SOCIETY
Starry Taitung tops awards
Taitung County’s star-watching campaign clinched the top honor at this year’s Spark Design Awards, marking the third consecutive year the county has gained international acclaim for the event, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. “Starry Taitung,” which has been organized by the county government since 2018, received the Platinum Award. It was also the sole Platinum winner in the “Experience” category, recognized for enhancing user experience across all stages, from development and design to marketing and service, the awards said. Held annually between May and September, the free, expert-guided event takes participants to the best stargazing spots in various townships, such as in Guanshan (關山), Dawu (大武), Donghe (東河), Beinan (卑南), Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島), with some sessions also featuring vibrant starlit bazaars and live music performances, the county government said. “Starry Taitung” has also garnered other international accolades, including the London Design Award in 2022 and the Asia Design Prize last year, the government added.
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Government
WEATHER
Rime ice seen at Yushan
Rime ice was observed on the northern peak of Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning. The Central Weather Administration’s (CWA) weather monitoring station on the mountain said that there was no snowfall, but minus-1.6°C was logged at about 5am. Meanwhile, the lowest temperature recorded in a low-lying area yesterday morning was in New Taipei City’s Shiding District, at 9.6°C at 5:44am, it said. The CWA said that the strength of the cold air mass is forecast to intensify, bringing temperatures down to 10°C to 11°C in several northern cities and counties, and could even affect areas as far south as Tainan at night. It has also issued cold surge advisories for most of Taiwan, including Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan, warning that temperatures could drop to about 10°C or less this morning. The strong cold air mass coupled with the effect of radioactive cooling are forecast to prevail until early this morning, before weakening and bringing temperatures slightly back up later in the day, the CWA said.
DIPLOMACY
MOFA extends condolences
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday extended its condolences to India over the passing of former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday at the age of 92. Singh played a pivotal role in deepening bilateral ties between Taiwan and India during his 10-year tenure, the ministry said. He strengthened cooperation between the two nations in areas such as finance, trade, investments and liberal arts education, it said, adding that Singh had made the opening of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chennai possible. Singh’s efforts and achievements in cementing bilateral relations, and promoting regional prosperity and peace will be remembered, the ministry said. The ministry said it had instructed Taiwan’s mission to India to convey their condolences and sentiment to the Indian government. It also said it would continue to build upon the foundations cemented by Singh and work with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to continue cultivating a beneficial relationship between Taiwan and India.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
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