Fireworks of gold and silver symbolizing a prosperous future and a robust economy illuminated the skies near Taipei 101 last night as tens of thousands of revelers packed the streets of the city's Xinyi District to welcome the year 2008.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators were expected to gather around Taipei 101 to watch the 188-second-long fireworks and join in the New Year activities.
A total of 12,000 rounds of fireworks were expected to be launched, reaching as high as 500m, in contrast with the 9,000 rounds used in last year's fireworks display.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The message "2008 Taiwan," with a pink heart replacing the dot in the letter "i" was to be displayed on Taipei 101 following the fireworks show.
Several well-known performers, including Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and Aska Yang (楊宗緯), were scheduled to participate in the New Year concert.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
To accommodate the massive crowds that were expected to gather in and around the Xinyi District, the Taipei Rapid Transit System offered an around-the-clock service for the first time yesterday.
Asked for comment earlier yesterday, Michael Liu (劉家豪), an assistant vice president at Taipei 101, said it was still too early to conclude that Taipei 101 would not hold a similar fireworks show in future years.
Liu said that all the floors of the building were expected to be fully occupied in the coming year, which would make it difficult for the shopping center to obtain approval from all the companies on higher floors to display messages on the building.
Without the facility to display messages, it would be difficult for any patrons to sponsor the fireworks show, he said, adding that Taipei 101 could seek funding from its board of directors to make future firework shows possible.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS