When the clock struck midnight, a fireworks display lasting 188 seconds illuminated the Taipei 101 skyscraper, enchanting the tens of thousands of revelers who had come to enjoy the New Year's Eve Party sponsored by the Taipei City Government last night to count down to the new year.
The fireworks show, which attracted at least 400,000 people last year, wowed spectators again this year.
A rainfall of fireworks lit up the sky at midnight, followed by another 12 series of fireworks explosions and the lighting up of the world's tallest skyscraper.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Building on last year's success, the number of fireworks was increased from 8,000 to 10,000, constituting 12 series of explosions in eight different colors.
"Five, four, three, two, one: Happy New Year!" Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and pop star Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) said, counting down on stage to ring in the new year.
Former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was scheduled to join the countdown with Hau, later declined to attend last night's event, saying that the city government was now in Hau's hands.
The 13-hour marathon party, which the city government claimed to be the largest in the country, began in Xinyi District with a 3-hour parade at 2pm.
A total of 15 teams of cheerleaders from Taipei Jingmei Girls High School, along with marching bands, groups of bikers, Japanese Taiko drummers and clowns strolled down Songgao, Songzhi, and Songshou roads, cheered on by revelers taking pictures of the parade.
Nearby at Taipei's Champs Elysees ethnic performances from Brazil, the Middle East and Japan were performed.
Long before the main concert started at 7pm in front of Taipei City Hall, crowds started to gather in Xinyi District, vying for spots in the area and at MRT stations nearby to get a good view of the fireworks and concert.
"We are here for the fireworks. The show last year was great, and we don't want to miss it this year," said a woman surnamed Kao, who had arrived with her two sons.
At another corner, a father surnamed Wu, who drove with his sons from Taoyuan, arrived at Xinyi District around 1pm with his New Year's Eve schedule all planned out.
"I promised my kids weeks ago that I would take them to Taipei today. We watched the parade and went to do some shopping before the concert and fireworks," he said.
The party, however, didn't end after the countdown, as the popular rock band, May Day, sent the crowd to new heights with a concert lasting until sunrise.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of an accident two years ago, when a woman who had taken part in the New Year festivities was injured after falling down an MRT station escalator because of overcrowding, MRT station staff were asked to closely monitor crowds.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from