Bald cypress avenue brings spectacular red foliage to Tongxiao Township

Bald cypress avenue brings spectacular red foliage to Tongxiao Township

2022-12-30

Miaoli is one of Taiwan’s most picturesque rural counties. At this time of year, a community in Tongxiao Township is enjoying a special winter treat. It’s an avenue of bald cypress trees near Tucheng River. The trees are famous for the russet-red color of their fall foliage. Local photographers spend hours capturing the reds, yellows and greens as the colors mingle in December.

Here in Miaoli’s Tongxiao Township, a road winds along the Tucheng River bank. On this stretch between Tongtian Temple and Tiaoyan Ancient Trail, two kilometers of the road is planted with bald cypresses on both sides, creating a magical winter avenue.

The cypresses are gradually turning auburn. They form an arc along river here, and set off the beautiful deep green forest and blue sky.

Chang Wen-huan
Amateur photographer
They change their color in early December. When the season is changing, there’s green, red and yellow – it’s beautiful.

Local residents say the bald cypresses here were planted years ago, as part of a village transformation project.

Local resident
I feel so happy and easeful when I see them. It really is so wonderful that Tongxiao has a beauty spot like this.

Local photography buffs shared these photos and drone footage of the area. The residents of Tongxiao hope more visitors will come and check out the riverside avenue while the leaves are at their loveliest.

苗栗旅遊新亮點通霄土城溪畔落羽松大道美不勝收

2022-12-30

苗栗縣通霄鎮「土城溪畔」，沿著溪流兩旁，種植了約兩公里的落羽松，當地民眾發現，最近落羽松已經轉紅，長達2公里的落羽松，沿著溪流旁呈現出一條美麗的弧線，空拍畫面，更是美麗。

位在苗栗縣通霄鎮，通天宮往挑鹽古道的土城溪畔，沿著溪流兩旁，種植了大約兩公里的落羽松，成了冬季旅遊亮點。

轉紅的落羽松，沿著溪流旁，形成一條美麗弧線，搭配一旁的綠色山林和藍天白雲，呈現出讓人心曠神怡的美麗畫面。

[[攝影玩家張文煥]]
“12月初的時候變色，季節在變換的時候，有綠、有紅、有黃，很漂亮”

當地民眾說，土城溪畔的落羽松其實已經種植多年，應該是早年農村轉型的時候栽種的。

[[當地民眾]]
“看了之後心情非常的舒暢，通霄有這種美景，實在是太好了”

當地的攝影玩家分享自己拍下的美照和空拍影像，希望能吸引更多遊客，來到通霄旅遊。

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Hot packs for necks and electric hot scarves: inventive heating products abound

Businesses are getting creative in solutions to the cold weather! Everyone knows there are hot packs for warming up your hands. And now you can get hot packs for your neck, and hot slippers for your icy toes! There are also electric scarves, and mini heaters for the desk, which automatically go into power-saving mode when you take a break. Let’s take a look at some of the more inventive products that can keep you cozy this winter.

It’s cold outside, but competition is heating up for creative products to stay toasty.

Wang Yun-hsuan
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The old heat packs had to be held in the hands. Now there’s also this kind: a heat warmer to hang round the neck. You can hang it round your neck just like a scarf, and do other things with your hands.

This super convenient warmer warms up your neck without the need for a bulky, heavy scarf. But it’s disposable, and only works for five to eight hours. There’s also this heat-emitting scarf, which can be reused, but needs to be plugged into a portable battery to start. And there are products for the legs too…

These foot warmers are so fluffy and soft inside. This young woman is transformed into a brown bear! You can roll up the bottoms to reveal your toes, and easily walk steadily on the floor.

Member of public
In the winter I do feel the cold quite a lot. I can wear these while I work on the computer or watch TV.

It’s not just at home that we’re feeling the cold. Walking around the office can be chilly. This little heater can detect when there’s a person within 2 meters, and automatically starts to work. It’s a personalized heater that saves power when you’re away from your desk.

Chuang Yao-hua
Life and home products industry
The weather has gotten a lot colder recently, and there are lots of cold spells one after the other. So sales of our heating products have risen greatly, by more than 30%, across our electric heaters, heat packs, hot eggs, and other products. Lots of our customers belong to younger demographics, such as students or office workers.

Businesses are vying to make the most of the cold. The market for products to warm up a desk or some frozen toes is big at this time of year, and the options are growing.

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Charity call for donations to help people over Lunar New Year

Over the Lunar New Year holidays, many charities hold annual banquets for disadvantaged groups. This year, the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation is giving out Lunar New Year meals and red envelopes to people in need. If you’d like to help out, the foundation says donations can be wire transferred through the post office. FTV reporter Stephany Yang has the details.

Three actors, Tsao Yu-ning, Liao Xiao-jie and Sean Lin, mix the paint and then pour it onto the rabbit sculpture. They wish everyone a happy Lunar New Year and also encourage the public to donate to the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation to help those in need.

Liao Xiao-jie
Actor
A small action can affect many people or help many people. We must unite and work hard on this. Whether it is monetary or material donations, they can actually help people.

Sean Lin
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When I walk outside on the streets, I always help them. Especially now the weather is colder, I try to help a bit more. For them, it is a warm and kind act.

Due to the pandemic, the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation has canceled its annual Lunar New Year banquet for the second year in a row. Instead, they will be giving out a Lunar New Year meal and a red envelope to people in need. Organizers say that with not long left till the Lunar New Year, their donations have only reached less than 60 % of the target.

