Round-the-clock explosions at Yanshui fireworks festival

Round-the-clock explosions at Yanshui fireworks festival

2025-02-11

Thousands upon thousands of firecrackers are firing up a storm in Tainan to celebrate the Lantern Festival. With its never-ending pyrotechnic explosions, the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival is one of the most significant religious events in Taiwan. The two-day affair kicked off on Tuesday, and will culminate on Wednesday evening. Three massive LED-lit firecracker towers will be set off in tandem with colorful fireworks in the night sky. Let’s hear more.

Huang Wei-che
Tainan mayor
If you don’t come to the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival at least once on your life, you’ll regret it. And once you come, you can’t get enough. You’ll become a regular.

Participant
It’s to serve the gods, to pray for peace, prosperity and fortune. If you carry it yourself, it shows more devotion.

Participant
The firecrackers give you good fortune when they go off. You have to take part and get some of that good luck.

Booms and bangs can be heard all around Yanshui, as firecrackers are set off to bring good luck. Of course, being well protected is paramount. Participants are all dressed up in thick clothing, visors and gloves to prevent nasty burns. Even as a bystander, it is a shocking spectacle that according to Tainan’s mayor will have you coming back time and time again.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

"犁炮"慶元宵! 台南鹽水蜂炮兩天兩夜今啟炮

2025-02-11

一年一度的鹽水蜂炮活動今天早上舉行啟炮儀式，台南市長黃偉哲到場為活動揭開序幕。鹽水蜂炮將持續兩天兩夜，活動的重頭戲將會在12日晚間於鹽水國中登場，特別打造3座大型LED花燈炮城，還會搭配五彩繽紛的高空煙火，歡迎民眾共襄盛舉，感受蜂炮魅力。

[[台南市長黃偉哲]]
“一生不來一次鹽水蜂炮，真的會蠻後悔的，那來過一次你就斷不了，一試成主顧”

[[民眾]]
“那個為神服務啊，求大家國泰民安啊，平安賺大錢，自己揹比較有誠意啊”

[[民眾]]
“炸完蜂炮運氣會好一點。對啊，接收一下，參與一下”

眾人點燃長長的紅色鞭炮，現場劇烈的鞭炮聲四起，也代表著一年一度的民俗盛事鹽水蜂炮正式登場。現場有人全副武裝抬著神轎，也有人在旁圍觀、跟著神轎繞境，就是要親自感受鹽水蜂炮狂炸所帶來的震撼。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
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The seasonal flu is sweeping Taiwan, and emergency rooms around Taiwan are overburdened. On Tuesday morning, 130 patients were waiting for a bed at National Taiwan University Hospital. Wait times at other hospitals were also in the dozens of patients. Doctors remind the general public to avoid going to hospitals if symptoms aren’t severe. Instead, it’s best to go to a local clinic to not put excessive pressure on the medical centers.

ER patients wait for a bed in the corridor, sitting and lying down. Emergency cases are peaking, and hospitals are having trouble finding space for everyone.

Chang Chih-hua
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We don’t have space for all the patients. So they are in the corridors, in the lobby… It’s the same in the south. The ERs there are really overcrowded.

According to live data from several hospitals, 130 ER patients were waiting for a bed at NTU Hospital at 9 a.m. At the Tri-Service General Hospital the number was 52. And at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, it’s 32.

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If hospitals are having trouble with full bed capacity, they can assist each other within the same region via referrals and transfer.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare says people with small ailments should head to a local clinic, and leave big medical centers for patients with serious problems. Emergency doctors say most patients come in with respiratory diseases such as the flu, and urge the general public to get vaccinated. In related news, this coming October, the government’s free flu vaccine program will offer trivalent shots instead of quadrivalent shots. Experts say the change will not reduce the protective effect of the vaccine.

Huang Chien-hsien
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The B/Yamagata strain hasn’t been dominant for a long time, and it’s not expected to become more prevalent quickly. Quadrivalent vaccines are only necessary if many B/Yamagata infections are expected.

The World Health Organization has recommended leaving the B/Yamagata strain out of vaccines, noting the potential risk of a leak from a manufacturing plant that could re-release the strain into the community.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Lyle Lin signs with Oakland Athletics, withdraws from WBC

Taiwan baseball player Lyle Lin has signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics. That means he’s withdrawing from the Team Taiwan roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifiers. CPBL Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang says he wishes Lin all the best as he chases his dreams of making it big in the MLB.

The CPBL held a Lunar New Year’s gathering, with Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang and the heads of Taiwan’s six baseball clubs asking for a year full of blessings.

Tsai Chi-chang
CPBL commissioner
In the coming year, we will be introducing a lot of new methods and directions. We are making plans to install instant replay fixed cameras, to assist umpires and improve accuracy.

Changes have come for Team Taiwan’s roster at the upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Catcher Lyle Lin has announced he’s signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics, and will be joining spring training for the first time. As such, he won’t be joining Team Taiwan in the WBC.

Tsai Chi-chang
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I’m sure there are many people from all six baseball clubs interested in what is happening with him. We hope he’ll find a spot for himself in the MLB. We wish him the best and we hope he’ll succeed in pursuing his dreams. He’s very talented. All he needed was a chance.

Lyle Lin, 27, completed high school in the US to pursue his baseball dream. In 2019, he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the minor league, and later became the first Taiwanese player to be selected and signed by the MLB draft process. But not all has been smooth sailing. In 2023, he left the Diamondbacks and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. He returned to the Diamondbacks in 2024, but did not remain with the team after the end of the season.

Lyle Lin (Dec. 13)
Baseball player
I hope to play in professional baseball in the US. I’ve been there for a long time, and I have a home abroad.

Lin is back on track to chasing his MLB dream, with loyal fans rooting for him.

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Retired school principal couple switch school life for farm life

A husband-and-wife duo in Chiayi have taken a drastic career change that has earned them awards from the central government. Both of them used to be fully dedicated to education, having climbed their career ladders to become elementary school principals. Then, when they were both in their 50s, the duo retired to become farmers. They now run an award-winning dragon fruit farm in Taibao.

Lee Jung-shan and Wu Chu-yu are ready to hit the fields. Clearing out weeds and harvesting dragon fruit, nothing gets in the way of this husband-and-wife duo. Though they are farmers now, they both used to be elementary school principals.

Lee Jung-shan
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Back then I thought I’d want a plot of land to tend to and preserve after retiring. After all, the farms of Taiwan have been keeping people fed for hundreds of years.

Wu Chu-yu
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It was quite an interesting experience. Back then, I had the dream of living the farm life, so I decided to get into this profession. I have gained so much from the past 10 years doing this. It’s all been fantastic.

The couple loves the land, and decided to buy a field in Taibao to get started as farmers. They do all sorts of work in their orchard, and their pesticide-free dragon fruits have received raving reviews. What’s more, they’ve been recognized with prestigious awards by the Council of Agriculture and the Agriculture and Food Agency.

Lee Jung-shan
School principal turned farmer
It was a huge honor. The Agriculture and Food Agency’s awards ceremony was held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, it was a fancy ceremony. This other trophy is from the Council of Agriculture, as it was known then. We were presented the award at the auditorium in the Council of Agriculture itself.

Cheng Shu-fen
Taibao mayor
These two former principals have the same philosophy regarding agriculture, and their efforts have yielded outstanding results that are in no way inferior to their achievements in the field of education.

The two principals turned farmers have not forgotten their roots in education. Besides dedicating themselves to the fields, they are also sharing their knowledge so that children and customers can learn from their experience.

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Taiwanese tourist in Japan gets trapped under snowy tree

The “snow monsters” in Japan’s Tohoku region attract many tourists every year. It’s a natural phenomenon in the northeast of Japan’s main island, where coniferous trees get a thick dusting of snow from late December to early March. Though it’s a marvelous sight, it can also be dangerous. Many tourists who get a little too close to the trees eventually find themselves trapped deep in snow. FTV got in touch with one such victim to find out more.

Entire trees covered in snow to form these magnificent “snow monsters” in Japan’s Tohoku Region. But do exercise caution if you’re there in person.

Voice of Mr. Chen (voice altered)
Fell into tree well
After I fell down the snow trap, the soft, fluffy snow kept collapsing. I realized what I had under my feet wasn’t solid ground but soft, fluffy snow. It’s like quicksand. The more you struggle, or the more weight you exert from above, the deeper the trap.

This past Saturday, Mr. Chen, a Taiwanese tourist, went to see the snow monsters in the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori, Japan. The area wasn’t cordoned off, so Chen went up to a snow monster for a picture. Then, he fell into a tree well 1.5m deep. He started to struggle when he fell, but the snow was like quicksand and eventually buried him under.

Voice of Mr. Chen (voice altered)
Fell into tree well
I kept yelling in Japanese, “Help! Help! Help! Can someone please help?” I kept yelling non-stop for so long, kept yelling despite both my legs becoming numb, but no one heard me. I thought, would it be possible that no matter how I kept yelling, no one would hear me? Thinking of that really sent me into despair.

Fortunately, other tourists, also Taiwanese, heard his cries for help and called upon the staff onsite. Mr. Chen was finally lifted out after being trapped for almost an hour.

Avis
Winter tour guide
I advise carrying a whistle. The snow absorbs sound waves, making human voices inaudible. The snow monsters are formed when the tree leaves get covered in snow. There’s a hollow space around the tree trunk, called a tree well. It can be more than 10m deep.

Hsu Che-lang
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I would recommend recreation parks more likely to have safety warning signage, such as Mount Zao. Try to keep a distance of around 3m to 5m. I think it’s also very important to have someone travel with you and don’t leave the group.

Experts advise tourists to remember the following four steps if they do become trapped in a tree well: hang onto the trunk to avoid falling deeper, find space to breathe, wiggle your body as you move up to escape, and stay away from snow-covered trees in general.

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2024 was a fantastic year for Taiwanese sports. From the Paris Olympics to the baseball team’s Premier12 victory, Taiwan’s athletes shined last year. Any products related to their achievements have also been snapped up. Chunghwa Post has seized the opportunity, selling an astounding number of themed stamps. But did you know that you can make your own too? Many people make stamps with their wedding or children’s photos to preserve their cherished memories.

Here at the Taipei branch of the Postal Museum, you can take photos like with these cute mail carriers, then choose five to seven of your favorites. After just a few taps and not even 20 minutes, these one-of-a-kind stamps are born!

The staff will help arrange them and adjust the colors. Portrait or landscape, both are OK. Chunghwa Post in 2000 began offering customization services, allowing customers to use their own photos to make their stamps more meaningful.

Ms. Chang
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For my kid’s zhuazhou grabbing test, she picked up an airplane. The post office had a pilot-themed set that I thought was really appropriate. It’s another option besides just photos and videos to keep a record of your kid’s childhood. It’s great. It has sentimental value.

The service isn’t just used by locals to commemorate life events. Tourists also like to create their own stamps when visiting Taiwan. These special rubber stamps are also available for use. It’s so popular that the Beimen branch easily sells 500 per month on average.

Ms. Lin
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The baseball stamp set, since we won the world championship, it was really special. Ones that commemorate something are rather meaningful. So maybe starting with the baseball set, I’ll start collecting stamps I find interesting.

Lined up in this display are all kinds of customized stamps. But aside from that, Chunghwa Post is also jumping on the sports trend and offering sets with Olympic athletes and the Premier12 baseball team. Their sales have been impressive.

Teng Li-hua
Chunghwa Post Philately Division
On these personalized sets, the stamps themselves are relatively small. We hope to design it so the actual protagonists, like the athletes, come across well. So we give most of the space to the athletes.

The century-old postal service hopes to reignite the passions of stamp collectors. Through its diverse offerings, customization, and beautiful designs, the company is converting more young philatelists by the day.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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