The Taipei City Government will “definitely not” subsidize Taipei 101’s year-end firework show, city officials said yesterday at a Taipei City Council question-and-answer session.
Taipei Department of Tourism and Information Commissioner Chien Yu-yan (簡余晏) and Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐) rejected the possibility when asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Wei-chung (王威中) to respond to Taipei 101’s request that the municipal government help fund the fireworks show.
Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪) on Wednesday told reporters that progress on fundraising for the event, which bears a NT$45 million (US$1.43 million) price tag, had been slow.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
A number of directors proposed at a board meeting to ask the city government for funds, Liu said, adding that such a proposal was “unprecedented.”
Liu said that Taipei 101 began soliciting sponsorship for the show in June, but has been met with indifference.
In August the company turned to government agencies, including the Taipei Department of Tourism and Information and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in the hope of raising money, Liu said.
The department turned down the request, citing a limited budget, he said.
The Taipei City Government has never subsidized the fireworks, Chien said yesterday, adding that she has accompanied Taipei 101 employees to solicit subsidies from stores in the Xinyi District (信義) commercial zone.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) fielded questions from lawmakers about the fireworks show at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee.
Several legislators asked Su whether the fireworks show would proceed as scheduled, quoting Minister of Economic Affairs Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲), who last week said that funding for the event would not be a problem and that the show would not be downsized or toned down.
The fireworks show would be held as planned, Su said, adding that the ministry would assist Taipei 101 to raise funds.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai