Fifteen contestants from around the world will compete for a top prize of NT$1 million (US$34,700) on Fun Taiwan Challenge (瘋台灣大挑戰), co-sponsored by the Tourism Bureau and the Discovery Networks’ Travel and Living Channel (TLC).
The program will start shooting on Monday and is scheduled to debut in Taiwan in October. It will subsequently be broadcast in more than 34 countries in Asia, with an estimated audience of more than 134 million.
Tourism Bureau Director--General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) said this was the third time that the bureau has worked with the Discovery Networks. She said that Fun Taiwan Challenge drew more than 3,000 participants from 30 countries around the world, but only 15 were chosen for the competition.
Photo: CNA
“We hope that the program shows the charm of Taiwan through interactive games and generates new discussion about travel in Taiwan,” she said.
Discovery Networks Asia--Pacific general manager Tommy Lin (林東民) said that the production costs for Fun Taiwan -Challenge would be three times more than the network’s other travel programs, adding that it is the network’s first reality game show in Asia.
The program will allow an international audience to experience the unique energy of Taiwan, Lin added.
Taiwanese-American Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬) hosted the network’s two Fun Taiwan series and will be in charge of dishing out various challenges to the contestants in the new program.
“In the Fun Taiwan series, I traveled by myself or with a foreigner,” Hsieh said. “The new program will also have a little bit of intensity to it.”
Hsieh said she would make sure that the contestants cannot easily win the reward, adding that one of the contestants would be sent home on the first week of shooting.
As teasers, Hsieh asked eight contestants at a press conference yesterday to try a taste of congealed pig-blood cake and duck tongue, two famous Taiwanese delicacies. Some of the contestants were clearly disgusted just by the names of the food they were being asked to eat.
Others were asked by Lai to write the Chinese name of the program in Chinese calligraphy.
“The congealed pig-blood cakes are actually delicious, although I hope I can drink some water [while eating it],” said 24-year-old Tully Smith from the US.
Those interested in submitting challenges to contestants can go to the TLC Web site at www.tlc-funtaiwan.com.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS