Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖), host of the hugely successful Taiwan Voice (台灣心聲) call-in show, always attracts a large crowd when he shoots the show outdoors.
In Kaohsiung on Sunday, things got a bit out of hand when an agitated spectator lobbed an egg at one of Wang's guests, People First Party Legislator Chen Cheng-sheng (
Episodes such as this, however, will likely make Taiwan Voice, one of three television shows Wang hosts, even more popular.
Taiwan Voice airs every weekday night, and callers address Wang directly by his first name, in Taiwanese.
"Before Taiwan Voice, there were no call-in shows which were conducted in Taiwanese, and the focus of other shows were all placed in Taipei while the voice of the rest of Taiwan had been ignored completely," Wang said.
Southern Taiwanese make up about 55 percent of the viewers of Taiwan Voice, according to ratings released in the Chinese-language media, with roughly 23 percent coming each from central and northern areas.
In addition to Taiwan Voice, which touches upon Taiwanese history, Wang also hosts President Call-in, which covers topics related to the upcoming presidential election, and Taiwan call-in, which covers the news topics of the day.
Wang attributes the success of his shows to the purpose of the shows -- to express the real voice of Taiwan. He said that when television became the mainstream media, most current-affairs call-in shows were based on the misconception that the voice of Taipei residents represented the voice of all Taiwan's people.
"I think my shows give the audience a sense of belonging and participation and that's why it has become popular," Wang said.
Wang is praised for being a master in getting the audience to participate.
"I think there are two keys to Wang's shows," said Chinese dissident writer Cao Chang-ching (
"The first is his moral courage to really touch upon the issues of Taiwanese self-awareness; the second is that Wang himself is a witty and sharp person, and has a very unique hosting style," Cao said.
Cao said that after appearing on Wang's show a couple of times, strangers now recognize him when he's walking down the street.
"People will approach me and say that they know who I am through Wang's show, which is such a surprise," Cao said.
Despite Wang's encouragement to his audience for a lively debate, he frowns upon them attacking his guests with eggs.
"I think Taiwanese people's sense of what democracy is needs to be improved," he said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS