This year’s Bike Day has a new mission: turning Taiwan, the bicycle manufacturing giant, into a “cycling paradise.”
Thousands of cyclists attended a morning event yesterday in which participants took part in an 11km round-trip ride from the Presidential Office to Taipei City Hall.
Since the Executive Yuan designated Bike Day in 2007, the country’s 25 counties and cities have held different events to promote cycling to environmentally aware and budget-conscious consumers.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the country, known as the bicycle kingdom, sold 5.4 million bicycles on the global market last year. Taiwan is home to some of the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturers, which supply a wide array of finished bikes, components and accessories.
Last year, Ma initiated a “three-stage bicycle rites of passage” for youth to cycle into adulthood. The program encourages youngsters to ride 100km when they are 16 years old, 500km when they turn 18 and 1,000km when they reach 20.
Over 4,000 people have participated in the 100km program and several hundred each in the 500km and 1,000km rides. Ma said he would like to see more people partake in the initiative.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said that with the joint effort between the public and private sectors, he hoped Taiwan would develop into a “cycling paradise” within two or three years.
“We hope that when the international community thinks of bicycles, they think of Taiwan’s bicycle manufacturers such a Giant and Merida, and think of Taiwan when it comes to cycling,” he said.
Meanwhile, King Liu (劉金標), the chairman and co-founder of Giant Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest bicycle maker, said he would set off on May 9 for a cycling tour from Beijing to Shanghai.
The 75-year-old said he expected to complete the 1,668km trip in 20 days. Liu completed a 927km ride around Taiwan in 17 days in 2007.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS