, Soprano Daphne Hsu, accompanied by Toronto Taiwanese Chamber Orchestra, performed vocal music with popular Taiwanese folk songs, such as“Blossoming with Life (滿山春色)”and“A Girl at 18 Is like a Flower (十八姑娘一朵花).”The performances took everyone’s breath away and wrapped up the reception with beautiful melodies.
DG Hsu toasts with guests to celebrate the ROC’s 106th birthday.
DG Hsu, in greeting the guests, joins them for a group photo.
DG Hsu poses with members of Taiwanese communities.
