Over 115 million people in 24 countries will have a chance to get to know Taiwan as the Discovery Channel showcases six prominent Taiwanese figures in an upcoming documentary series Portrait: Taiwan, which starts this Sunday.
The six-part series features a puppet maestro, an entertainment super diva, an illustrator, a bookstore builder, an anti-virus computer software giant and an entomologist.
"The biography series captures the spirit of the Taiwanese. It is incredible that this small island has so many amazing stories," Tom Keaveny, executive vice president and managing director for Discovery Networks Asia, told a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
This is the second time that the Government Information Office and Discovery Networks have teamed up to document some of Taiwan's forerunners' lives on film. After the first Portrait: Taiwan was introduced in 2005, Malaysia, China and other Asian countries followed suit.
Six Taiwanese production teams were selected to undertake the project.
One of the six personalities introduced in the series is the internationally known entomologist, Lee Sung-yang (
"I don't belong to a particular faith, but I do believe God has given me a gift for getting to know insects. It is my responsibility to share this gift with the rest of the world," Lee said.
He said the reason why it took him eight years to make the documentary was because "bugs don't listen to directions."
The only person among the group of six who is not alive today is the "Father of Taiwanese Puppet Shows" Huang Hai-dai (
"My father often said puppetry was not just a career, but a life calling. He was adamant about using his puppet shows as a conduit to teach traditional Confucian values to the audience," said his fifth son, Huang Feng-shih (黃逢時).
Steve Chang (
Chang's company Trend Micro was the first foreign company to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Harvard Business School called Trend Micro a better example than Sony or IBM of how to run a global business.
"My job is to defeat the computer hackers. It is like we are the good guys battling against the dark evil force every day," he said.
Another person featured in the series is child-star turned variety show host Chang Hsiao-yan (
Eslite Books founder Wu Ching-yu's (吳清友) dedication in establishing a cultural haven in Taiwan was also documented in the series. His bookstores are not only known for their wide selections of books, but also for their innovative architectural designs. His flagship store in Hsinyi District has become a must-see landmark for many foreign visitors to Taiwan.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS