Taipei City Government

On May 11, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the press conference introducing a Solar Eclipse Event cohosted by the Taipei Astronomical Museum (TAM) and Chiayi City Government.

During his address, Ko quoted Nicolaus Copernicus’ famous saying of ‘It is man’s duty to be courageous enough to seek for truth.’ He noted that human understanding of solar eclipse went from the sun being eaten by celestial dogs to an astronomical phenomenon, thanks to advances in science.

He invited the audience to mark down June 21 on their calendar and travel to Chiayi City for the solar eclipse event. Otherwise, they might have to wait 2 centuries for the next opportunity to catch another optimal view of the phenomenon in Taiwan.

The upcoming solar eclipse event on June 21 will take place at Chiayi City’s North Xianghu Park. TAM will set up solar telescopes for visitors to observe the eclipse. Furthermore, the institution will also broadcast live footages from other locations where the eclipse is visible, such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Taitung.

Citing Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui’s address earlier, Ko admitted that he didn’t expect his counterpart to be so professional in marketing her city’s specialties such as stewed fish head casserole and turkey meat. He hopes that those planning to visit Chiayi for the eclipse can also help boost the local economy through shopping.

With April typically being the time when Taipei holds Children’s month events, he expressed regret that the activities were cancelled due to the pandemic. However, he nonetheless encouraged parents to bring their kids out and visit city facilities such as the zoo and the newly refurbished TAM. Of course, visitors have to remember to wear face masks, wash their hands frequently, and implement social distancing.