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The entire world was glued to their screens last weekend, as American climber Alex Honnold made his way to the top of the 508-m Taipei 101 unaided. And in Taiwan, the Honnold effect continues. The Chair of the Taipei 101, Janet Chia on Thursday got a closer look at Honnold’s path to the top from a special observation platform. The Skyline sits at 460m above the ground, and offers uninterrupted views of the entire Taipei basin. Although the views are stunning, the focus on the deck now is not the scenery. Instead, it is the corner from which Honnold entered the final stretch of his ascent to the tip of the skyscraper’s spire. Chia says that, though she was nervous, the trust she had in Honnold and the team, and the thrill of the live event made the climb the best day of her life.

Janet Chia
Taipei 101 Chair
My home is also that way. If you come up here, you can look for the landmarks of your life from being a child to an adult.

Taipei 101 Chair Janet Chia has no limits. At 460m above the ground on the Skyline, Asia’s highest observation deck, she showed cameras the best spots.

Tang Shih-ching
FTV reporter
We are on the Skyline 460 on Taipei 101, which affords views of the city from 460m above the ground. You can see the entire Taipei basin stretching into the horizon. And this corner is where climbing ace Alex Honnold made his way to the top.

With resistance suits and safety harnesses, you don’t have to look at the city through a glass panel or through a fence. There’s all-round unobstructed views of the capital’s landmarks, the Keelung River and Yangmingshan. But the most popular spot is this.

Janet Chia
Taipei 101 Chair
This is the corner that Alex climbed up from. From here, you can see what he was seeing at the time.

On his free solo climb up Taipei 101, Alex Honnold went past this very spot to reach the top of the spire at 508m.

Janet Chia
Taipei 101 Chair
Reaching the top myself was a big challenge, and of course, it’s a very different view. Nothing like this has ever been done before. It was nerve-racking, but it wasn’t really stressful. The thing with Alex did give me pressure from many different places, of course. But it’s not like I didn’t have confidence in myself. I trusted Alex and the entire team. Though I couldn’t relax fully, I knew it’d be a success.

Chia faced considerable skepticism when she took over as the chair of the Taipei 101. Now that she’s put Taiwan on the map thanks to Honnold’s climb, some say she should run for mayor.

Janet Chia
Taipei 101
I will absolutely, 100%, definitely not run in the Taipei mayoral election. That should be left for people who have experience in city governance.

Chia says she has no intention of turning to politics. Her next goal is the Taipei 101 vertical marathon, where she hopes to reach greater heights.

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