President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has teamed up with Taiwanese YouTube host Tsai A-ga (蔡阿嘎) in two short videos.
One was titled “Ga with Celebrity to Talk about Taiwanese” and the other “What is the President up to?” Within 24 hours of being posted on Tuesday, they received 670,000 and 220,000 views respectively.
It was the first time that Tsai Ing-wen had worked with a Taiwanese YouTube celebrity, and many people have said that this is the first time they have seen the president loosen up and show that she has a funny side.
In one video, Tsai A-ga joked with the president, saying that he had mistaken her for Masa (瑪莎), the bass player for Mayday.
He also jokingly called her “English Tsai,” a direct translation of her name, which can be taken as meaning “poor English,” and went on to joke that “I am the first YouTuber in the world to diss a nation’s president in person.”
The two traded banter, while the president also gave quick replies to short questions, and discussed interesting uses of Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) words and phrases.
The president later admitted that she was somewhat nervous at the beginning and even held her hands tightly, as it was the first time that she had taken part in this sort of entertainment.
Some netizens said that the videos are symbolic of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.
“After watching this, I feel proud to live in a free, democratic society in Taiwan,” one person wrote.
“No matter if you like her or not, we should appreciate the liberties and freedom of speech we enjoy in Taiwan,” another wrote.
Other commentators said that Taiwan has what many other countries do not.
“It is impossible for China to have these kinds of videos,” one person wrote.
In the second video, the president gave the Republic of China flag to Tsai A-ga at the Presidential Office, and announced that the YouTuber has been chosen to represent the nation later this summer in New York.
The New York Mets baseball club is hosting a Taiwan Heritage Night at the team’s Citi Field, with a pre-game ceremony featuring Tsai A-ga.
“We look forward to Tsai A-ga taking our flag to the New York Mets’ stadium,” Tsai Ing-wen said.
Presidential Office spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said that the president regularly posts messages on her Facebook page and she shares photographs on Instagram.
Her official Line messaging app account has gained more than 200,000 followers in two months, Lin said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS