People will be able to learn more about Taipei’s historical sites, public artworks and old shops after the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs launched more than 200 tours featuring cultural, artistic and historical sites.
The “Insight City Guide Taipei” program offers 221 guide tours that will run through Nov. 30. These will include 120 “district tours” to local attractions in 12 districts. The Daan District (大安) tour, for example, will feature historical sites in the area, such as Yin Foo-sun’s Residence (殷海光故居) and Wistaria Tea House (紫藤廬).
Visitors can also choose from 97 guided tours that are divided into 18 themes focusing on temples, hiking or tea culture. The “Sweet Osmanthus Trail,” for example, will invite participants to take a walk along the trail in Nankang, visiting a local tea garden and tea oil factory.
In celebration of World Heritage Day next month, the department will offer four tours on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15 and take visitors to sites usually closed to the public, including the Presidential Office building, Taipei Guest House, the Executive Yuan and Control Yuan buildings.
Department Commissioner Liu Wei-kung (劉維公) said the program involves local artists and historians explaining the stories behind the attractions during the tours to help visitors understand more about the city.
“Taipei is a city that has more to offer than gourmet food and shopping, and the tours will introduce different characteristics at 12 districts and historical sites to all visitors,” he said.
The three-month program will cover more than 400 cultural and historical sites around the city, 1,700 old trees and 484 public art displays, he said.
The program is free, but reservations are required. For more information visit www.icgtp.com or call (02) 2556-0986.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard