Media OutReach
The 2025 Taipei New Year’s Party – Most Exclusive Performance Cast in Taiwan Gold Medalists Join Hands with 220,000 Other Revelers for the Grand New Year Year’s Countdown
The theme of the 2025 Taipei New Year’s Party was “Move,” says the Department of Information and Tourism (DOIT), Taipei City Government. People in large numbers came to enjoy the shows at the four large Diversity Stages, and the main stage had a powerful super-cast of performers consisting of more than 15 groupings taking the stage in relay, stirring up the heat at the venue to an ever higher temperature. The opening ceremony saw baseball’s famed Dragon Beauties cheerleading squad and DJ RayRay team up with an exuberantly lively performance, the 14 dragon ladies lighting up the scene with their dynamic dance moves. The popular Papun Band performed a suite of their classic tunes, including I Only Wish the Most Mediocre Life, and collaborated with TRASH for the first time to present Yong Yuan Bu Hui Tou (“Never Look Back“). Continuing on its own, TRASH then brought more boiling rock energy to the stage with such hits as Heavyhearted Loser and LOVE.
In addition, Golden Melody queen Penny Tai touched the hearts of everyone in the audience with her soulful tunes, including What If We Still Stay Together and The Love You Want. Karencici and J.Sheon took turns on stage, and the two also combined to perform Hard to Say. The unique musical style of Faith Yang in Stars and other melodies brought passionate applause, and Sam Lee performed his classic love songs Hands Off and Devotion Love, one and all in the audience singing along in unison, enraptured. The group Cosmos People served up a riveting set pulsating with electric energy, delivering Ocean, Let’s Go Running Together, and other hits. HRC BEAST CREW SHADOW, the champion dance group of the city’s 2024 Metro Street Dance Competition, Olympic national breakdance athlete Sun Chen, and the City4 dance group also won acclaim from the audience with their scintillating dance routines
At the celebration’s mid-point a big specially planned surprise was unveiled, bringing delight and amazement to the audience, with singer YELLOW first conducting a video chat with Rozette, a popular Canadian vocal teacher, and then Rozette making a surprise appearance on the stage and the duo singing Shallow. Next, the Korean girl group Apink provided an exclusive Taipei performance, including Mr. Chu and LUV, of a number of their popular tracks, their charming repertoire inspiring ongoing audience screaming and shouting. Heavyweight headliner ENERGY, returning this year, performed Let Go, Friday Night, and other classics, which not only awakened classic memories but also ignited the party atmosphere to the highest temperature!
For the countdown to midnight, Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an joined hands with four outstanding Taiwanese athletes, 2024 Paris Olympics badminton gold medalist Wang Chi-lin and boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting along with Premier12 baseball gold medalists Lee Kai-wei and Chen Kuan-wei from the Wei Chuan Dragons, with mascots Strong and Bravo the Bear also joining in. Mayor Chiang announced delivered a speech wishing everyone a Happy New Year, embracing the spirit of 2025 with “Everything is wonderful” Together with both online and offline audiences, he counted down to welcome the arrival of the new year.
The two much anticipated post-fireworks heavyweight finale performers were set to take the stage in turn, bringing the party atmosphere to repeated new climaxes. Gigi Leung recreated her performance of the opening song for her Taipei Arena concert last year, Spaghetti, creating a sense of boundless imagination and New Year hope, and followed this with tunes such as Coward that sketched out memories and evoked the good times of the past for all in attendance. The hot group 831 then hit the stage, powering out heart-thumping titles including East Side and Cheers!, the perfect conclusion for the 2025 Taipei New Year’s Party.
DOIT specially points out that this year’s gala once again demonstrated the cross-unit cooperation and execution capabilities of the Taipei City Government team, including Department of Health(DOH)、Taipei Metro Corporation(TMC)、Department of Transportation(DOT)、Police Department(PD)、Department of Environmental Protection(DEP)、Department of Social Welfare(DSW)、Fire Department(FD)、Department of Information and Tourism(DOIT), with manpower of 7,500 mobilized to ensure the smooth staging of the event, strengthening traffic dispersion and on-site order and maintenance, garbage removal and environmental restoration in peripheral areas, etc. This enabled full crowd dispersal to be completed before
2:10 o’clock in the morning after the New Year’s Party activities, and the systematic restoration of the original order and appearance of the city.
Hashtag: #TVBS
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GoTyme Bank becomes the first digital bank in the Philippines to enable Apple Pay, expanding secure and seamless digital payments for 10 million customers
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 August 2026 – Paymentology, the leading global issuer processor, today announced the successful launch of Apple Pay for GoTyme Bank in the Philippines. Through this launch, GoTyme becomes one of the first issuers in the Philippine market to enable Apple Pay, giving 10 million customers an easy, secure and private way to pay using their Apple devices.
