The Taipei City Government yesterday announced that six sightseeing spots in the city have earned the Muslim Friendly Environment Certificate.
The Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said its survey on foreign visitors’ consumption behaviors and tendencies while visiting Taipei showed that the most popular sightseeing spots among Muslim visitors are the Ximending (西門町) shopping area, Taipei 101 in Xinyi District (信義) and the historic Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area in Datong District (大同).
Many Muslim visitors recognized Taipei’s environmental hygiene, cross-language communication and friendliness, but some visitors said that they hoped there would be more prayer rooms and Muslim-friendly sights or hotels in the city, the department added.
Photo: Tsai Ssu-pei, Taipei Times
After holding two discussion sessions in July that provided guidance to hotels or sightseeing spots interested in improving their facilities, 28 hotels and six tourist sites received the Muslim Friendly Environment Certificate yesterday.
The six spots are the National Palace Museum, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden (芝山文化生態綠園) and the Discovery Center of Taipei (台北探索館).
Taipei 101’s tourism office director Huang Chiung-hsuan (黃瓊萱) said that the building has installed washlet facilities in the restrooms on the third floor of its shopping center and prayer rooms on the fifth floor, and that it plans to install washlet facilities on the 89th floor observation deck by the end of the year.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) said Taiwan ranked third in non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries, along with Japan and the UK, in MasterCard’s 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index for the first time this year.
“Freedom, diversity and openness” are the main features that make Taipei attractive to visitors, Tsai said, adding that the city will continue to provide refined and respectful services.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined