TAIPEI 2013

 TAIPEI 2013 TAIPEI:  Three out of 10 wishes selected by the public for the major New Year Eve's party in Taiwan were put up in lights on the Taipei 101 tower from 5 p.m. Monday, in a warm-up to the annual countdown party. The tower is being lit up with New Year wishes from its 78th to 81st floors from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday and from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday, the organizers said. The wishes say "Love, Prosperity, Happiness," "Peaceful Taiwan, Happy Family" in Chinese and "I love you" in sign language. At midnight Monday, a dazzling display of fireworks will begin at the building - one of the tallest in the world - and will last for 188 seconds, the organizers said. The fireworks display will be choreographed to an adapted version of "The Firebird," the famous 1910 concert piece by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, according to the organizers. The annual New Year's Eve countdown at Taipei 101 will be broadcast live globally, starting at 11:55 p.m. The city-sponsored party will be headlined by pop diva Chang Hui-mei, also known as A-mei, singer and TV host Harlem Yu and Aaron Kwok from Hong Kong. Despite the cold weather, revelers were already packing the square front of City Hall, near Taipei 101, on Monday evening. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system also reported increasing passenger loads, which it said were expected to start escalating sharply around 7 p.m.