As one of the country’s fastest-growing digital banks, GoTyme continues to accelerate its digital payments strategy by expanding secure, seamless and convenient payment experiences for Filipino consumers. Customers can now securely add their GoTyme debit card to Apple Wallet and make contactless payments in stores, within apps and online wherever Apple Pay is accepted.
Apple Pay uses industry-leading tokenisation technology, meaning card numbers are never stored on devices or shared with merchants. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, with every transaction authenticated through Face ID, Touch ID or a device passcode, providing an additional layer of security while delivering a fast, frictionless checkout experience.
Nate Clark, President and CEO at GoTyme Bank commented: “At GoTyme Bank, we’re constantly looking for ways to make banking simpler, safer and more rewarding for our customers. Bringing Apple Pay to GoTyme Bank customers in the Philippines gives them an easy and secure way to pay wherever they shop while continuing to earn rewards points on all their transactions. This is another step in our commitment to making everyday banking more beautiful and convenient for our customers.
The launch comes as digital payments continue to reshape the Philippine economy. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), digital payments now account for more than half of all retail payment transactions, as consumers increasingly embrace mobile-first banking and contactless payments. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration continues to rise, supporting growing demand for digital wallets and tokenised payment experiences. As digital commerce accelerates, enabling secure mobile payments through services such as Apple Pay is becoming an increasingly important differentiator for financial institutions.
Minh-Ha Truong, Head of Growth, APAC at Paymentology, added: “As a long-standing partner to GoTyme, we’re proud to support another significant milestone in its growth journey. Bringing Apple Pay to market demonstrates how modern, cloud-native issuer processing enables digital banks to rapidly deliver innovative payment experiences while maintaining the highest standards of security, scalability and performance. Together, we’re helping shape the future of digital payments in the Philippines.”
The launch further strengthens GoTyme’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital banks and highlights the value of Paymentology’s cloud-native issuer processing platform in helping banks and fintechs rapidly introduce innovative payment capabilities that meet evolving customer expectations.
Hashtag: #Paymentology
https://www.paymentology.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/paymentology/
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Media OutReach
New Documentary Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun From Discovery to Debut on August 20 in Southeast Asia
Set against the sun-drenched landscapes of southern Taiwan, Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun highlights how the people of Liugdui have thrived alongside the land for over 300 years. Following local scholars, farmers, and artisans, the documentary explores how this community adapts its deep-rooted traditions—from water stewardship to food heritage—in response to environmental and economic change, offering vital modern insights on sustainability, rural revitalization, and cultural continuity.
Across three episodes—Water, agriculture, and food—the documentary explores how the people of Liugdui blend tradition with modern innovation. Viewers meet groundwater experts, farmers pioneering sustainable crops, and artisans repurposing local materials like betel nut, alongside culinary practitioners who preserve Hakka identity through ancestral rituals, communal feasts, and family traditions that unite generations.
Audiences will discover a community that views tradition not as something fixed in the past, but as a living legacy that continues to evolve. From innovative groundwater management and botanical dyeing to ritual feasts and modern interpretations of Hakka cuisine – the documentary celebrates the creativity, resilience, and values that have sustained Liugdui for centuries.
Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun premieres in Southeast Asia on Discovery Channel, Thursday, August 20 at 7:10pm; TLC Channel, Monday, August 24 at 7:10pm; and Discovery Asia, Tuesday, August 25 at 9:25pm.
Hashtag: #Discovery
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About Discovery Channel
The launch press conference broke away from tradition with a vibrant runway show featuring celebrity “Hot Spring Travel Navigators,” including acclaimed chef Edward Lee from Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, visual identity creative director Yen Po-Chun, TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Taiwan Chairman Kazuma Otsuka, and actor-host Andrew Chau. Together with local businesses, they showcased regional agriculture, specialties, and lifestyle products.
The official launch celebration kicks off on September 4 at Guguan Park in Taichung, featuring a themed parade with over 500 participants and the lighting ceremony for the Lishan–Guguan Light Art Festival, which stars a massive eight-meter “OhBear” light installation. The festivities continue on September 5 with a guided tribal trekking tour in Guguan, offering participants an exclusive NT$500 accommodation discount.
To promote four-season wellness tourism globally, the campaign partners with the East Asia Hot Spring Association for an international symposium on September 4. Key promotions also include complimentary LINE POINTS for new followers, curated packages starting at NT$299, and a flash sale of 800 limited NT$1 Hot Spring Vouchers for the Double 11 Shopping Festival. Furthermore, cross-sector collaborations offer half-price entry to national forest areas, limited-edition Taiwan Railway bento boxes, and Guanziling mud spring skincare products to enrich the travel experience.Hashtag: #TaiwanFourSeasonSprings
https://www.trimt-nsa.gov.tw/zh-tw/
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