SOCIETY
Taipei fireworks previewed
The government and the operator of Taipei 101 yesterday announced the theme and released a preview video of the upcoming Taipei 101 New Year’s fireworks show. Chia Yeong-chieh (賈永婕), chairwoman of Taipei Financial Center Corp, which owns and operates Taipei 101, posted the 75-second video simulation of the fireworks display on Facebook. The government owns a large stake in the firm through publicly owned companies. The Ministry of Finance said the themes of this year’s more than five minute fireworks display are “Team Taiwan” and “Champion,” in recognition of Taiwan’s triumph last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 tournament. The ministry added that Taipei 101 experienced steady revenue growth this year, driven by an increase in younger shoppers, and sales of luxury goods and jewelry, as well as rebounding numbers of international tourists.
SOCIETY
Lanterns to feature baseball
The upcoming Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taoyuan is to incorporate elements of baseball to celebrate the nation’s historic victory at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament last month, the Tourism Administration announced on Saturday. The designs are to reflect the joy and pride of Taiwan’s triumph, while highlighting baseball’s status as the national sport, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said. The main lantern, Infinite Paradise, would be showcased during the Feb. 12 to Feb. 23 festival held near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT’s A18 station, he said. A separate event venue would be set up at the A19 station, with the two areas together featuring more than 300 installations, he added. Separately, the Taipei City Government yesterday announced that it would distribute 100,000 small lanterns during the Taipei Lantern Festival, which is to be held from Feb. 2 to Feb. 16.
FOOD SAFETY
Better egg tracing mulled
National food chains might be required to use washed eggs carrying traceability codes from next year to make it easier to identify their source and farming practices, the Office of Food Safety announced on Saturday. The policy would likely cover establishments such as breakfast shops and bakeries, office director Hsu Fu (許輔) said, adding that details of the plan are still being discussed. Since 2022, Taiwan has mandated that washed eggs supplied to schools, the military, convenience stores, supermarkets, wholesale retailers and e-commerce platforms carry traceability codes. The two-line codes indicate where the egg was laid, the packaging date and the farm’s location.
TRANSPORTATION
HSR expects record journeys
The number of journeys taken on Taiwan’s high-speed rail (HSR) network this year is set to exceed the all-time high recorded last year, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said yesterday. The number of journeys reached 71.1 million last month, exceeding the about 66.4 million rides for the same 11-month period last year, it said. In terms of the average daily ridership, 224,000 journeys were recorded in November, an increase of 7 percent compared with the 209,000 journeys in November last year. Apart from a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, annual ridership has grown steadily from about 15.6 million in 2007 to 73.1 million last year, the company said. This year also saw the highest monthly ridership since the network began operations 17 years ago, with nearly 6.8 million trips taken in March.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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