In celebration of the opening of the MRT Xinyi Line, Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism is offering free guided tours of Xinyi District (信義) on weekends until Dec. 29.
The line, which opened on Nov. 23, runs past major city attractions in the district including Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Department Commissioner Sun Ting-lung (孫廷龍) said the department is offering free tours starting this weekend to introduce the district to local and foreign visitors.
The department has set up a visitor information center at Exit 5 of the line’s Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station.
Weekend tours will take place between 10am and 2pm, with each outing lasting about 90 minutes.
The free tours are available in Chinese and English and introduce the district’s architectural specialties, public art and design works. People can try out the YouBike public bicycle rental program, and tour the veterans’ villages and handcraft fairs around the area, Sun said.
Each session is limited to 30 participants, who will receive a gift at the end of the tour, he added.
People interested in taking the tour can call the 1999 Citizen Hotline, ext. 3378, or the MRT Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station Visitor Information Center on 02-2758-6593.
The line, which has seven stations — Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dongmen, Daan Park, Daan Station, Xinyi Anhe, Taipei 101-World Trade Center and Elephant Mountain — integrates with the Tamsui Line and allows passengers to travel directly between Beitou and Elephant Mountain stations in about 35 minutes. Passengers who use an EasyCard can get free rides until Dec. 23.
According to Ling Chi-yao (凌啟堯), director of Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s public relations division, ridership on the line was about 180,000 yesterday.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated