Two Philippine food trucks dishing out free pork sisig and pork adobo along with mojitos and San Miguel beers have started a two-week tour of Taipei to promote tourism in the Southeast Asian country.
The trucks are to be at Eslite Xinyi Store on Songgao Road from 6pm to 8pm today, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday, the pedestrian walkway near East Metro Mall’s No. 12 exit from 6pm to 8pm from Monday to Friday next week, POPOP Taipei from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday next week, and the pedestrian walkway near East Metro Mall’s No. 12 exit from 6pm to 8pm on June 20 to 21.
Philippine Department of Tourism in Taiwan director Hazel Habito Javier said the trucks are expected to dish out about 1,400 hot meals, which come with garlic rice, salted eggs, atchara and turon, to those who take a photograph with the vehicles and upload it to social media and like the Philippine Department of Tourism in Taiwan on Facebook.
The promotion aims to heighten the awareness and appreciation of Philippine cuisine and attract Taiwanese holidaymakers to the country, which on April 1 reopened its borders to travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Javier said.
FOOD AND IDENTITIY
“For the Philippines, similar to Taiwan, food and drinks are an integral part of our history and identity. It has become a key element of our nation’s brand image,” she said.
“We hope that through this effort, Taiwanese will have a pleasant experience that will push them to pack their bags and travel to the Philippines,” she added.
Taiwan is one of the top five sources of tourists to the Philippines, with about 327,273 Taiwanese heading to the country in 2019, she said.
Moreover, Taiwanese tourists’ spending in the country in 2019 totaled US$252.1 million, she added.
“These figures indicate sustained consumer interest and strong potential to expand further, considering the accessibility and proximity of the Philippines to Taiwan,” Javier said.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office Deputy Resident Representative Teodoro Luis Javelosa Jr said the relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan is strong, as workers from the Philippines drive industry growth in Taiwan.
“We are next-door neighbors. Tourism is important to the Philippines, which is why we are working hard to convince more Taiwanese to start traveling back to our islands,” he added.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,