National Day celebrations to kick off in Taipei Saturday

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) Celebrations marking the National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) will kick off in Taipei on Saturday, before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Oct. 10.

The celebrations will begin with a concert at the Taipei Dome at 4 p.m. Saturday featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), said Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲).

School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children's Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense-affiliated symphony orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs, will also perform, Chueh said at a press conference on Friday.

Beyond the performances, Olympic medalists Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) will also make appearances and are scheduled to sing the national anthem, and fashion models will do a catwalk show, she said.

Saturday's event will be followed by an official ceremony in front of the Presidential Office on the morning of Oct. 10, where President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will deliver a speech, his first National Day address since taking office in May.

The ceremony, which begins at 9 a.m., will include performances by marching bands, cheerleading teams and acrobatic troupes, Kuo Shu-jen (虢恕仁), a representative of the ceremony's organizing team, said at the press event.

The singing of the national anthem will be led by three retired military personnel previously involved in the Battle of Guningtou over Kinmen County in 1949 and the teenage choir, Nibun Chorus, Kuo said.

The Battle of Guningtou marked the failed attempt of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) troops to seize Kinmen and establish a foothold for further advances against Kuomintang (KMT) troops, which had relocated to Taiwan after losing mainland China to the CCP.

The celebrations will culminate in a 40-minute fireworks display at 8 p.m. on Oct. 10 at Yunlin's Agriculture Expo Eco Park, not far from Taiwan High Speed Rail's Yunlin Station, according to Su Chien-tsang (蘇建蒼), an official with the Yunlin County government.

Following the setting off of 30,000 fireworks, the event in Yunlin will be wrapped up by a drone show and a performance by singer Nana Lee (李千娜), Su said.

Speaking at the press event, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who also heads the official ceremony's organizing team, said "the Republic of China is like a dark and thin old man" who "has been locked up in a black hut for the past eight years."

The metaphor of the shriveled man reflects the KMT's longstanding allegations that the Democratic Progressive Party government has deliberately downplayed the ROC's symbols and flags at National Day celebrations.

The National Day ceremony in front of the Presidential Office is usually organized by a team headed by the legislative speaker. This year's event will mark the first time in eight years that the organizing team is led by an opposition leader.

Han also called on the public to "firm up" their belief in the ROC and demonstrate their patriotism by "hanging flags of the Republic of China" on Oct. 10.