[Epoch Times October 31, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Liu Jingye reported by Springfield City) Under the rainy weather at noon on October 30th, the red flag was rising in front of the Springfield City Hall in Massachusetts. . This was the first “Taiwan Day” celebration in Springfield, Massachusetts, and received support from the mayor, local Massachusetts legislators and about 150 spectators.
At 11 o’clock in the morning, the rain stopped for a while. The dignitaries and guests participating in the event raised their flags in front of the gray and majestic city hall. Participants included Mayor Domenic Sarno, Representative Angelo Puppolo of Massachusetts, Sun Jianyuan, Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, Liu Zongsheng, Chairman of the Taiwanese Folks Association of Western Massachusetts, and Naismith Basketball Celebrities Church president John Doleva, nonprofit organization Rick’s Place CEO Rose (Therese Ross) and so on.
Then at the Springfield Concert Hall next door, the well-known Taiwanese daughter-in-law Ouyang Shan took the stage to lead the singing of the American national anthem and the national anthem of the Republic of China. After the guests gave their speeches, more than 100 audience members also enjoyed the theatrical performances brought by the Chinese Folk Art Workshop, including dragon dance, lion dance, bell, martial arts, classical dance and so on.
Mayor Sarno especially thanked Taiwan for donating 10,000 masks to Chuntian City during the epidemic. In a congratulatory letter, he thanked Taiwan for its contribution to the fight against the epidemic, as well as the support of the Scripture Office for cultural exchanges between the two places, and declared October 30 this year as “Springfield Taiwan Day”.
Sarno also praised Ouyang Shan’s beautiful national anthem. “This is the first time I have heard Taiwan’s national anthem. It is a very, very beautiful song.” He said.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Trade Development Committee Propolo said that Taiwan is the 11th largest trading partner of Massachusetts and a “true friend” of Massachusetts and the United States.
“Taiwan has a mature democratic system and economy, which embodies what people can achieve in an environment of universal freedom. It took only a few decades for Taiwan to develop into a high-tech economy with health insurance that is admired by the world. System.” He said.
Propolo also mentioned that Taiwan has donated 400,000 masks to Massachusetts, proving that “Taiwan can help, and it is indeed helping.”
Liu Zongsheng said happily that he has settled in western Massachusetts for 40 years, and this is the first time he has raised the blue sky and white sun flag here. He said that the national flag of the People’s Republic of China and the American flag are composed of blue, white, and red colors, which just reflect the common values of the two countries, that is, “democracy and freedom.” The friendship between the two parties was demonstrated during the epidemic: Taiwan has donated masks to Massachusetts and all over the United States, and the United States has also donated vaccines to Taiwan.
On the economic front, Liu Zongsheng said that he is very happy to see TSMC enter Phoenix, Arizona, and hopes that Taiwanese companies will come to Springfield to set up factories in the future.
On behalf of Taiwan, Sun Jianyuan donated US$1,000 to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and donated US$1,000 to Rick’s Place on behalf of E Ink, a Taiwanese enterprise in Massachusetts. Through the donation of masks in the past year and this donation, Sun Jianyuan hopes to express his concerns about the well-being of Chuntian City and hopes that the two sides will increase exchanges in the future.
On that day, many overseas Chinese leaders drove more than an hour to participate in the grand event, including Guo Jingru, the committee member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, Ruan Hongcan, the chairman of the Ruan Family Residence, Xie Rujian, the chairman of the Zhaolun Residence, and Feng Wenluan, the chairman of the Pushi Chinese Culture Studio. ◇
Editor in charge: Feng Wenluan
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