2023 is around the corner! Have you decided how to celebrate?Taipei 101 will set off 16,000 fireworks over five minutes, with light displays on all four sides of the skyscraper, to mark the beginning of the New Year. One million spectators are expected to be drawn to areas around the building to witness the show live.Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s Eve show is one of the biggest in Asia. This year’s fireworks will feature a variety of patterns, including peace pigeons, smiley faces, and the tree

In mid-September, Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer announced on social media his decision to retire from professional tennis at age 41. He chose the Laver Cup, his brainchild, to be the final tennis event of his career.Federer partnered with his good friend and great rival Rafael Nadal in male doubles at the Laver Cup in London on September 24. The two legends ultimately lost the match in a narrow defeat to their young opponents, Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. After the game, Feder

An artificial-intelligence-generated artwork won first place in the digital art category at the Colorado State Fair in September, which provoked controversy and rage among artists.Jason Allen posted a picture of his winning artwork on the social platform Discord and left a message, revealing the secret that he did not create it by himself. Midjourney, a famous AI program, did. He repeatedly entered a text description of his attempts and adjusted the outcome Midjourney produced. He refused to ap

Taiwan will lift its mandatory quarantine for arriving visitors in mid-October at the earliest. While the actual start date is contingent on how the local COVID-19 situation develops, the first-stage measures to ease border controls were scheduled to take effect in late September, including raising the weekly cap on arriving visitors and canceling mandatory PCR tests upon arrival.If everything goes as planned, the new measures will include a “0+7” policy under which arriving visitors will no lon

The National Palace Museum’s (NPM) southern branch in Chiayi County is holding a special exhibition dedicated to Vietnam’s ancient history and its cultures and crafts. The show, titled Encountering Vietnam in the National Palace Museum Collection, features 126 artifacts “to renew their knowledge of the abundant heritage left by Vietnam before the 19th century”Some exhibits include Vietnamese ceramics and porcelain crafted in the 18th century, as well as other vases, scrolls, and offerings provid

Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has died at the age of 84. He was known for building one of Japan’s biggest fashion brands and making clothes with different styles and materials. His name became a byword for Japan’s economic and fashion prowess. One of his most famous designs is the signature black turtleneck he made for his friend and Apple founder Steve Jobs.Throughout his 52-year career, Issey Miyake was interested in the overlap between art, design, and fashion. He even hated being ca

Keelung’s Tzu Li Bookstore will go under renovation after the Keelung City Cultural Affairs Bureau successfully acquired funding from the Ministry of Culture. Founded in 1947 by Chen Shang-hui, the 75-year-old bookstore is Taiwan’s first postwar Chinese-language bookstore carrying publications written in traditional Chinese.The founder became aware of Taiwan’s cultural disconnection after Japanese colonial rule ended in October 1945, which prompted him to open the country’s first Chinese-languag

Well-renowned movie star Brad Pitt appeared on the red carpet of the Berlin screening of his new film Bullet Train in a skirt, making waves in fashion circles. At 58 years old, the actor chose a brown linen jacket and skirt with an unbuttoned pink shirt, and going for a pair of biker boots to show off his shin tattoos. Brown sunglasses topped off the look. When asked why he chose to wear a skirt, Pitt had a simple answer. “The breeze. The breeze.” By making this genderfluid fashion statement tha

This April, Google’s senior software engineer, 41-year-oldBlake Lemoine, claimed that the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot LaMDA is sentient. After having conversations with LaMDA, he believes that LaMDA is a self-aware person and has a mind of its own. He even compared LaMDA to a seven- or eight-year-old human child. He informed the company’s executives with a Google Doc.His claim got him placed on leave beginning last month. On July 22, Google told Reuters in an email that it had

A mayor in the Philippines has signed an executive order adopting a “smile policy,” which states that all local government workers and officials have to smile while serving the public, in order to “give sincerity by showing a feeling of calmness and friendly atmosphere.” It also states that there should be “strict compliance” with the policy, and those who fail to comply are threatened with disciplinary action. Another mayor has also recently instructed employees not to frown, and all officials

World-famous movie star Brad Pitt said in a recent interview that he might have prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. He has never been officially diagnosed with this neurological disorder, though. It is not the first time he has mentioned the condition.The inability to remember people’s faces made him so embarrassed that Pitt even wanted to isolate himself. He has suffered for years and wants to meet others who can relate.According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and

Taiwanese chamber pop duo Collage won Best New Artist award at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards for their debut album MEmento·MORI, which was released in December 2021. The group, founded in 2019 by vocalist Natsuko Lariyod and guitarist Ông Ka-koân, is famous for their use of synthesizers and lyrics in several different languages, including Taiwanese Hoklo, Amis, English, and Japanese. During their acceptance speech, Collage’s guitarist Ông Ka-koân said, “If our music can make people think of thei

The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. The 5-4 vote reversed the constitutional right to abortion. It took away the right of millions of women in the US to make decisions over their bodies. Wade on June 24. The 5-4 vote reversed the constitutional right to abortion. It took away the right of millions of women in the US to make decisions over their bodies. The controversial decision means abortion rights roll back nearly fifty years in half of US states. It paves the way for indi

Tai Tzu-ying, Taiwanese badminton player and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, received a PhD from the Graduate Institute of Sports Training of The University of Taipei, becoming badminton scholar “Dr. Tai” at the age of 27. Although Tai often has to travel overseas to compete, she was able to complete her doctoral program on schedule. In her graduation speech, Tai said that increasing knowledge helps her career in sports. Athletics are very demanding, but she never gave up her studies. Tai’s advis

Starting in the autumn of 2024, the EU will require all smartphones to use a USB-C port for charging for all devices sold in the bloc. Apple, whose iPhone is the only main brand smartphone without this type of connection, could be substantially impacted. The rule change, according to the EU, aims to reduce hassle for consumers as well as electronic waste, as consumers can use the same chargers for all devices. The rules will apply to most portable electronic devices, including mobile phones, tab