The Taitung County “Jhihben Hot Springs Music Fest” is set to kick off on Dec. 4, ushering in four consecutive weekends of luxurious bathing, good live music and multifaceted performances.

The 2010 Festival of Austronesian Cultures featuring driftwood art and indigenous culture are being held Nov. 19-28 in the eastern county of Taitung.

As many as 13 endangered Formosan muntjacs, or known as Formosan barking deer, were found killed in the largest illegal animal-shooting case ever seen in the eastern county of Taitung in recent years, according to Taitung Police Station.

In adherence to traditional customs supported by Taitung City's Tien Hou Temple, a good majority of the eastern city's residents yesterday willingly became vegetarians and plan to remain so for three consecutive days.

The residents of Beinan Township in Taitung County broke all the rules yesterday by throwing a first-ever outdoors festival at a public gravesite, with participants young and old reveling in the notion that a cemetery does not necessary mark the end of life, but a beginning of sorts.

A magnitude 4 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan's Taitung County yesterday, but there were no reports of damage, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

The 2010 Taiwan Cycling Festival officially got into gear on Oct. 16 in Taitung, with the 200-kilometer Self Challenge Race for everyday riders and triathlon serving as the first warm up to a series of athletic events.

Jiaming Lake, a popular hiking spot in eastern Taiwan, will reopen to the public in early November after being closed for more than a year following a major typhoon, a forestry official said yesterday.

About 700 aborigines were trapped in a village in the eastern county of Taitung after heavy rains and landslides triggered by Typhoon Meranti, as the Central Weather Bureau issued a sea and land warning over the storm.

The sole winner of a lottery jackpot of NT$1.12 billion (US$35.07 million) had not claimed the massive payoff as of yesterday afternoon, but the lottery shop in Taitung that sold the winning ticket said it was overwhelmed with congratulatory phone calls.