A Hebrew-language pamphlet featuring Taiwan’s major tourist attractions has been published in Israel as part of Taiwan’s efforts to attract more Israelis to Taiwan.
Taiwan’s representative office in Tel Aviv invited influential figures in Israel’s travel and media industries to a function on Thursday to mark the launch of the new Taiwan travel guide.
With a scenic tea farm on its cover, the booklet introduces a list of must-see tourist spots around Taiwan, including Taipei 101, Sun Moon Lake and the National Palace Museum.
Hsieh Chi-lung (謝麒龍), information division chief at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv, said that although Israel has a relatively small population of about 7 million, its citizens make nearly 4 million trips abroad each year.
YOUNG TRAVELERS
Young Israelis are especially interested in traveling abroad as they receive a stipend after completing their compulsory military service, Hsieh said, adding that many of them then go backpacking in India, China and Thailand.
“Given our special cultural heritage, natural beauty and gourmet cuisine, Taiwan should be able to attract Israeli travelers if we step up publicity efforts,” Hsieh said.
Miriam Zairi, an Israeli staffer at Taiwan’s representative office in Tel Aviv who studied Mandarin Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University between 2006 and 2007, made a notable contribution to the publication of the travel guide, Hsieh said.
CONTRIBUTION
“Zairi translated a Chinese-language travel guide on Taiwan into Hebrew to help Israelis better understand Taiwan,” Hsieh said. “Hopefully, the pamphlet will help Israeli citizens who visit our office to apply for visas or other documents come to a better understanding of Taiwan’s beauty and tourist resources.”
Orly Spagnul, an Israeli travel fair organizer, said that if Taiwan and Israel signed a working holiday agreement like the ones Taiwan has signed with Japan, Australia and New Zealand, it would be of great help in promoting bilateral tourist exchanges.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and