Taipei 101 has been named as one of mankind’s greatest engineering achievements on a list recently compiled by US news network CNN.
Once the world’s tallest building in 2004, it is now the third tallest. Taipei 101 was the first building to be above 500m, CNN said.
It also had the world’s fastest elevator when it was completed, CNN added.
 
                    Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The broadcaster said it decided to compile the list following a series of announcements in recent months about impressive building projects, such as Dubai’s plan to build the world’s biggest shopping mall.
Other skyscrapers on list of 25 construction or engineering feats include the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Shanghai World Financial Center in China and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
The modern structures featured on the list are the Palm in Dubai, the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Russia, Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe, Tokyo Sky Tree and Kansai Airport in Osaka, the US’ Hoover Dam, Golden Gate Bridge and Grand Canyon Skywalk, Canada’s White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad and Confederation Bridge, France’s Eiffel Tower and Millau Viaduct, London’s Underground system, the Panama Canal and the International Space Station.
The list also covered historical structures, including the Colosseum in Rome; the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt; the Aztec city of Teotihuacan in Mexico; India’s Taj Mahal; Spain’s Aqueduct of Segovia and China’s Great Wall.

The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading

The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,

COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,