Fireworks of gold and silver symbolizing a prosperous future and a robust economy illuminated the skies near Taipei 101 last night as tens of thousands of revelers packed the streets of the city's Xinyi District to welcome the year 2008.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators were expected to gather around Taipei 101 to watch the 188-second-long fireworks and join in the New Year activities.
A total of 12,000 rounds of fireworks were expected to be launched, reaching as high as 500m, in contrast with the 9,000 rounds used in last year's fireworks display.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The message "2008 Taiwan," with a pink heart replacing the dot in the letter "i" was to be displayed on Taipei 101 following the fireworks show.
Several well-known performers, including Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and Aska Yang (楊宗緯), were scheduled to participate in the New Year concert.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
To accommodate the massive crowds that were expected to gather in and around the Xinyi District, the Taipei Rapid Transit System offered an around-the-clock service for the first time yesterday.
Asked for comment earlier yesterday, Michael Liu (劉家豪), an assistant vice president at Taipei 101, said it was still too early to conclude that Taipei 101 would not hold a similar fireworks show in future years.
Liu said that all the floors of the building were expected to be fully occupied in the coming year, which would make it difficult for the shopping center to obtain approval from all the companies on higher floors to display messages on the building.
Without the facility to display messages, it would be difficult for any patrons to sponsor the fireworks show, he said, adding that Taipei 101 could seek funding from its board of directors to make future firework shows possible.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS