Hong Kong, the events capital of Asia, is setting the stage for a spectacular month-long program of winter celebrations and unbeatable festive thrills -- Hong Kong WinterFest.
Organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the colorful Hong Kong WinterFest will see a fusion of food, entertainment and spectacular lighting displays in a heady December-long celebration, combining Hong Kong's big-city attractions with its rich Chinese heritage.
A switch-on ceremony will kick-start the celebrations on Dec 1 as festive illuminations light up the city and Christmas wishes may even come true!
Epitomising Hong Kong's fusion of old and new, Eastern and Western traditions, the centrepiece will be a giant, computerized "Christmas Wishing Tree," which will be switched on as part of the ceremony and light up again every evening from 6 pm throughout the WinterFest.
Wishing Trees are a traditional Chinese good-luck icon.
The celebrations continue during the weekends of Dec 7 and 14, when some of Hong Kong's major food districts will be tempting visitors with signature dishes and promotions. Then, in the climax to the WinterFest, the weekend of Dec 20-22 sees the City of Life Street Carnival on the Hong Kong waterfront at Wan Chai.
Bringing together musical performances from local and international stars, a Biergarten with Chinese barbecue food, dancing, a kids parade and booths selling popular Chinese products, the City of Life Street Carnival will be a lively and exciting way for visitors to join in the festive celebrations in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong WinterFest is not the only reason to visit Hong Kong at this timea of year, when temperatures drop to a pleasant 16 degrees (average temperature).
Other attractions include city wide winter sales with discounts as much as 70 percent, the Hong Kong International Races (Dec 15) -- featuring the world's top jockeys, outdoor Christmas and New Year's parties, a world carnival funfair in Kowloon (former Kai Tak Airport), mammoth Santa's grottos in department stores.
The Hong Kong Wintefest is the fifth and final event undertaken as part of the City of Life -- Hong Kong is it! program -- helping visitors get the most out of their stay through the promotion of over 200 attractions throughout the city's 18 districts and a series of major events reinforcing Hong Kong's position as the events capital of Asia.
For details, visit website, www.discoverhongkong.com
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique