Filmmakers in Taiwan used to struggle when it came to telling a story that could resonate internationally. Things started to change when the 2017 drama series The Teenage Psychic (通靈少女), a collaboration between HBO Asia and Taiwanese Public Television Service (PTS), became a huge hit not just locally, but also internationally. The coming-of-age story was adapted from the 2013 PTS-produced short film The Busy Young Psychic (神算).
Entirely filmed in Taiwan, the Mandarin-language series even made it on HBO’s streaming platforms in the US.
It is proof that a well-told Taiwanese story can absolutely win the hearts and minds of hard-to-please international audiences in the ever-changing world of content consumption.
Early this year, another Taiwanese production, The Victims’ Game (誰是被害者), an eight-episode forensic crime thriller that is based on an award-winning 2015 Taiwanese novel, and stars some of Taiwan’s most prominent actors and actresses, has been one of the fastest-growing shows in audience demand on Netflix since its release in late April, being one of the most-streamed programs among major high-budget productions churned out by mega-hit powerhouses in the US, the UK and South Korea.
Despite the challenge of the global media-consumption landscape being ever-evolving and becoming extremely segmented, a smartly weaved and professionally executed story will always be in high demand.
With this newly gained confidence, and growing interest from local and international content investors, it is the perfect time for Taiwanese storytellers, working with scripted, but also non-scripted, stories, to proactively seek more international collaborations through coproduction and cofinancing.
As local, regional and international streaming platforms are offering international viewers more compelling stories from different countries and cultures, producers and directors in small-yet-sexy Taiwan are witnessing a rare golden opportunity to thrive beyond borders like never before.
Roger Cheng is a producer and director, and runs the content company Go Inside.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of