The opening of the newly constructed Bali-Sindian Expressway in Taipei County yesterday coincided with Taipei City's celebration of Carfree Day.
More than 10,000 cyclists flooded the 29.4km expressway for an unhindered ride that normally would have been impossible. The new expressway cuts the travel time between Bali and Sindian from one hour to about 25 minutes.
The cyclists also enjoyed rare unobstructed rides on the streets of Taipei yesterday.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) joined approximately 3,000 cyclists for a 12km ride from the Meiti Riverside Park in Neihu District (內湖) to the shopping precinct in Zhongxiao E Road.
Part of the area was closed to motor vehicles for a “green transportation exposition.”
Hau said by closing an area that is usually the busiest on weekends, the city government was trying to draw the attention of more people to the annual event.
Carfree Day, in its eighth year in Taipei, has helped promote environmental protection and won the support of many residents, he said.
“We hope every day will be car free day in Taipei City, moving it toward becoming a ‘green city,’” he said.
Also participating in yesterday's activity was Eric Knight Britton, a sustainability activist who introduced the concept of Carfree Day in 1994 in Spain.
Britton said that since then, more than 2,000 cities worldwide have held Carfree Days.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS