After a competition earlier this year, Taipei came out as one of the 22 cities listed on the new world edition of the board game Monopoly, its creator Hasbro Inc said.
In January, Hasbro launched an online vote inviting Monopoly fans worldwide to vote for cities they wanted to see represented on the new Monopoly game.
In addition to voting for 70 cities on a list, Monopoly fans could also suggest other cities of their choice to add to it.
“More than 5.6 million votes were cast for 70 world-class cities, which determined 20 of the 22 cities featured in the game,” a Hasbro press release said.
The 20 most-popular additional cities faced off in a bonus vote with the two gaining the most votes added to the new edition of the board game, the statement said.
The result was finally released on Wednesday — with Taipei and Gdynia, Poland, coming out as the top two bonus cities on the new board.
“I’m very, very happy [to hear the news],” said Crane Lee (李鶴婷), an Internet user and a passionate campaigner for Taipei during the voting process. “I voted every day myself, and asked as many people as I could to vote for Taipei.”
Lee was not the only enthusiast, as many other Internet users nationwide mobilized their families and friends to vote for Taipei using e-mails, text messages or online messengers.
Some even used words urging their friends to vote for Taipei as the screen name on their online messengers.
“I hope that more people learn about Taipei and become interested in the city through playing Monopoly and with their interest in Taipei, I’d hope they would want to know more about Taiwan,” Lee said.
“We are thrilled that the first-ever global game board includes an interesting mix of cities that showcases the dynamic cultures, sights and history of the planet,” Monopoly global marketing vice president Helen Martin said in the press release.
The new game will feature cultural events around the world and tokens, houses and hotels will represent styles from all continents, the press release said.
Outside the bonus vote session, Montreal, Canada, and Riga, Latvia, were the two cities that received the most votes.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS