Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight.
Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links:
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei Metro
Taipei
Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.”
South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more.
The festivities are to culminate in a countdown to midnight and the annual Taipei 101 fireworks and light display.
This year’s display is to last for six minutes, featuring low-smoke pyrotechnics imported from Italy set to original music composed by young Taiwanese artists.
More information is available on the event's Web site.
The livestream can be viewed on the Taipei City Government’s YouTube.
New Taipei City
New Taipei City is to hold its fireworks display earlier in the evening at 8:26pm in Tamsui District (淡水).
Two stages are to be set up across the river from each other at the Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭) and the Bali Left Bank (八里左岸), with performances running from 4:30pm to 9:30pm.
More information is provided at the event’s Web site.
The livestream may be viewed at the TVBS News YouTube here.
Taichung
Taichung’s New Year’s Countdown Party begins at 6pm at Shuinan Central Park (水湳中央公園).
Hosted by comedian A-Ken (阿Ken) and television host Tsai Shang-hua (蔡尚樺), the concert is to be headlined by Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰), Power Station (動力火車) and Crowd Lu (盧廣仲).
More information is available on the event’s Web site.
The livestream can be viewed on the SET TV YouTube here.
Kaohsiung
The southern port city is to ring in 2026 with a major concert starting at 7pm on Shidai Boulevard in front of the Dream Mall.
Performers are to include Kwon Eunbi (權恩妃), Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵), Accusefive (告五人), 831 (八三夭), Wing Stars and more.
The event is to be hosted by Hank Chen (陳漢典), Wenny Lin (林葦妮) and A-Ben (阿本).
More information is available on the event’s Web site.
The livestream can be viewed on the Next TV YouTube here.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s