Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) was in Taipei yesterday to promote tourism in Taitung, introducing special discounts for tourists and inviting the public to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the east coast.
“Taitung is a place with beautiful mountains and fields, a 160km coastline on the Pacific, a rich blend of Aboriginal, Hakka and Hoklo cultures, as well as gourmet food and fresh farm produce,” Kuang told a news conference. “Some people have told me that when they traveled to Taitung for the first time, they felt as though they had walked into paradise.”
In addition to Hoklos and Hakkas, there are six Aboriginal tribes in Taitung — the Amis, the Puyuma, the Paiwan, the Rukai, the Bunun and the Tao — “making traveling in Taitung a very unique cultural experience,” she said.
The East Rift Valley (花東縱谷), bounded by the Central Mountain Range on the west and the Coastal Mountain Range on the east, is famous for producing high-quality rice and other agricultural products, she said.
Taitung also offers “bamboo coffee,” described by its grower Juan Yung-kuang (阮勇光) as the best-kept secret in Taitung.
“There are some great coffee growers in Taitung, but not many people know about it,” Juan said behind a table on which he displayed coffee beans from his farm in Beinan Township (卑南).
“I put fresh coffee beans in bamboo pipes and let a natural fermentation process take place,” Juan said, explaining how “bamboo coffee” — which is only found in Taitung — is made.
“Beans can be kept there for about a year or so. Just take out the beans, grind them and make coffee whenever you like,” he said. “Every sip of the coffee has the fragrance of the bamboo.”
To promote tourism, Kuang said in a press release that the county government, local tourism authorities and 60 tourism-related businesses had developed a “Taitung Tourist Passport” that gives travelers discounts on lodging, food, entrance fees and souvenirs at participating stores and tourist sites.
More information about the discounts is available online at www.erv-nsa.gov.tw.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or