Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) There will be a three-day celebration for Filipino fishermen during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays in Tung Kang, Pintung County, and they will have as much joy as Taiwanese who are home for the holidays, a Filipino fishermen association announced Friday.
The celebration will be held at St. Michael Parish's Patio in the southern port city of Tung Kang, Pintung County, from Jan. 29-31, said Teofilo E. Soriano, the President of Samahan Ng Mangingisdang Pilipino Sa Taiwan (Association of Filipino Fishermen in Taiwan).
Celebration activities will include a eucharistic celebration held by three Filipino priests, a get-together party and a simple program on Jan. 29, a basketball competition on Jan. 30, and a exhibition basketball game on Jan. 31.
Some 200 Filipino fishermen who work in southern Taiwan are expected to participate in the celebration, said Sister Victoria Changcoco, who has been living in Taiwan for five years, in a telephone interview.
There will be three teams competing in the basketball games on the second day, she said. And the winning team of fishermen will meet a team of Filipino factory workers from a nearby city for an exhibition game on the final day.
The Philippines is a basketball-crazy country, and over 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholics. "There's no better way to celebrate the holidays than with basketball and faith," she said.
The event is being supported by the Manila Economics and Cultural Office-Labor Center and the Dominican Sisters of our Lady of Remedies in Tung Kang.
Meanwhile, a singing contest will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center on Feb. 1. It is being sponsored by Elite, a Philippines delivery company.
St. Christopher's Church, which is located in Taipei City, will also organize a sight-seeing tour to the central city of Miaoli for Filipinos during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.