Category: Taipei

Taipei

French Mechanical Elephants Draw 150,000 in Taipei—Massive Crowds Turn Streets Into a Giant Theater

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Three enormous mechanical elephants from France have transformed Taipei's Shilin district into a giant open-air theater, drawing more than 150,000 people over two days and turning the opening of the 2026 Taipei Arts Festival into one of the city's biggest cultural spectacles of the year. The spectacle, titled “The Elephants Are Coming…” (《大象來了……》), featured three towering mechanical elephants moving through Shilin's streets alongside phoenix figures, musicians and performers.

3d

Business

Taipei Home Prices Rise Despite Taiwan Housing Slowdown—But Buyers Are Pulling Back

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's housing market is showing a striking divide: home transactions have fallen sharply, yet property prices in Taipei have remained resilient and even increased. The latest figures show just how unusual the situation has become. Taipei's average residential transaction price reached NT$839,000 (about US$26,500) per ping, or roughly 3.3 square meters, in 2025—an increase of 2.69% from the previous year, according to Taipei City government data. But at the same time, the n

3d

Politics

Taipei’s Hidden Sites of Repression Reveal Taiwan’s Dark Past—and Its Fight to Remember

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Beneath Taipei’s modern skyline, busy shopping districts and familiar tourist attractions lies another layer of history—one marked by political imprisonment, interrogation, executions and decades of authoritarian rule. Taiwan is increasingly confronting that past through transitional justice, preserving or identifying locations where people were persecuted during the island’s authoritarian era and turning them into places of remembrance and public education. The effort is givi

4d

Taipei

Taipei Firefighters Unveil 3-Second Rescue Mat That Could Transform Emergency Evacuations

TAIPEI — In a fire emergency, every second can mean the difference between reaching a trapped victim in time and arriving too late. Taipei City firefighters have developed a lightweight inflatable rescue mat designed to make the difficult job of moving injured or mobility-impaired people through dangerous, confined spaces faster and less physically demanding. The 2.8-kilogram rescue mat can be deployed and inflated in about three seconds, according to the Taipei City Fire Department, which rec

September 2, 2026

Politics

Taiwan Calls for Peace in Taiwan Strait Ahead of UN General Assembly — While Challenging China’s Push to Isolate Taipei

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan is stepping up its diplomatic campaign ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, calling for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait while pressing for greater participation in the UN system. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday outlined three key messages it plans to emphasize as the 81st UN General Assembly approaches: preserving peace across the Taiwan Strait, defending Taiwan’s ability to participate in international organizations, and resolving dispu

September 2, 2026