The Taipei City Government plans to promote the domestic film industry with preferential treatment for moviemakers and encouragement for filming in Taipei.
Taipei City’s Cultural Affairs Department (CAD), which established a film commission in January to encourage cooperation with the film industry, in July started offering discounted rates at 96 municipal hotels for local filmmakers who film in the city.
The city government has stepped up efforts to encourage the local film industry following the phenomenal success of Cape No. 7 (海角七號).
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The locally made film, which was set in southern Taiwan, was a box office smash selling NT$200 million (US$6 million) in tickets after its Aug. 22 opening and attracted a wave of fans to Kenting (墾丁) and Hengchun (恆春), where the film was shot.
The movie opened the 2008 Taipei Film Festival in June, and won best picture.
CAD Commissioner Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) said the department would establish regulations on renting public space in order to make it easier for filmmakers to set action scenes in locations such as MRT stations. The city government will earmark NT$12 million in subsidies for filmmakers and TV producers who shoot in Taipei.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Wu Shih-cheng (吳世正), however, challenged the department over the poor box office results of this year’s Taipei Film Festival. He urged the department to improve the festival next year by finding a better location for screening films than Taipei Zhongshan Hall (中山堂), which is not a theater.
Lee acknowledged that ticket sales at this year’s festival were NT$1 million less than last year, and the number of participants dropped to about 50,000.
Lee said in the past the department had failed to persuade major theaters to provide space for 1,000 festival viewers, but promised to propose potential locations for next year’s festival in a month.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英) said the city government should follow the Kaohsiung City Government’s example in regulating subsidies given to local filmmakers and offering discounted ticket for movies shot in the city.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS