Thai Festival in Taipei celebrates people-to-people ties

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) Officials speaking at the three-day Thai Festival 2026 on Saturday and festivalgoers both highlighted the strong people-to-people ties between Taiwan and Thailand and the many areas of life, including democracy, that connect the two sides.

Speaking at Saturday's official opening ceremony for the festival that actually began Friday, Narong Boonsatheanwong, Thailand's top representative to Taiwan, said the "friendship" between Thailand and Taiwan goes along with the "genuine people-to-people connection."

Themed "Creative Life and Creative Heartbeat," this year's festival aims to "further strengthen our friendship" by showcasing Thai creativity through "our people and our vibrant ways of living," Narong said.

The annual festival features around 30 stalls, with more than 20 Thai brands and exhibitors offering everything from Thai food, such as barbecue and traditional noodle dishes, to aromatherapy products and cultural crafts.

About a dozen Thai pop stars also performed at the event, wearing specially designed outfits by Thai designers, as did the internationally renowned Sbun-nga dance troupe from Chiang Mai.

Among the festivalgoers at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 was Duangkamol (陳心芯), a Thai student studying Mandarin in Taiwan who said she was "happy" to see so many Taiwanese people interested in Thai culture.

"I didn't know Thai culture or Thai celebrities were so popular in Taiwan," Duangkamol said, referring to the more than 100 fans who attended the ceremony to support around a dozen Thai pop stars invited to perform.

The 32-year-old, who has lived in Taiwan since last August, also noted that the Milk Tea Alliance, a pro-democracy movement that first emerged online in 2020 among supporters in Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong, has helped bring people in Taiwan and Thailand closer together.

Duangkamol said that sense of connection has led many Taiwanese people to welcome her "to live and study in Taiwan" after learning she was from Thailand.

Echoing Duangkamol, Taiwanese student Toru Chen (陳徹) said the Milk Tea Alliance has helped young people in Taiwan and Thailand connect by "sharing our experiences of democratic movements."

Citing his own experience, Chen said he visited Thailand in February as part of a study group to observe the country's general election.

Beyond democratic exchanges, he said Taiwan-Thailand relations have also grown closer because reciprocal visa-free programs offered by the two sides have encouraged more people to "travel to each other's country."

Thailand first introduced a temporary visa waiver for Taiwanese nationals in 2023 before adding Taiwan to its broader visa-free policy in July 2024, while Taiwan has offered trial visa-free entry to Thai nationals since 2016, most recently extending it through July 31, 2026.