The dazzling fireworks show at Taipei 101 has been the climax of New Year’s Eve countdown parties in Taipei since the skyscraper was completed in 2004, but the tradition may become history after a 272m-tall building nearby is completed in 2015.
Media reports say the new building is to be built on a 5,357 ping (17,709m2) plot of land just 60m from the 509m-high Taipei 101 and will have 45 floors, making it the second-tallest building in the city.
The plot of land, which now houses the Taipei World Trade Center’s Hall 2, was leased by the Taipei City Government to Nan Shan Life Insurance Co for 50 years for a royalty of NT$26.8 billion (US$894 million) in a contract that was inked last year.
According to Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪), the safety distance for fireworks displays is 100m and although the new building will not be situated right next to Taipei 101, it will be just 60m away.
“The new skyscraper’s close proximity to Taipei 101 poses a problem to the design of the building’s countdown fireworks show. Because the vertical safety distance for fireworks displays is 150m, setting off fireworks from the 89th floor could be a problem,” Liu said.
However, as construction is still in the preparatory phase, this year’s fireworks show is unlikely to be affected, Liu said, adding that Taipei 101 officials would meet with the insurance corporation and the Taipei City Government soon to discuss possible solutions to the problem.
In response, Nan Shan said its project was being carried out in accordance with city regulations and that the planned building’s surroundings had been factored into its design.
“The company hopes that the new building can bring about mutual prosperity with businesses in Xinyi District (信義) and provide a boost to the local economy,” Nan Shan said.
Taipei 101’s fireworks shows led to Taipei being selected by CNN as one of the top 10 destinations in the world in which to welcome a new year.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
President William Lai (賴清德) today condemned an alleged attempt by two Chinese to snatch a letter of congratulations handed to Taiwan’s taekwondo team after they won silver at the Summer World University Games in Essen, Germany, yesterday. A Chinese man and woman reportedly tried to snatch a congratulatory letter to athletes Hung Jiun-yi (洪俊義), Jung Jiun-jie (鍾俊傑) and Huang Cho-cheng (黃卓乘) from the Ministry of Education, and then argued with media employees. “Why are you taking our things?” the media employees asked. “Does that say Chinese Taipei?” the two Chinese reportedly said. Following the incident, Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) wrote on
RSS