Taiwan prepares to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit

(21 Jan 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++PART MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taipei – 21 January 2023
1. Various of crowd gathering at Jianguo Flower Market
2. Various of elderly ladies looking at ornaments
3. Various of stand selling lilies
4. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Chen (only name given), Lily flower stand owner:
“I hope that the economy (next year) will be better. In the past years, business at Jianguo Flower Market was affected a lot. Business compared to pre-COVID years dropped about 30%.”
5. Close of stand employee wearing bunny ears on her head
6. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Chen (only name given), Lily flower stand owner:
“Business this year is similar to the past year. But flowers this year are more expensive because there are less of them due to the cold weather and the Lunar New Year that came earlier. Customers are reluctant to spend money. Flowers are simply too expensive.”
7. Various of religious person walking in the flower market
8. Various of stall selling rabbit ornaments
9. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Liu (0only name given), rabbit ornament stand owner:
“Business this year is okay. The pandemic has slowed down. Next year is the Year of The Dragon, so I am expecting better business. My stock is almost gone, only very little left. Thank you, happy new year to all.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taipei – 13 January 2023
10. Wide of plane flying over Confucius Temple
11. Various of people cutting paper ornaments
12. Mid of Pai, a Confucius Temple volunteer
13. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Pai (only name given), Confucius Temple volunteer:
“This year is the Year of the Rabbit. It gives people a more playful image, and it is very cute. This is why we see images of rabbits around us, unlike the Year of the Tiger that is rather a serious image. We hope to embrace the Year of the Rabbit with more joy after the pandemic.”
14. Various of paper-made rabbit ++MUTE++
15. Wide of guzheng player with calligrapher in background
16. Various of calligrapher Tang Ching writing a new year couplet with a rabbit drawing
17. Various of calligrapher showing the couplet which reads “Jade rabbit welcomes the New Year”
STORYLINE:
People in Taiwan are preparing celebrations for the Lunar New Year as the island’s economy slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Taiwanese are preparing to welcome the Year of the Rabbit, this year’s animal form the Chinese zodiac, with festivities starting on January 22.

Despite concerns over COVID-19, a florist in Taipei hoped that business in the new year will be better than the previous one, saying that trade has dropped by 30% compared to pre-Covid years.

“Flowers this year are more expensive because there are less of them due to the cold weather and the Lunar New Year that came earlier,” he said.

Preparations for the coming year also includes household decorations in the shape of rabbit.

The Confucius Temple in Taipei has been holding sessions for people to make rabbit decorations.

One volunteer at the temple described the Year of the Rabbit decorations as being “playful” and “cute.”

AP video shot by Taijing Wu.

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