Taipei Fullon Hotel to be converted into ‘smart’ senior housing

2026-11-06

Situated in the heart of Taipei on Jianguo South Road, the first Fullon Hotel in the capital closed its doors in August after 20 years. Now, the property will be transferred into the hands of a senior living community for rent of NT$144 million a year. The operator plans to turn it into a “smart” senior village powered by AI under an expected 20-year lease, earning the landlord, Taiwan Sugar Corp, nearly NT$2.3 billion.

After its closure, Fullon Hotel Taipei, Central is poised to welcome a new tenant.

Chen Chih-fan
FTV reporter
What used to be the first Fullon Hotel in Taipei closed in August after 20 years of operation. Now, a new tenant is moving in. They plan to create a “smart” senior living community with hotel amenities.

Senior citizen
Taipei resident
It’s great! I’ve actually already experienced it myself. This place has lots of facilities you can enjoy.

Senior citizen
Taipei resident
With so many facilities available for support, we won’t need our children to take care of us. And we can get medical treatment nearby.

With the touch of a button, an oxygen concentrator comes to life. This suction machine, too, both of which use AI to monitor health data. Top-notch medical equipment such as this are just the basics for this planned facility. Taiwan Sugar Corp is the landlord of this 33-year-old building, which for the past 20 has been rented out by the Fullon Hotel. Now, it will change hands to a senior living community for NT$114 million per year. With a 20-year lease, Taisugar is poised to earn NT$2.3 billion in the deal. Plans for the facility include 110 double-occupancy rooms, healthcare, and dining services.

Chen Mi
Senior community operator
It’s an environment and space that feels like home, where residents can receive excellent medical, nursing, and wellness care. The building was originally granted Category B commercial hospitality usage. After bringing it up to standard for hotel-style apartments, we added further value by allowing each room to apply for medical headwalls and satisfy H-2 building qualifications.

It may be retrofitted to meet all senior living standards, but it will come with a big price tag. For one person, the rent is NT$20 million over 20 years. Compare that with Ruenfu New Life in New Taipei, which is NT$7 million to NT$15 million for deposit and rent. Chang Gung Health and Culture Village in Taoyuan’s Guishan, which is integrated with the hospital, costs NT$27,500 to NT$47,800 per month not including the deposit, adding up to NT$6.6 million over 20 years.

As Taiwan becomes a super-aged society where every fifth person is over 65, senior living communities are to face overwhelming demand, driving an increase of new players in the market.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#seniorcommunity #seniorliving #superagedsociety #FullonHotel #elderly

台北福容一館變身AI養生村養生村業者以年租金1.14億標下

2026-11-06

位於台北市建國南路、陪伴台北人20年的福容大飯店，台北一館，今年8月熄燈後，最近由養生村業者以每年約1.14億元標下，未來將打造成飯店式的"AI智能養生村"，預計租期20年，房東台糖可以拿到將近23億的租金。

福容飯店一館，在熄燈後，換上新租客。

[[民視記者陳致帆]]
“前身是台北福容飯店今年8月結束20年營業，如今新招租業者進駐，未來將打造成結合飯店的AI智能養生村。”

[[銀髮族]]
“超棒，其實我來體驗過了。這棟大樓裡很多的設施，你都可以去享受。”

[[銀髮族]]
“很多的配套設施都有了，我們不需要子女的照顧，就近可以做治療。”

一鍵按下，氧氣機自動啟動、抽痰機，更結合AI數據監測，這些專業醫療設備，都是養生村的基本配備。原本房東就是台糖，33年歷史的建物，之前20年租給福容飯店，現在由養生村接手，以每年1.14億元出租，20年換算下來將近23億的合約，業者將打造成110間的雙人養生套房，提供住宿、醫療和餐食服務。

[[養生村業者陳米]]
環境、空間，在宅如家，得到一個很好的醫養康的服務。五星級飯店原本的B類，法令的B類，讓它符合酒店式公寓之後，我們再給它一個加值，就是讓它的每一個房間，能夠申請醫療背牆，能夠申請H2(建物執照)的資格符合。”

改裝成符合法規的養生村，但是要入住可不便宜，一個人住宿20年要價2千萬，對比新北潤福養生村，押租金費用落在700萬到1500萬元。桃園龜山的長庚養生文化村，則和醫院結合，除了押金之外，每月還要付約27500至47800元，20年下來至少要付660萬房租。

面對台灣邁入超高齡社會，每五個人就有一位超過65歲的銀髮族，養生村供不應求，也讓越來越多業者積極搶進。

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Central Bank highlights Hla’alua people in latest Indigenous coin set

The Central Bank recently unveiled the 15th edition of its Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Series, this time highlighting the Hla’alua people. The coins feature traditional attire, cross-stitch patterns, and a sacred shell to showcase the Hla’alua culture. Each set also includes a NT$20 circulating coin. Only 13,000 sets are to be released, going on sale on Nov. 12.

The design on this commemorative coin includes colorful traditional attire and cross-stitch patterns.

On the reverse side is a sacred shell representing ancestral spirits and the protective power of the family. The set also includes a NT$20 circulating coin. This is the 15th edition of the Central Bank’s Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Series, dedicated to the Hla’alua people.

Teng Yen-ta
Central Bank Department of Issuance director
A total of 13,000 sets will be offered at different branches of the Bank of Taiwan. Each person will be limited to two sets. Each one is priced at NT$350.

Since 1998, the Central Bank has issued 14 of these Aboriginal Culture Series coin sets. The 15th edition this year is to go on sale on Nov. 12. This round centers the Hla’alua people, known for their unique sacred shell festival. The tribe of about 500, primarily from Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District, was officially recognized as Taiwan’s 15th Indigenous group in 2014. The Central Bank visited the tribe in person for input.

Teng Yen-ta
Central Bank Department of Issuance director
In 2012, we issued a National Parks of Taiwan coin set that continued through 2021. This year, we’re resuming the aboriginal series with this new Hla’alua coin set to honor Indigenous cultures. Much like our zodiac series, we’re not doing this for a profit. The price is very close to its cost.

The Central Bank said it plans to issue coin sets for the official 16th and 17th tribes in the future, hoping to commemorate these unique cultures for future generations.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#CentralBank #coinset #indigenous #Hla’alua #commemorativecoin

2026-11-06

Taiwan shares plummet by 4.51% to end day below 40,000-point mark

2026-11-06

Taiwanese-American baseball star receives gold card from president

Taiwanese-American baseball star Stuart Fairchild, affectionately known as "Fei Zai," is back in Taiwan, to meet the president. Earlier this year, Fairchild became a superstar in Taiwan, after hitting a grand slam against Czechia at the World Baseball Classic. Now, Fairchild is in Taiwan with his family and his wife, who is not shy to share sweet moments of the trip online. Besides sightseeing, a highlight of the trip happened on Friday, when President Lai Ching-te personally presented Fairchild with an Employment Gold Card at the Presidential Office. Let’s hear more.

- Lai will now present Mr. Fairchild with the Taiwan Employment Gold Card.

Lai Ching-te
President
The significance of this Employment Gold Card is to make Taiwan feel like a second home for you. As a baseball fan, I’m thrilled to have this opportunity today to personally thank you face-to-face. During the game between Taiwan and Czechia, when you hit that grand slam with the bases loaded. It was just wow. We’re all huge fans of yours now.

Stuart Fairchild
Taiwanese-American baseball star
Ever since representing Team Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, the love and support
I have received from the people of Taiwan has been truly overwhelming. I am incredibly proud of my Taiwanese heritage, and this visit has only deepened that pride and my connection to Taiwan. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. (In Mandarin) Thank you, Taiwan.

Fairchild’s visit has drawn plenty of attention, with fans proud to see the Taiwanese-American player embracing his Taiwanese roots. A hero on the baseball field, he’s also a devoted husband off the field. His wife, Hannah, shared a romantic photo of the couple at Taipei 101, captioned "Over the moon." The post got more than 170,000 likes, and left fans gushing that they look like a match made in heaven. Fairchild is also scheduled to take part in a baseball training camp in Tianmu this weekend, where he’ll have the opportunity to interact with local players.

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

#fairchild #baseball #goldcard #taiwan #grandslam

2026-11-06

Chiang Wan-an rushes to follow suit after Puma Shen sits with KMT veteran

With Taipei’s mayoral race heating up, a cross-party visit is now sparking a political tug-of-war. DPP candidate Puma Shen visited former Taipei City Council Speaker Chen Chien-chih on Thursday to seek advice on governing across party lines. But incumbent Mayor Chiang Wan-an quickly followed suit, inviting the veteran KMT heavyweight to his campaign headquarters. The move raised eyebrows, with critics questioning why an 82-year-old political veteran is being asked to make the trip instead of being visited himself. But it seems that the Taipei mayor ultimately listened to the criticism. On Friday afternoon, a former KMT lawmaker posted a photo showing Chiang visiting Chen.

Chen Chien-chih (Nov. 5)
Former Taipei City Council Speaker (KMT)
I was of course really happy that Puma Shen wanted to visit me. We talked about my experience as council speaker, and about how I handled disagreements between the parties. People from all parties and factions have visited me before running for Taipei mayor, including James Soong, Frank Hsieh and Su Tseng-chang. I gladly welcomed them all.

On Thursday, DPP’s mayoral candidate for Taipei, Puma Shen paid a visit to former Taipei Council Speaker Chen Chien-chih of the KMT, which was seen by some as an attempt to win over Chiang Wan-an’s core supporter base. Chiang immediately responded by announcing Chen had been invited to visit his campaign headquarters next Thursday.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
I think they completely misunderstood the point of the visits. Former Speaker Chen and I are from different parties. But if I end up governing, my administration will have to engage with the other party. So it’s a must to learn how to handle these sorts of discussions from someone who was council speaker for so long.

Chen Chien-chih (Nov. 5)
Former Taipei City Council Speaker (KMT)
I am 82 years old already. The fact that he still thinks highly of me, and that he doesn’t think I’m too old is something that made me extremely happy.

Kang Jen-chun
Veteran commentator
It’s not so much that Shen is trying to make a breakthrough. I think he is just very interested in getting advice. It’s something he has very strong ideas about. He’s also shown everyone that he doesn’t want to live inside his own echo chamber.

Chen is a KMT heavyweight. Commentators say that, having seen Shen scoring points with his party, Chiang is now rushing to catch up. But it seems he’s forgotten the proper way to do things. Instead of going out to visit Chen, Chiang has invited the octogenarian to visit his campaign quarters instead. What’s worse is that Chiang won’t be present himself. Instead, campaign director Lu Shiow-yen will be the one to meet Chen. It’s not sitting well with some.

Chuang Jui-hsiung
DPP Legislative Caucus
It’s bizarre. If you want to get advice from an elder or ask them for something, you should be the one going to visit them. Chiang maybe was afraid that if he visited Chen, people would once again say that he’s being a copycat. So to avoid that, he flipped it around and asked former Speaker Chen to visit his campaign headquarters instead.

The criticism over Chiang’s visiting etiquette clearly pushed some buttons as former
KMT lawmaker Apollo Chen posted a photo on social media showing that Chiang had gone out of his way to actually visit Chen on Friday afternoon.

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

#taipei #politics #pumashen #蔣萬安 #elections

2026-11-06

Puma Shen’s English interview delivers key message on democracy

DPP’s Taipei Mayoral Candidate, Puma Shen is making headlines once again for delivering an interview in perfect English. He discusses how he engaged with voters and followed polls always remaining optimistic about the race. He explained the gravity of Taiwan’s democratic elections, and how they are a slap in China’s face.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
I think a real slap on China is democracy, right? So for me, even Chiang Wan-an got elected is also a slap on China because we prove that democracy works here in Taiwan. And we are not interfered by China, so every election is a slap on them.

DPP’s Puma Shen, who is running for Taipei Mayor, recently sat with Reuters at the Legislative Yuan for an interview conducted fully in English. He discussed the gravity of Taiwan’s elections as a symbol for democracy as well as the impact of the Twin-City forum without interference from China.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
If there’s no political pre-condition, and if there’s no harassment, I mean from China, and then, if there’s no drills, I mean after there’s the Twin-City Forum. Without all this, maybe it’s okay to have this exchange forum.

Shen mentioned that China still needs the Twin-City Forum so that Shanghai and Taipei can officially communicate.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
Even when I tried to talk about China, in a soft way, I didn’t really receive criticism by, like you mentioned, any hardcore supporters and saying that, “You should criticize China right now!”

When discussing the growing O’Shen wave, he explained that his supporters are quite diverse, suggesting serving the city is unaffected by political party.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
I don’t really divide people into blue, white and green. It’s more about like, you are the group that is trying to take care of children or taking care of parents, you have certain needs and I’m the one who can solve the issue.

Shen also mentioned that since entering the election in May, he was 30% behind in the polls and now as the gap continues to close, he remains optimistic.

Puma Shen
Taipei Mayoral Candidate (DPP)
Right now, I’m only losing by 4%, so still I have the chance to win.

The O’Shen wave isn’t just flooding Taiwan, some of it has flowed overseas letting the world see Taiwan’s elections.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#pumashen #oshenwave #dpp #taipeimayor #taiwan #elections

2026-11-06

Man jumps out of car just before it explodes on highway

At 8am on the Nov. 6, a car caught on fire on the intersection of Provincial Highway 74 and 139. The driver noticed white smoke coming out of the back of the SUV and quickly came to a stop by the side of the road. The moment he jumped off, the vehicle erupted into flames followed by several loud explosions. In a few moments, the entire car was burned to its shell leaving the driver feeling very lucky to have gotten out in time.

Large columns of smoke and huge bright orange flames emerge from a burning car!

Loud explosions could be heard from a car engulfed in flames by the highway.

Around 8am on Friday morning, a car burst into flames near a highway. In just a few minutes, the entire SUV exploded and burned beyond saving. Firefighters arrived on scene just off the intersection of Provincial Highway 74A and 139 in Changhua to extinguish the fire.

Driver
Owner of the SUV
Suddenly, the back of the car emitted white smoke; I quickly pulled over to the right and stopped the car, the moment I got off it burst into flames. Originally, the car was giving alerts saying that it “needs service.” I was about to head to the service center today, but then this happened.

The accident took place during the morning rush hour and many passing by witnessed the horrifying scene. The driver explained he had received several warning alerts from the car and had already scheduled a check-up at the service center. But as he was driving he noticed white smoke coming out of the back of the car and he quickly stopped the car and jumped out just in time.

Hsiao Chun-hsiung
Firefighter in Changhua East Fire Department
When we arrived on the scene, the fire was quite big, after hosing it down the fire was under control.

Why the car suddenly caught on fire and whether it is directly related to the service warnings remains under investigation.

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

#fireaccident #carexplosion #traffic #changhua #taiwanaccident

2026-11-06

‘I felt like it!’ Woman rips off 25 license plates from 15 cars

2026-11-06

Deer darts onto Taichung road, colliding with scooter

A rare traffic accident occurred in Taichung when a sambar deer suddenly darted onto the road and collided with a scooter. The scooter and rider were thrown to the ground, suffering multiple injuries. The driver was quickly taken to the hospital and thankfully recovered quickly.

A rare traffic accident occurred in Taichung when a sambar deer suddenly darted onto the road and collided with a scooter. The scooter and rider were thrown to the ground, suffering multiple injuries. The driver was quickly taken to the hospital and thankfully recovered quickly.

A car’s dashcam captured an accident on the right side of the road, as scooters hit their brakes while turning the corner. A deer dashed into the road, crashing into a scooter and bringing the vehicle and its rider down with it.

The scooter was left lying in the middle of the road, forcing riders behind to swerve out of the way. The injured deer scrambled to its feet, finally fleeing the scene in a panic.

This happened on Section 5 of Xiangshan Road in Taichung’s DaduDistrict. The crash left the scooter driver hurt, but thankfully not seriously injured.

Member of public
Driver
When you hit a deer, what if it’s a protected species? Who’s held responsible? If it were me, I’d cover the damage to my vehicle myself. But what about the deer?

An ambulance arrived and took the injured driver to the hospital, where they recovered smoothly.

Liu Yu-hao
Police officer
Drivers traveling through mountainous or rural areas where wild animals are likely to appear should remain alert to road conditions and their surroundings, and slow down to allow for more reaction time.

Scooter debris remained scattered by the scene of the accident, not far from a road sign warning to watch for deer. When drivers collide with wild animals, they have little choice but to cover the damages themselves.

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

#deer #sambadeer #Taichung #accident #scooter #driver #caraccident #injury #animal

2026-11-06

Taipei Fullon Hotel to be converted into ‘smart’ senior housing