Somalilandsun: Celebrations of Double Ten National Day were held in countries around the world this week, including a first-of-its-kind event in Somaliland and a charity banquet for homeless people in the Vatican.
The newly opened Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland on Wednesday held a banquet in the capital, Hargeisa, the first event of its kind in the self-declared east African state.
The banquet drew more than 150 guests, including government officials, legislators, and representatives of the business sector, academia and the media.
Read: Taiwan office in Somaliland holds National Day celebration
In the Vatican, the Taiwanese embassy on Thursday hosted a banquet for homeless people, in commemoration of National Day and the publication of Pope Francis’ third encyclical letter, Fratelli tutti (“All brothers”) on Saturday last week.
The event took place at Palazzo Migliori, a 19th-century palace close to St Peter’s Square, which was last year converted into a homeless shelter.
Guests were treated to boxed lunches and were given Taiwan-made sleeping bags donated by the embassy.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese residents of Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County on Sunday held two flag-raising ceremonies.
Despite attracting a limited crowd due to COVID-19 restrictions, livestreams of the events were widely viewed by the local Taiwanese community, organizers said.
Representatives to the UN of six of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies on Thursday attended a celebration in New York City. More than two dozen prominent figures, including US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent video and written messages to the event’s attendees.
Taiwan’s representative office in Chennai, India, on Thursday hosted a tea ceremony, drawing guests from the states of Karnataka, a major high-tech hub, and Tamil Nadu, which hosts branches of Taiwanese firms including Hon Hai, Pegatron and Wistron.
More than 20 members of the New South Wales state parliament yesterday attended a dinner in Sydney. At the event, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney Director-General Fan Huei-chun (范惠君) expressed the hope that Taiwan and Australia would soon begin talks on a free-trade agreement and support the nation’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
