Farglory Group (遠雄集團) and the Taipei City Government yesterday held the first public event at the Taipei Dome, inviting 13,000 people to watch a free baseball game to test seating, crowd flow and traffic controls at the facility.
The stadium, which has a capacity of about 40,000 people and held a closed-door test game on Tuesday, yesterday hosted an exhibition game between the nation’s Asian Baseball Championship team and U-23 Baseball World Cup training team.
Contractor Farglory said it would collect opinions from coaches, players and attendees after the game to help improve the stadium.
Photo: CNA
The Taipei City Government in 2006 signed a build-operate-transfer contract with Farglory to construct the Taipei Dome, but controversies concerning the public safety of the stadium and shopping mall complex caused work on the project to be halted several times over the past eight years.
People were allowed to enter the stadium at 11am for yesterday’s 1pm game. Staff wearing vests guided crowds at exits four and five of the nearby Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall MRT Station, as well as in the underground corridor that runs from the station to the dome.
While many attendees praised the facility for its aesthetics and comfort, some complained that the markings and signage for directions were unclear.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government would continue to gather opinions on all aspects of the facility, such as direction markings, crowd guidance, seating, and broadcast and stadium screen quality.
He said the traffic and crowd flow before the game was smooth, adding that most of the people arrived by bus or the MRT rail system.
The Taipei Department of Transportation said that the traffic flow around the dome was normal when people were allowed to enter from 11am, and when the crowd began to leave at about 4:22pm.
It said that 969 vehicles and 1,116 scooter parking spaces in the dome were opened for the game, but they were not filled up, as more than 80 percent of the audience arrived on foot or by public transportation.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
RSS