Kenting (
The bureau launched an online survey in February to select an ideal setting for a romantic series called Wish to See You in Taiwan, which will be financed by the tourism bureau and will feature popular boy band F4.
The bureau, as the sole financer, has decided the TV series will be a romantic comedy featuring scenic spots that effectively promote Taiwan's characteristics.
The survey ended on the 15th of last month with hundreds of responses from domestic and overseas participants.
The survey attracted more than 450,000 visitors to its Web site and 648 proposed scenic spots.
In addition to the top three spots, some suggested that the settings include night markets, which would give viewers of the show a glimpse of tasty local foods.
Anping Tree House (
Fans of F4 have also submitted ideas to the TV program's designers.
A Japanese woman wrote in an e-mail that she had fallen in love with Taiwan because of F4 and had since visited the country repeatedly. Like many tourists, she visited Taipei 101 and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. However, she recommended using Longshan Temple as a setting in the TV series, noting that the temple is designated as a top-rated national historical site. The devoted F4 fan said she had visited the temple on each of her trips to Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the bureau's campaign to attract more international tourists by promoting niche tourism, which lets tourists explore one particular aspect of a country, has proven effective. It noted this week that the nation's Northeast Coast had become a popular destination for couples engaged to be married.
A statement from the bureau's national scenic area administration in the northeast coast said that approximately 200 couples came to Taiwan from Hong Kong each month to have pre-wedding photos taken. Most of the couples said the Northeast Coast was a must-visit destination.
Around the coastal area, Yeliou Park (
"They [couples from Hong Kong] come because Taiwan offers quality wedding photos and plenty of beautiful scenery as a backdrop. And the service is delivered efficiently and at a relatively reasonable price," the statement said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over