A group of cherry farmers in the US is working with a Taiwanese TV company on a proposal to recruit a few teenagers willing to pick cherries at a Washington state cherry orchard for a weekly TV show.
True story: came across the international wires from the Associated Press bureau in Seattle. What's this all about?
Pop culture and food, that's what it's all about, according to the AP story.
Turns out that in June, the Northwest Cherry Growers Association invited Taiwan pop singer Gigi Leung to film a music video in the state, with cherry trees in the background. Released on MTV Asia, the three-minute video -- entitled "Fresh" and basically a free commercial for cherry farmers who are eyeing the Asian market -- spent three months as a top 10 hit.
Although the video cost around US$100,000 to make, US cherry farmers reaped millions of dollars in free PR and more on various Asian TV news shows and travel programs.
Smart marketing, tasty fruit. Gigi Leung got some nice airplay, too.
Now a Taiwan TV production firm is looking into the possibility of a weekly show that chronicles the daily lives of some Taiwanese teens working at a cherry orchard. The thinking is that if the show gets good ratings, the product -- cherries -- will fly off supermarket shelves in Taiwan and make a killing for US cherry farmers.
By the way, cherries are popular in Taiwan. According to the AP story, stores across the island ran out of imported US cherries recently as hungry consumers snapped up 20-pound boxes selling for more than US$110.
Please send your story to
offthebeat@taipeitimes.com
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS