Following the success of soap opera The Fierce Wife (犀利人妻) in Latin America last year, another Taiwanese TV drama is set to debut in the region this month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Friday.
The award-winning drama The Way We Were (16個夏天) is to be broadcast on 13 TV channels in Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic — seven of Taiwan’s 22 diplomatic allies — and in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, the ministry said.
The Fierce Wife — the first Taiwanese TV show to be broadcast in the region — was a hit among Latin American audiences, and many viewers were eager to see other Taiwanese TV dramas, Department of International Information Services acting director-general Jeremy Liang (梁洪昇) said at a news conference.
MOFA in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture selected The Way We Were from several Taiwanese contenders, he said.
In an effort to promote popular Taiwanese culture, the two ministries provided funding for TV channels that broadcast the show so that the show could be dubbed in Spanish, a process that took about half a year.
The TV channels broadcasting the show do not have to pay for the rights, MOFA said.
The show focuses on friendship and love, Liang said, adding that he believes it will touch the hearts of many in the region.
The show stars Taiwanese actresses Ruby Lin (林心如) and Ann Hsu (許瑋甯), Taiwanese actors Weber Yang (楊一展) and Jason Tsou (鄒承恩), and Malaysian-Chinese actor Melvin Sia (謝佳見).
The show follows a romantic story that spans 16 years, from the summer of 1998 to 2014. It is set against historical events that occurred during the 16 summers, such as a massive earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
It won three awards at the Golden Bell Awards last year, including for best TV series and best director for a TV series. Ruby Lin was also nominated for best lead actress at Singapore’s Asian TV Awards last year.
Taiwan is not the first Asian country to export its TV dramas to Latin America, with South Korean TV shows having been popular in the region for many years.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it