A Taiwanese official visiting Paris said on Thursday that his film promotion department would try to persuade Taiwan’s Ministry of Education to include movie courses in elementary and junior high school curriculums.
Frank Chen (陳志寬), director of the Government Information Office’s Department of Motion Pictures, said that the initiative would hopefully raise awareness of the importance of film education and foster a greater interest in movies.
“Movie culture requires cultivation at an early age,” Chen said, adding that film classes begin at elementary school level in France.
Chen is currently heading a delegation of Taiwanese theater operators on a visit to France to learn more about the European country’s film industry development, as well as digital projection technology.
He said that the French government’s policy of support for its motion picture industry could serve as a model for Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the visit helped theater operators in Chen’s delegation better understand the French attitude toward culture and re-think their own social responsibilities and the social significance of movie theaters, said Shin Kong Cineplex manager Luo Min-wen (羅敏妏), one of the members of the delegation.
She said that Taiwan’s theater operators only take box office revenue into consideration and do not care about contributing to culture.
Taiwan’s movie theaters are restricted in the selection of films available by distributors, Kuo said, in contrast to France where a wide diversity of movies are shown in cinemas.
Members of the delegation expressed the view that digital projection would become the trend of the future and that an upgrading of facilities in Taiwanese theaters would be needed.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are