Tens of thousands of people packed the plaza outside Taipei City Hall last
night for the annual New Year's Eve countdown.

The event featured a six-minute fireworks display launched from the Taipei
101, while South Korean all-girl group KARA returned to Taipei after a
12-year hiatus to headline the event.

According to police and city government officials, some 200,000 people
attended the New Year's Eve countdown last night in Taipei based on
telecommunications signaling data.

The Taipei Metro Corporation says, as of midnight on December 31, the total
ridership of the entire metro system stood at approximately 2.75-million
passengers.

That was a decline of approximately 1,000 passengers compared to the average
ridership during last year's New Year's Eve period.

The four stations surrounding Taipei City Hall, including Taipei City Hall
Station, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, Taipei 101/World Trade Center
Station, and Elephant Mountain Station, saw a ridership of 222,000 passengers
from 4PM to midnight.

And that was decrease of approximately 56,000 passengers compared to last
year.