In downtown Taipei on Friday, the Caribbean community celebrated St Vincent (SVG) 44th independence day with song and dance.
The SVG embassy in Taiwan held a “Street Festival” Friday at the plaza across from Xiangti Avenue Plaza in Taipei’s Xinyi District to celebrate the 44th anniversary of independence from the UK on Oct. 27, 1979, and the fourth anniversary of the country’s first Asian embassy.
Participants began the celebration by singing “Saint Vincent, Land so Beautiful,” the Caribbean nation’s anthem, holding SVG flags.
“This occasion is extremely important for us,” SVG Ambassador Andrea Bowman told CNA.
Taiwan and SVG have 42 years of formal diplomatic connections, and she wants Taiwanese see, hear, understand, and recognize her country.
Bowman added, “I’m very, very thrilled with the kind of support we are getting from so many various countries in Taiwan… Most are come to support Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as we do Taiwan.”
St. Christopher and Nevis Ambassador Donya Francis, St. Lucian Ambassador Robert Kennedy Lewis, and Belizean Ambassador to Taiwan Candice Pitts attended.
A question-and-answer session and musical performances by Taiwanese SVG community members honored their homeland.
At the anniversary event, Taiwan’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs director-general Cheng Li-Cheng (鄭力埏) lauded SVG as a “staunch diplomatic ally and steadfast friend of Taiwan.”
At the 78th U.N. General Assembly this year, SVG Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves called for Taiwan to be included in the UN system, Cheng said, adding that he hopes the two countries’ “vital partnership” will continue.
Eric Yu (余振華), executive director of Taipei local’s International Affairs Advisory Council, stated that the SVG embassy frequently attends local events like Smart City & Expo and the Taipei Lantern Festival.
Yu stated that if the embassy needed to hire a public area for an event, Taipei City has tried to help it.
Yu said the Taipei City government is in talks with Kingstown, the SVG capital, to become sister cities and exchange more.
