On Saturday, Sept. 20 the community of Rockville, Maryland held its 7th annual Taiwan Bubble Tea Festival organized by Taiwan Sister Cities (TSC) in partnership with the Rockville Sister Cities Corporation (RSCC).
This festival celebrates Taiwanese culture through its most iconic drink—bubble tea.
Over the years the event has become one of the region’s most beloved, drawing crowds as large as 12,000 people. The festival spotlights “a vibrant lineup of bubble tea vendors, cultural performances, live music and interactive booths for all ages,” reads an advert for the festival.
Festivities began at 10 am and continued until 4 pm at Rockville Town Square.
The festival attracted a number of community leaders, including the Mayor of Rockville, Monique Ashton.
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“Rockville is proud to be one of the most diverse cities in Maryland,” Ashton told a crowd of festival goers from the event’s main stage, adding that more than 20 percent of Rockville’s population is Asian-American.
“Festivals like this remind us that when we come together, that we are stronger. That when we come together, when we hug each other, when we are with people that we are happier. We are not happy divided. We are happy unified,” Ashton said.
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‘People to people diplomacy’
Steve Fisher, the Secretary of Rockville Sister Cities Corporation (RSCC) told Vision Times that events like the Bubble Tea Festival are an example of “people to people diplomacy.”
He described his organization’s student exchange relationships with communities in both Germany and Taiwan. He said exchanges have been occurring between a community in Germany for almost 70 years and with Taiwan for six years.
“We have exchange students in high school from here to go to Taiwan, to Germany, and we have students from Taiwan and Germany come here,” Fisher said.
When asked about tensions between Beijing and Taiwan, Fisher explained, “Our organisation, as a concept, is to help avoid those kinds of hostilities by making friends in other countries, so they don’t want to attack us and we won’t attack them.”
Congressman Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District was also in attendance.
He told Vision Times that his office is “working on social security, we’re working on Medicare, we’re working on Medicaid, we are working on veteran’s benefits—anything people need our office will try to help you if it deals with the federal government.”
Commenting on tensions surrounding Taiwan, Raskin said, “The democratic governments of the world, the democratic parties of the world, and the democratic peoples of the world have to defend each other against all of the autocrats and dictators.”
When asked what elected officials can do to address the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the West, Raskin said, “The governments of the world have to take a strong stand against it, and speak out against it.”
According to the official RSCC website, the organization is an all volunteer “people-to-people” organization that conducts “robust local initiatives.”
Closely affiliated with Rockville Sister Cities, RSCC says, “If you enjoy international travel, hosting foreign guests in your home, helping high school students realize the dream of a trip to another country, and meeting other people with similar interests, Rockville Sister Cities is for you!”
With reporting by Min Xiao
