Air pollution is an issue that could be resolved with a long-term plan and not just by canceling a one-day event, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, after environmental groups called for New Year’s Eve fireworks displays to be canceled to reduce air pollution.
This year’s celebrations coincided with the worst air pollution in the nation in three years, with many areas in western Taiwan registering “red” levels, meaning “unhealthy,” due to high concentration of airborne particles.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare urged people to take protective measures against air pollution when going outside.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The Environmental Protection Administration urged factories to halt their operations on the evening of New Year’s Eve and amusement parks to reduce firework displays, while advising people not to stay outdoors for long periods or light barbecues.
Taiwan Healthy Air Action Alliance director Yeh Kuang-peng (葉光芃) asked why the government did not cancel fireworks displays when air pollution reached serious levels.
Vehicles heading to New Year’s Eve celebrations also increased carbon emissions, another environmental group said.
The fireworks display at Taipei 101 lasted six minutes this year, the longest ever.
Speaking at a walking event held at Taipei Flora Expo Park (台北花博公園) yesterday morning, Ko said: “Air pollution is a daily problem, because people breathe every second, so it should be dealt with through an overall plan.”
“There are 365 days in a year, but the firework display was only about 300 seconds, so we need a long-term plan to solve the problem,” he said.
About 2.59 million people used the Taipei MRT System between 6am on New Year’s Eve and 6am yesterday, and about 371,000 people used the four stations nearest to Taipei City Hall station, where the New Year’s Eve countdown party was held, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said.
While the number of passengers at the four stations rose by 31,000 from last year, the total number of passengers on all MRT lines decreased by about 46,000, it said.
Ko did not finish the walking event, saying he was tired from attending the countdown party and the flag-raising ceremony early in the morning.
Ko made a 34-minute Facebook live broadcast that began at 10:35pm on New Year’s Eve, saying his New Year’s wish was “to sleep 6.5 hours every day” and “to live every day earnestly and happily,” adding that he would pretend to be happy if that is not possible.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS