Taipei, May 17 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian took part in the 2003 Sanyi Wood Carving Festival Saturday in Miaoli County and hailed the event that has turned Sanyi -- a Hakka township -- into a synonym for the wood-carvers craft in Taiwan.
Praising the annual carving festival for transforming Sanyi from a rural backwater to a well-known tourist spot in central Taiwan, Chen also lauded the Sanyi cuisine and ceramics as features attractive enough to lure tourists.
According to the president, Sanyi has found its own unique way after a deep soul-searching process.
Chen called on the people of Taiwan to visit the festival --one of the 12 major festivals promoted by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications -- get to know Sanyi and experience the Hakka culture, although the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has cast a shadow on everyday life.