1.
LS Brides and bridegrooms in hall.
2 1/2 ft

2.
CU An army officer and bride.
5 ft

3.
CU Groom and bride.
7 1/2 ft

4.
LS Mayor Huang speaking.
10 ft

5.
MLS Grooms remove veils of brides.
13 1/2 ft

6.
MCU Flower girls.
15 ft

7.
LS Grooms and bridges bowing to each other.
19 1/2 ft

8.
LS Officials at ceremony.
22 ft

9.
LS Couples exchange rings.
25 ft

10.
MLS Flower girls.
27 ft

11.
General Ma speaking.
29 ft

12.
LS Couples.
33 ft

13.
CU One couple.
34 1/2 ft

14.
MCU Couple signing marriage certificates.
39 ft

15.
MLS Couple.
40 1/2 ft

16.
MLS Couple moving away from table after signing.
43 ft

17.
LS Couples leaving hall.
45 ft



Initials TDH/V/AS



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In Taipei, capital of Formosa, the fourth Armed Forces Day - September 3 - was celebrated with the biggest mass wedding ever held on this island fortress. At the City Hall, 267 servicemen were married at a solemn ceremony sponsored by the friends of the Armed Forces Association of the Republic of China.

Of the 267 bridegrooms, 230 are members of the army, six of the navy and the remaining 31 belong to the air force. There were three colonels among the bridegrooms. 222 of the brides are natives of Formosa.

At this Taipei ceremony, General Ma Chi-Chuan, Deputy Minister of National Defence, officiated as a witness. He congratulated the new couples, and distributed gifts and cash awards to them.

After speeches by General Ma and Mayor Huang Chi-Jui, the couples faced each other and in a simple ceremony exchanged wedding rings and signed the wedding certificates.

The simple inexpensive mass wedding is a new feature in the Chinese Society noted for its elaborate and expensive wedding celebrations and funeral rites. The idea has caught up with the overseas Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaya and other places.