Taking inspiration from the culture of hand-shaken drinks, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) has organized travel itineraries in six locations famous for their sugar production at the Fall Travel Expo, tracing the history of the nation’s sugar industry.
“The combination of culture and tourism provides new ways and angles for the world to learn about Taiwan from the best perspective,” said Deputy Minister of Culture Sue Wang (王時思) at the opening ceremony of the expo yesterday.
The ministry has a pavilion at the expo which tells the history of Taiwan’s sugar industry, documenting the crucial turning points and developments in Kaohsiung, Yunlin, Pingtung, Tainan, Changhua and Taitung.
Photo: CNA
The Ciaotou Sugar Refinery (橋仔頭製糖所) in Kaohsiung was the nation’s first modern sugar factory to adopt mechanized production methods. The large production capacity stimulated the upgrade of the Port of Kaohsiung into an international port and facilitated the development of the city’s Gushan District (鼓山), the ministry said.
The Huwei Sugar Refinery Plant (虎尾糖廠) in Yunlin County is the only plant in Taiwan that has operating railway lines carrying sugarcanes, while a plant in Pingtung County was turned into the Civic Park with playing grounds, water features and historical sites, it said.
The historical drama series Seqalu: Formosa 1867 (斯卡羅) was shot in the Annei Sugar Factory (岸內糖廠) in Tainan and the Dulan Sugar Factory (都蘭糖廠) in Taitung was turned into a culture park featuring aboriginal music performances and driftwood art, it said.
The expo is being held at Taipei World Trade Center Hall One (世貿一館) until Monday.
In other news, Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Trust Lin (林信任) yesterday said that Taiwan hopes China would show goodwill regarding the plan to resume cross-strait tourism.
The Mainland Affairs Council last month announced a plan to resume cross-strait tourism, in which 2,000 Chinese traveling with tour groups would be allowed to enter Taiwan each day, and 2,000 Taiwanese joining tour groups would be permitted to visit China.
The implementation date of the plan would be determined based on China’s response, the council said at the time.
Travel Agents Association chairman Hsiao Po-jen (蕭博仁) said the tourism industry hopes the government would lift all travel restrictions on cross-strait tourism.
He suggested that Taiwan can open its borders to all tourists and encourage Taiwanese people to travel abroad to show Taiwan’s sincerity as a free and democratic country.
Travel Quality Assurance Association chairman Chang Yung-chen (張永成) said Taiwan can lift the ban on tour groups traveling to China to help the industry build up momentum and ease cross-strait tensions.
Additional reporting by CNA
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of