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Dear
Friends,
The festive mood that came with
the Christmas of 2018 and the New Year of 2019 isn’t really far away. And
now the joyfully red spring couplets and the red lanterns remind us once and
again that we will soon bid farewell to the Year of the Dog and welcome the
arrival of the Year of the Pig.
Here in Taiwan, we are
privileged to celebrate various festivals with people who welcome
diversified cultures with open arms just as the people of South Africa.
In the Year of the Dog, apart
from promoting the bilateral trade and investment, the Liaison Office of
South Africa participated in the South African Festivities-SAFFAFEST both in
Taipei and Kaohsiung. During these two events, we had fervent interaction
with local people who were eager to understand more about the South African
culture.
And we invited our African
friends to join us in offering the people of Taiwan a taste of African
culture during the Africa Culture, Products and Services Exhibition held in
Taipei in October 2018.
We also received a lot of
feedback and response from travel agents who participated in the SA tourism
seminars held in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. As the process of visa
application has become more simplified, we believe there will be more
Taiwanese tourists visiting South Africa in the year to come.
But no feedback and response can
be compared with those from the students of the Chi-Lee University of
Technology (CLUT), where we celebrated the centenary of Nelson Mandela and
Albertina Sisulu, “the two iconic man and woman who in their selfless lives
spent in fighting for the freedom, democracy, justice and equality of the
entire human race in South Africa”.
As one of the students put it,
“after listening to the stories of Nelson Mandela and Mama Sisulu, I have
come to understand the harm and pain caused by racial discrimination. It is
important to treat people around you equally, regardless of their skin
colors, races, genders. Mandela and Mama Sisulu were very brave and deserved
praises. Without them, we could not have understood the value of freedom and
democracy.”
Thanks to the organizers as well
as the participants of all the events. You have made this Year of the Dog a
very fruitful year! We sincerely hope that the Year of the Pig will be a
year of prosperity and good health for the people of both South Africa and
Taiwan.
Gong Xi Fa Cai,
R S Matsebe
Representative of the Liaison Office of South Africa
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親愛的朋友：
2018年聖誕節的歡樂氣氛和2019新年的喜悅剛離我們不遠。時序進入臘月，大街小巷喜氣洋洋的春聯和大紅的燈籠，再次提醒我們：即將告別狗年並且迎接豬年的到來。
南非聯絡辦事處在台灣可以和當地居民一起慶祝各種不同的節日，這是一件很特別的事情。台灣人張開雙臂擁抱多元文化一如南非人民。
回顧狗年，除了促進南非與台灣的雙邊經貿，南非辦事處參與了兩場分別在台北和高雄舉辦的「南非文化祭」(SAFFAFEST)。在這兩次文化祭當中，我們和眾多參觀的訪客有熱絡的互動，因為他們想要進一步了解南非文化。
我們還邀請非洲的朋友參加2018年10月在台北舉行的「非洲文化、商品暨服務展」：藉著這次展覽，擴大台灣人對非洲文化的認知與了解。
2018年11月，南非聯絡辦事處分別在台北、台中和高雄舉辦三場「南非旅遊說明會」。眾多當地的旅行業者參加了這三場說明會，反應非常熱烈並且回饋給我們不少寶貴的意見。目前申請南非簽證的手續已逐步簡化，相信在未來的一年，一定有更多的台灣旅客參訪南非。
2018年10月初，南非聯絡辦事處受邀參加致理科技大學舉辦的「南非週」活動。2018年適逢南非前總統曼德拉
(Nelson Mandela)
和希蘇魯女士
(Albertina Sisulu)
的百年誕辰，非常榮幸能夠藉著這次活動，向致理科技大學學生介紹這兩位南非的人權鬥士和女權運動先驅。
讓我們印象最深刻、最難忘的回饋就是來自於致理科技大學的學生。其中一位學生告訴我們：「在聽完有關曼德拉和希蘇魯的故事和生平介紹，終於能夠了解種族歧視造成的傷害和痛苦。我們要平等對待每一個人，這是非常重要的，不論他的膚色、性別或種族。曼德拉和希蘇魯領導南非人民反抗不公不義，非常勇敢而且令人景仰。沒有他們，我們無法確切了解民主與自由的真正價值。」
感謝所有活動的主辦單位以及參與者，南非聯絡辦事處在過去的一年當中收穫良多。誠摯希望在未來的豬年，南非人和台灣人都能夠繁榮興盛、健康如意！
並祝
恭喜發財
Robert Seraki
Matsebe
南非聯絡辦事處 代表
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