Thai nationals, as well as many Taiwanese, have been paying tribute to the king at ceremonies in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, central Taiwan’s Taichung City, as well as Kaohsiung and Tainan cities in the south. President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister David Tawei Lee paid their respects Oct. 17 at the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei.
TTEO provided portraits of King Bhumibol to the Taoyuan City Government’s Department of Labor, which is holding a service lasting until Oct. 30 in the main hall of the old Taoyuan railway station. Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan attended the memorial Oct. 16, conveying his condolences to the late king’s family and the people of Thailand.
Just two days before, the mayor had participated in a Thai cultural event, where he spoke of the city’s close ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states as well as its efforts to improve the lives of Thai immigrants. Cheng said Taoyuan City, which has the largest population of Thai foreign workers and new immigrants in Taiwan at 15,964 and 2,271 respectively, is very multicultural and a city of passion.
A memorial service sponsored by the Taichung City Government is taking place until Nov. 14 at ASEAN Square in the city center. According to TCG, the central city has the second-largest population of Thai nationals in Taiwan, with 9,219 foreign workers from the Southeast Asian country residing in the metropolis.
In Kaohsiung, Mayor Chen Chu attended a service for the king in Qianzhen District. She urged Thai people in the city, as well as their friends, to come to the memorial. “My hope is that everyone can respect the different groups of people living in Taiwan, that they can respect their history, culture and way of life.”
Tainan City Government, meanwhile, has established a memorial in the city center that will be open until Oct. 21. Mayor Lai Ching-te noted that in recent years, Thai new immigrants and foreign workers have made tremendous contributions to Taiwan’s development. The government is working to establish a friendly environment to help them integrate into society and to promote multiculturalism, he added. (KWS-E)
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