Television stations in four Asian countries are to air tailor-made TV programs next month that are being coproduced by the Taiwanese government to promote Taiwan and people-to-people ties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Tuesday.
The Embracing Taiwan project is produced by the ministry in cooperation with TV stations in the Philippines, Vietnam, India and Thailand, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Tsao (曹立傑) said.
“The project uses a fresh approach that takes into account the cultural traits and preferences of local audiences, and will be broadcast in their own language to foster a better understanding of Taiwan,” he said.
The four production partners are CNN Philippines, Ho Chi Minh City Television, India’s Zee TV and Thailand’s Channel 5. All the program hosts who took part in the shooting attended the launch event.
“There are so many ways to fall in love with Taiwan,” said Valerie Tan (陳玉雲), CNN Philippines’ lifestyle magazine show host, who shot the Philippine edition over five days last month.
Tan, who 10 years ago studied Chinese in Taipei and has since then visited Taiwan several times, said that she is very familiar with Taiwan and loves the food, the cleanliness and especially the friendliness of the people.
“Filipinos only know Taipei, but there is also Tainan, Taichung and Kaohsiung. We want Filipinos to visit other parts of Taiwan,” she said.
Although the TV programs are all produced to tout Taiwan’s accomplishments to its 18 New Southbound Policy partner countries, their content varies according to the tastes of each country, the ministry said in a news release.
For the Philippines, the program highlights Taiwan’s music, culture and friendly people; for Thailand, the focus is on Taiwan’s beauty, inclusiveness and harmony; for Vietnam, Taiwan’s vibrant society and passion for learning are central; and for India, the spotlight is on Taiwan’s diligent and cheerful people, according to the ministry.
“What sets this project apart from previous ones is that we produced them with local partners, in local languages, hoping to reach the grassroots of each country,” ministry director-general Henry Chen (陳銘政) said.
The ministry has previously coproduced similar TV programs with international channels to promote Taiwan, but they have mostly been recorded in English, Chen said.
The 60-minute programs are scheduled to be aired next month in two primetime episodes in their respective countries.
Aside from the varying themes of the programs, common subjects such as Taiwan’s tourism, cuisine, healthcare, biomedicine, smart technology and humanitarian efforts are explored, the ministry said.
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