Shownotes Transcript
Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!
I'm Trevor Tortomasi…
And I'm Clifford Chu.
In today's news:
A boat gets burned to the ground, British people are mad at their Prime Minister, and an old painting gets a new name.
All that and more, coming up next.
東港迎王平安祭典 Donggang's King Boat Burning Festival
The years of the Bull, Dragon, Goat, and Dog are auspicious (吉祥) for the people of Donggang (東港).
These are the years they get to take part in a special ceremony for "Wangye" (溫王爺), also called the god of plague (瘟疫之神).
The celebration is called the Wangye Worshipping, or the Donggang Boat Burning Ceremony, and takes place over eight days.
The celebration dates back to the Qing Dynasty, or about three centuries (世紀) ago, and to the days when Donggang attracted migrants (移民) from the Fujian province.
Those migrants often prayed to Wen Wangye to make sure he protected them from getting sick from different plagues. 移民經常祈求溫王爺保佑，避免得到各種瘟疫。
The biggest part of this eight day celebration is the burning of a beautifully painted wooden boat.
The wooden boat, which is known as the "King Boat" is not a fake (不是假貨).
In fact, organizers say the boat is seaworthy (可以出海), which means it can travel across the water, and won't sink (沈船).
It takes between 80 to 90 people to build and decorate (裝飾) this boat.
They spend between four and five months from start to finish (從頭到尾).
The last boat may have cost $10 million NT.
But the boat doesn't sit around for very long.
After it is dragged around on a tour to capture (捉住) evil spirits that cause disease and disasters, it is filled with paper dolls that represent people.
It is taken to a beach, where it is then burned to the ground (燒得一乾二凈).
The burning symbolises (象徵) Wang Ye's return to heaven, and the casting out of plagues.
And remember the paper dolls? Those are burned along with the boat.
And that's supposed to help the people they symbolise get rid of the evil spirits that might be harming them.
英國民眾對首相感到不滿 Many British People are Mad at their Prime Minister
A rule is a rule, and no one should be exempted (有豁免權), even if a rule is difficult to follow.
When the COVID-19 pandemic happened in Britain (英國) in 2020 and 2021, the British government imposed (強制施行) some very difficult rules.
One of the rules restricted social gatherings (限制社交聚會), like parties.
This meant that two or more people could not get together in an indoor space, no matter what the reason was.
This meant people couldn't visit family in hospitals.
They couldn't visit healthy relatives.
And they couldn't go to events like funerals (葬禮).
Anyone who broke the law would be fined (罰鍰).
But after the lockdowns ended, British people found out that even if they were following the law, their Prime Minister Boris Johnson wasn't doing the same thing. 當封城結束後，英國民眾發現首相強森並沒有像他們一樣遵守規定。
He, and people in his government, were throwing parties (舉辦派對).
The London Police conducted an investigation (進行調查) to be certain that the parties really happened.
As a result, several people in Johnson's office resigned (辭職下台).
Johnson himself was also found guilty (有罪) of breaking his own rules.
The police asked him and his wife to pay a fine.
Today, Boris Johnson is the first Prime Minister to have broken the law while serving in office (在職).
And because of that, many people think Johnson should resign.
一幅油畫重新命名 An Oil Painting Gets a New Name
An art museum decided to change the name of a painting created by artist Edgar Degas (竇加).
The painting used to be called "Russian Dancers" (俄羅斯舞者).
But the dancers in the picture were performing a traditional Ukrainian (烏克蘭) dance.
They even wore ribbons with Ukraine's national colors, yellow and blue.
So the museum said it was time to change the painting's name. 美術館認為，應該要更改畫作名稱。
The painting, which is now called "Ukranian Dancers" was painted during the time Ukraine was under Russian control (遭俄國掌控).
Degas fans are now wondering if similar paintings in New York and Texas will have the same name change too.
So, in today's News Bites:
The years of the Bull, Dragon, Goat, and Dog are auspicious ones for the people of Donggang.
These are the years they get to take part in a special ceremony for "Wangye", or the god of plague.
The celebration takes place over eight days, and dates back to the Qing Dynasty.
And…
Many British people are unhappy with their prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Johnson imposed very strict lockdown rules to keep COVID-19 from spreading.
But he and people in his government broke those rules, by holding parties.
And…
An art museum has changed the name of one classic painting.
Instead of being called "Russian Dancers"… the painting is now called "Ukrainian Dancers."
The dancers in the picture are wearing the national costume and colors of Ukraine.
And that's today's episode of News Bites!