The coldest weather for 11 years helped the nation's largest department store chain break Lunar New Year's sales records.
"We have seen sales of NT$1.2 billion generated by our 11 outlets nationwide during the five-day New Year holiday from New Year's Eve [Wednesday] to Sunday, which is a record for our sales during this period since our establishment 13 years ago," Shauna Lee (
"The coldest weather during the holidays in the past 11 years prompted people to do more indoor activities, like shopping in department stores, which contributed a lot to our sales," Lee said.
Mitsukoshi's Taichung outlet recorded the highest sales during the holidays. Sales there grew 11 percent to NT$300 million.
Lee predicted that sales at all the nation's department stores could be as high as NT$4 billion for the holiday period.
"Spurred by the low temperatures, heaters and warm clothing are our best-sellers," Lee said. "Clearance sales of clothes plus parents' generosity in buying children's toys helped boost sales in this period as well."
Mitsukoshi's major rival, Pacific Sogo Department Store Group (太平洋崇光百貨), agreed with Lee's comments, adding that "lucky bags" containing popular products such as cosmetics and electronic items helped attract customers and lifted sales.
"Our Taipei outlet alone generated sales of NT$300 million over the five-day period ... an increase of 11 percent from last year, which is better than our expectations," said Nancy Ting (
Core Pacific City Mall (
"Our cinema was packed with customers who needed to queue for 20 minutes to buy tickets," said spokeswoman Alison Kao (高治華).
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force