00:00Lantern Festival is less than a week away, and if you come to Taipei's Ximen neighborhood now,
00:05you'll see lanterns like these lighting up the bustling shopping streets.
00:18Taipei Mayor Jiang Wanan and his team light up the globe, symbolizing the annual event's grand opening.
00:24Many of these designs celebrate the year of the horse.
00:27This 8-meter-tall centerpiece Baby Molly even rotates and puts on a light show every 20 minutes.
00:51At the other festival area in Expo Park,
00:55a 10-meter-tall Optimus Prime wows the crowd.
00:59Right next to it are lanterns representing different countries,
01:02like this piece marking the United States' 250th anniversary.
01:07Some locals say the Taipei Festival has become an annual tradition for them.
01:26But there have been controversies around Chinese links to some pieces.
01:31That's as the delegation from Shanghai is at the event for the first time since 2024,
01:36though with lower-ranking officials this year.
01:38Some say the Shanghai Lantern, titled This is Shanghai,
01:43draws a connection to China's claim over Taiwan.
01:46The centerpiece lanterns in Ximen, designed and created by Chinese-based toy company Popmart,
01:52have also raised concerns that Taiwanese artists are not in the spotlight.
01:56But spectators here don't seem to mind.
02:00It should be designed for his own creativity, I don't think it's too much to think.
02:05He thinks there's a lot of people here at Paule Mart,
02:09so he thinks it's a象徵. I don't think there's anything wrong.
02:12Although it's a Chinese brand,
02:16but in some kind of creativity,
02:22there's some kind of trend in the industry.
02:25But if I use another level,
02:28I still support Taiwan's original culture.
02:33Taipei's city government has dismissed criticism about the festival's curation.
02:37It says the annual event is focused on showcasing the city itself.
02:42With this year's festival set to attract tens of thousands of visitors,
02:45political concerns are taking a backseat to the glowing allure of the lanterns.
02:49And be sure to get your camera ready when it's your turn to snap a pic.
02:52Andy Xue and Irene Lin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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