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.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
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