Is Yunlin’s Mailiao being “flagged for unification”? A Chinese tourist balloon floats to Taiwan with a “family portrait”

Reported by Reporter You T-Ru / Interview & Report




                               ▲A unification balloon from Yunlin? (Photo provided by Cai Ke-si)

At the entrance of the village chief’s home in Xinghua Village, Mailiao, Yunlin, a massive sky balloon floated in this morning, with a large red balloon caught on the wires of a utility pole, drawing crowds of villagers. After the balloon was taken down and unfurled, people discovered that the flag beneath it was inscribed in simplified Chinese characters with the words “May great endeavors soar even more gloriously,” along with the label “Quanfu Village” underneath — prompting the village chief’s son to jokingly speculate, “This must be conveying some kind of message. Is it wishing us family happiness? Or inviting us to visit?”

An online search for the “Quanfu Village” written on the large balloon suggests, based on geographic location and wind direction, that the balloon likely originated from “Quanfu Village” in Chaozhou, Guangdong, traveled across the 145-nautical-mile Taiwan Strait, and — as fate would have it — landed in Xinghua Village, Mailiao, Yunlin, getting stuck on the wires in front of the village chief’s house. The village chief’s family, having woken up early on New Year’s Eve, found this “unexpected guest” and remarked that the balloon had arrived at a truly fortuitous time. The balloon has since been taken down but is now prominently displayed at the entrance of the village chief’s home, allowing all villagers passing by to admire this special long-distance “mainland visitor” that came to celebrate the Spring Festival.


                            ▲The village chief takes a photo with the “mainland visitor.” (Photo provided by Cai Ke-si)