The opening dance welcomed Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, and the elephant-headed Ganesha, god of new beginnings and remover of obstacles. Then Divali lamps were lit by Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s minister of foreign affairs; legislator Wu Yu-chin, head of the Taiwan–India Parliamentary Friendship Association in the Legislative Yuan; Hsu Szu-chien, deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council; Harsha Das, wife of Gourangalal Das, director-general of the India Taipei Association (ITA); and Aparna Ganesan, acting director-general of the ITA.
In his remarks, Joseph Wu stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is honored to have been able to financially support Diwali celebrations for three consecutive years. This demonstrates the friendly partnership that exists between Taiwan and India, based on trust and shared values. In recent years there have been continual advances in mutual cooperation in fields including trade, critical supply chains, and education.
Wu emphasized that bilateral trade between Taiwan and India hit a record high of US$7.7 billion in 2021, an increase of 64% over 2020, and expressed his hope that relations between the two countries would continue to improve in the coming year.
In prerecorded videos, Sujeet Kumar, a member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian parliament), and Shankar Lalwani, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha (the lower house), thanked MOFA for supporting Diwali and other cultural events of Indians living in Taiwan for three years running, saying that it showed how seriously the government and people of Taiwan take their relationship with India and how much they value Indian culture.
The event was hosted by Priya Lee Lalwani, founder of the group “Indians in Taiwan.” She introduced the premiere performance by the Taiwan-based Shakti India Dance Group of their Ram Leela dance drama, based on episodes from the epic poem Ramayana depicting the defeat of the army of the demon Ravana by an army of monkeys led by Prince Rama. This story of good triumphing over evil is one of the legends behind the Diwali festival. The joyous ambience at the event enabled everyone to happily greet the coming year together.
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