Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) yesterday touted the ministry’s plans to develop ultra-broadband and “revisit historic scenes” as “very forward-looking” in her explanation of its request for NT$21.46 billion (US$711.6 million) in funds earmarked for the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
The ministry has submitted subsidy requests of NT$5.66 billion and NT$15.8 billion respectively for its “revisiting historic scenes” and “digital infrastructure construction” projects, Cheng said at a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee.
The projects would be carried out from this year to 2020, with some work set to continue until 2021, she said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“Revisiting historic scenes,” which was listed as an urban and rural construction project under the Cabinet’s plan, would maintain and reinvent historic sites.
It is to incorporate technology into historic sites’ introductions to provide visitors with a better understanding of their historical context, she said.
The project is the first in the nation’s history to incorporate the concept of “cultural governance,” which represents a major step forward, the minister said.
Cultural sites should be added through maintaining and revitalizing existing ones rather than building new ones, which would benefit urban and rural development, Cheng said, adding that future projects proposed by the ministry would be reviewed according to this principle.
The “digital infrastructure construction” project includes plans to develop ultra-broadband services, produce high-resolution television shows, and create TV programs and movies that focus on Taiwanese culture, she said.
The project is to include the establishment of a national cultural database, the creation of TV shows with 4K resolution and the development of over-the-top content — or content distributed online without subscribing to a traditional service — in response to the rise of new media, she said.
Underlining the importance of Taiwanese culture in the broadcasting and film industries, Cheng said that even if bandwidth is upgraded, it would only be “serving other nations’ cultures” if there are no programs that promote Taiwanese culture.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS