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Flora expo fireworks light up night sky
MIXED REACTION:While many marveled at the dazzling
one-hour fireworks show, some said the money could rather have been spent on
promoting social welfare
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
Visitors look at mechanical flowers on display
at the Taipei International Flora Expo yesterday.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
More than 110,000 fireworks lit up the sky at the Dajia
Riverside Park and Dadaocheng (大稻埕) last night in celebration of the opening of
the Taipei International Flora Expo, dazzling spectators with an hour-long long
display that included Taiwan-inspired patterns and the expo’s official logo.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and first lady Chow Mei--ching (周美青) opened the
show at Dajia Riverside Park at 9pm with a display of the expo’s official name
in Chinese.
Subsequently, designated spots along the Keelung River (基隆河) and Tamsui River
(淡水河) set off fireworks, lighting up the sky with displays of red lantern
shapes, the national flower (plum flower) and the expo logo.
The show featured fireworks designed by five teams from the UK, Italy, Spain,
Sweden and Taiwan.
The highlight of the show, an 18m high outline of Taiwan with patterns of
flowers drawn inside its borders, wowed the spectators when it rose from the
riverbanks.
Thousands of spectators crowded the sites at Dajia Riverside Park and Dadaocheng,
as well as nearby Dazhi Bridge, to view the show despite the rain.
The heavy smoke induced by the fireworks, however, led to complaints by some
spectators that they couldn’t enjoy the show as their view was covered by a
blanket of white smoke.
Another apparent glitch was the confusion over transportation arrangements at
the shuttle bus stops and the resulting congestion, which drew another wave of
complaints from members in the crowd. Impatient with the shuttle bus no-shows,
which appeared to be delayed, some spectators reluctantly opted to return to the
pavilions on foot instead of waiting for the buses.
The show has also run into some protests, with a group on Facebook earlier
urging the Taipei City Government to use the budget to promote social welfare
instead of spending it on expensive fireworks displays.
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) brushed aside the
criticism, saying it was an “international convention” to warm up an
international event with a fireworks show.
“The budget was listed specifically for fireworks, and it did not affect the
budget for social welfare, education and other municipal developments,” she
said.
According to Taipei City’s Department of Tourism and Information Commissioner
Tuo Tzung-hua (脫宗華), the city government budgeted NT$12 million (US$390,000) for
the fireworks show, while the opening ceremony cost NT$17 million.
Taiwanese dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜), pop sensation Lin Yu-chun (林育群) and Cloud
Gate Dance Theatre also performed at the expo last night after the grand opening
in the morning.
Earlier yesterday during a meeting with foreign envoys at the Presidential
Office, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) described the flora expo as a manifestation
of the integration of Chinese culture and state-of-the-art environmental
protection and biotechnology.
“We hope that in addition to displaying a sense of beauty, the event will point
us in the developmental direction we should promote in the future by showing the
relationships and interactions between people and the environment, “ Ma said.
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