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.
‘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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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