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
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to