President Lai visits Bishop Museum in Hawaii

News Release from Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan) 2024-12-01 中文

On the morning of November 30 local time (early morning of December 1 Taipei time), President Lai Ching-te landed at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to transit through Hawaii as the first stop on his itinerary en route to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and the Republic of Palau. Representative to the United States Alexander Tah-ray Yui (俞大㵢) and American Institute in Taiwan Managing Director Ingrid D. Larson boarded the chartered plane to welcome President Lai, while Governor of Hawaii Josh Green, Mayor of Honolulu Rick Blangiardi, and Honolulu Chief of Police Arthur J. Logan greeted the president at the airstair. The president and his delegation then traveled by car to their hotel, where they were warmly greeted by members of the Taiwanese expatriate community.

The same morning, President Lai visited Bishop Museum, where he was welcomed at the entrance by Museum Director Manu Kaiama and President Dee Jay Mailer. They then led the president to a lawn area to hear traditional songs being sung, and President Mailer presented a flower lei to President Lai.

President Lai was then led on a guided tour of exhibits featuring Pacific Ocean maps, cultural artifacts of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, and maps of the migrations of Austronesian peoples across Oceania, as well as the first-floor exhibition hall to learn more about the history and culture related to Pacific Austronesian migrations. One area of note was the museum’s Pacific Hall, the floor of which features a map that specifically marks Taiwan, and where cultural artifacts of the Atayal and Paiwan peoples of Taiwan are displayed, symbolizing the deep connections between Taiwan and Pacific Austronesian languages.

At the end of the visit, President Lai witnessed a gift-giving ceremony between Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples Ljaucu‧Zingrur (曾智勇) and President Mailer of Bishop Museum, and accepted the gift of a lei hulu (feather lei) from President Mailer as a symbol of friendship between Taiwan and Hawaii. During this time, President Lai also enjoyed friendly interactions with members of the Taiwanese expatriate community who had come to the museum.

Bishop Museum is Hawaii’s largest museum, designated as the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History of Hawaii in 1988. The museum is dedicated to preserving Hawaiian and Pacific history, and is an important natural and cultural museum for the Pacific region, as well as a top museum for understanding the history and culture of Hawaii, Polynesia, and Oceania.

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