Back to Sunny life part 2: Groundbreaking Taipei

In downtown Taipei, a balding security guard holds up a laminated sheet of A3 paper. The text -in mandarin- on the paper loosely translated reads:

“Cross borders, innovate. Perpetuate the mission.

Join hands for common progress and let environmental education flourish.

National Taiwan Museum.

All in together Let's go go go”

 It turns out that man is part of a film set of a promotional film for the National Taiwan Museum. At the director's signal, the entire staff, including the chairman of the museum, shouts the text from the paper at the viewer and then runs past the rolling camera, wildly waving arms in the air. The scene is rehearsed several times. In the background, mascots wave in front of the museum, and next to the film set, a man and his three dogs watch the spectacle with amusement.

Late in the morning, we walk past another rehearsal. In the pouring rain, under a large tent, people are busy rehearsing for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new building. The master of ceremonies, dressed in a poncho, plays a dignitary behind the lectern. The supporting boys and girls from the events agency, who will later hand over the immaculate white helmets and gloves to guests, stand in a tight line. At the master of ceremonies' signal, they play guests presenting offerings for the smooth running of the construction. The man behind the lectern monotonously recites the speech that will soon be delivered. At the end of a specific passage where the audience is supposed to clap, the man behind the microphone imitates the sound of applause. "Bububububububububu," he says, and the boys and girls clap politely.