In order to celebrate the 97th year of Republic Of China (ROC), the Taichung City Government and its associated institutes had a flag raising ceremony in the sports field of KungFu Elementary School. Thousands of people, both young and old, got up early to endure the chilly weather and welcome a brand New Year. Mrs. Hu accompanied Mayor Hu to the ceremony, and both were warmly welcomed by the crowd . Mayor Hu stated that the New Year will be a happy and progressive one, and residents and all nationals will surely be more and more delighted and prosperous. 

　　Mayor Hu wished a happy New Year for everyone. He described his wife as one part of the Joys, with himself being the other. He further stated that both of them had to appear together in order to properly represent the Joys (the Joys are composed of 2 Chinese characters, and wife and husband symbolize these 2 characters, always together). He further pointed out that everybody had the right to be happy, and everyone deserves to always be progressively happy. This is a principle based on family values.

　　The slogan of the New Year is entitled, “Smile and Warm City, Taichung”. At 7 am on Jan. 1st, over a thousand of people, including the younger generation accompanying their elders, gathered in the sports field of KungFu Elementary School and held small flags and balloons to welcome the year 2008. At precisely 8 AM, Mayor Hu led Taichung City Government teams and its associated institutes to sing the national song of ROC and watch the flag raised gradually. Before the ceremony, a healthy exercise was arranged to have participants warm up. National Taichung Second Senior High School and National Taichung Wen-Hua Senior High School had their band, their guard and their drum corps perform to show young energy. Afterward, the LaiWan Community Lion Performance showed the auspicious lion dance to celebrate the New Year coming.

　　After the ceremony, the City Government team and the ING team took part in a three-on-three basketball challenge, similar to previous years. The City Government team, led by Deputy Mayor Hsiao, beat the ING team headed by Deputy Chair Yang by the score of 6 to 5. This is a significant and pleasing ending for the ceremony.