An 18m-tall Rubber Duck sculpture will go on display in Greater Kaohsiung’s harbor as planned today, despite the approach of a tropical storm that is moving through the region, a city official said yesterday.
The city will closely monitor the movements of Tropical Storm Usagi, which could bear down on the nation starting tomorrow, and the duck will be deflated and covered for its protection if necessary, Greater Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said.
Greater Kaohsiung is the first leg of the Taiwan tour of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s creation, a massively scaled up version of the iconic rubber duck toys used by children worldwide during bath time.
The city expects to attract about 3 million visitors between now and Oct. 20, when the duck will be leaving to nest elsewhere. That volume of visitors could generate NT$1 billion (US$33.71 million) for local businesses, many of which have developed products and tour packages based on the sculpture, according to Lai.
Hofman’s project has seen different models of the Rubber Duck visit 15 cities around the world since 2007, including Amsterdam, Sydney and Hong Kong.
The newly built Taiwanese duckie is the largest to be displayed in Asia, the city government said.
After Greater Kaohsiung, the inflatable artwork is scheduled to move up the nation’s west coast to Taoyuan, where it will be displayed from Oct. 26 through Nov. 10, before arriving at Keelung on Dec. 21.
As of 8am yesterday, the storm that threatens to mar the duck’s stay in the harbor was centered 1,150km east by southeast of the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving west at between 9kph and 12kph, the Central Weather Bureau said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS