Taiwan's National Day fireworks celebration in Taichung Central Park took a surprising turn on Tuesday, leaving the crowd in disbelief.
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Taichung's National Day fireworks on Tuesday evening began 20 minutes ahead of schedule, surprising the 370,000-strong crowd. Attendees expressed their disappointment and said some people had even left their seats to use the bathroom, thus missing the opening of the show. Many had arrived hours early from other cities to secure their spots and were blindsided by the early start.
A heated debate ensued on the issue among Taichung city councilors. The main concern was the lack of prior notice. They also questioned the authority that issued the directive to begin earlier than planned. The city government said the early start was due to performances and speeches ending ahead of schedule. Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) of the Taichung City Information Bureau, said it was a judgment call made by on-site personnel and apologized for the oversight.
The planned 10-minute drone display was also disrupted with several drones deviating from their path and falling from the sky during the performance. The reason? According to the city government, more than 20 unidentified drones flew above the event site during the show. Monitoring equipment showed the number of rogue drones was as high as 50 or 60. Despite law enforcement efforts to use signal jammers to stop them, their numbers overwhelmed the authorities and the drone show had to be canceled.
Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) later raised her concerns, saying that the president and legislative speaker were present and that there should be a high level of alertness and security for such national events.