Wu Chao-fen
Genesis Social Welfare Foundation
We expect to start sending gifts and red envelopes from Jan. 9 to Jan. 19, but currently, our total fundraising is at less than 60% of the target. We are very worried. The Genesis Foundation has taken care of nearly 2,000 people in unresponsive states. In addition, we have some families of unresponsive patients who may not be willing to send them to our nursing home. They take care of them at home, so we also provide service at home, where we visit the client’s home to assist and coach them in caregiving skills.

The Genesis Social Welfare Foundation has been providing care to people with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome for over 30 years. The foundation plans to send out 12,000 red envelopes and gifts to help families that have family members in an unresponsive state, older adults living alone, homeless people and single mothers, so that all can have a warm and happy Lunar New Year.

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Tsai promises improved training for conscripts during Penghu troop inspections

President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday inspected the troops on Penghu. It was the first time for her to visit the military after her recent announcement that Taiwan’s conscription period will be extended from four months to a year. She promised that the quality of conscripts’ training would improve and the new, yearlong training, which will be instituted in 2024, would not be a waste of time.

President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday made her first inspection of the army after her recent announcement that Taiwan’s conscription period would be extended from four months to one year. Her first stop involved a sea crossing to Penghu, an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait.

Various mock military scenarios will be added to the training regime of conscripts, so that Taiwan’s draft will not only be for a longer period, but the training content will also be improved.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
The training of the national army will be more rigorous, closer to actual combat situations, and more in line with the needs of modern warfare. Under the new system, the year of military service absolutely will not be a waste of a year. What peace relies on is a solid national defense. We will definitely do what we’ve said we’ll do.

The president inspected live fire target shooting practices to study how the nation’s army is strengthening its troops’ shooting capabilities. In the light of China’s gradual encroachment, Tsai visited in succession the Army 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, a naval radar station on Xiyu Island and the Navy’s Haifeng Sixth Brigade and 146th fleet, to boost the military’s morale.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Our national army troops stationed here in Penghu are standing guard around the clock and they have an onerous task. I wanted to come here before the New Year’s holiday period in particular to thank our brothers and sisters in the national army for their hard work. Taiwan is on the forefront of the defense line of democracies. It is only by preparing for war that can avert a war, it is only when we take up arms can we stop a war.

The president said the new training period for conscripts will see improved quality as well as its quantity, and she hopes that the nation’s army can train even more intensively and be more solidly prepared for war in future.

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A slew of new policies to take effect in 2023

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The staff at this breakfast restaurant are busy serving meals. For the owner, pressure is on. The price of ingredients continues rising, and labor costs are set to increase with the New Year.

Breakfast restaurant owner
The pressure from labor costs is heavy. The salaries we are offering are higher than the level the government set for next year, but we still can’t find people.

Member of public
Prices are going up continually and salaries really have not changed. Breakfast in the past cost just a handful of dollars. Now a drink costs about NT$50 or NT$60, and adding on a hamburger will send the price over NT$100.

Some businesses say they’re raising the prices amid climbing costs. Starting Jan. 1, the minimum monthly wage will go up to NT$26,400 and the minimum hourly rate to NT$176. It’s expected to benefit 2.32 million people, but some workers say they don’t feel it’s much of a change amid soaring commodity prices. Health insurance premiums will stay the same. Meanwhile, an income threshold will be removed for those applying for child care subsidies for babies and children aged up to 2. Some say the subsidies can encourage more people to have children.

Member of public
There should be subsidies for children! Nowadays, young people are under a lot of pressure to buy a house and a car, and they are not so willing to have children. If the government can provide them with subsidies, young people will be more willing to have children.

Member of public
If the government can offer subsidies, everyone will definitely feel it.

Subsidies for purchasing new electric scooters have been extended, with buyers entitled to NT$7,000 per vehicle. Meanwhile, a new policy will kick in for people who replace their old vehicles and diesel-powered vehicles for electric models, who can expect subsidies of up to NT$18,000. In addition, the personal tax exemption, which currently stands at NT$88,000, will go up by NT$4,000 to NT$92,000.

2022-12-30

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Kaohsiung schoolgirls burst onto the world of weightlifting

A pair of young sisters in Kaohsiung have burst onto the world of weightlifting! Pan Mei-chun from Hunei Junior High and her older sister Pan Hsing-chen have collected loads of gold medals. The prize money from weightlifting competitions is a big deal for the family. And now they’re getting support from the new Athlete Care Center at a nearby hospital. The medical team hopes to provide physiotherapy to young athletes, so they can enjoy a long and healthy sporting career.

She crouches down to prepare, takes a deep breath in, and lifts a weight few schoolgirls could handle. Following in the footsteps of her sister Pan Hsing-chen, little Pan Mei-chin already has years of weightlifting under her belt.

In the normal course of training, any athlete’s muscles will sometimes get hurt. This doctor uses a massage gun to help relieve Pan’s lower back pain. This Kaohsiung hospital has established an Athlete Care Center, and in just a year, treated more than 250 athletes.

Fu Yi-chih
Kaohsiung Municipal Da-Tung Hospital
We go into the remote areas. They’re starting to take care of their athletic career from elementary school and junior high. We want to help reduce their injuries.

The last thing the medical team wants is for young athletes to be forced to quit their athletic career prematurely because of injuries. Many are facing tough family financial situations.

Yeh Yung-chun
Karate practitioner, Fenglin Junior High
When I got injured, I felt very stressed and anxious. I couldn’t walk. I had to lie down, and just stretching my leg out to touch the bed made my ankle hurt. I could barely sleep two hours a night. I thought I couldn’t compete; I thought my athletic career was over.

The Pan sisters don’t come from a privileged background, and the family lives in an undesirable rooftop apartment. Their father supports the family with odd jobs, and the oldest Pan sister juggles university with part-time work. Now the two also help pay the bills with considerable prize money from weightlifting competitions. They hope in time the burden will get lighter and lighter.

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