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CCA Web site in English promotes Taiwanese culture

English speakers around the world who are interested in Taiwanese culture, arts and entertainment have increased access to information through a Web site officially launched yesterday.

Culture.tw, funded by the Council of Cultural Affairs (CCA) and run by the Central News Agency (CNA), aims to be the main Internet portal that "showcases the rich and colorful culture of Taiwan in English," Chief Editor of the site Miranda Loney told a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

After more than a year of planning, culture.tw was launched quietly in July on a trial basis, council Vice Chairman Wu Chin-fa (吳錦發) said.

"During the trial run, an average of 800 plus unique users viewed the Web site from 53 countries around the globe every day," he said.

Accounting for 45.53 percent of all hits, US Internet users were the largest group of regular visitors to the Web site, while English speakers in Taiwan accounted for 42.64 percent of hits, Wu said.

Taiwan-related cultural events and activities can be found in the frequently updated events section, while the "stories section offers in-depth, high quality written features on various facets of Taiwan culture augmented by audio, video, and photographs," Loney said.

Users may also discuss or comment on issues related to Taiwanese culture, Loney said.

David Blundell, a linguistic anthropologist who teaches at National Chengchi University, praised culture.tw as excellent.

"[The site is] an excellent tool for my students in Taiwan to learn about Taiwan?and it's [also] something so convenient and easy to use for my students in California to discover Taiwanese culture," Blundell said.
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