這是外交部國際宣傳司英文電子報 Taiwan Today的報導
TV show on new Taiwan residents to air in June
Recent immigrants from several Southeast Asia countries rehearse at a preshoot for the upcoming TV show “Happy New Residents” March 1 in Taipei City. (UDN)
•Publication Date：03/02/2015
•Source： Taiwan Today
The first ever TV program documenting the lives of new Taiwan residents is set to air in June on Taipei City-based Chinese Television System’s Education and Culture channel.
Broadcast in Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese with Chinese subtitles, “Happy New Residents” differs from previous offerings in that the stars express themselves in their mother tongues and a manner in which they feel comfortable. Each of the 10 episodes runs for 60 minutes and utilizes a variety of formats like drama and talk show.
Program producer Allen Chien and his Vietnamese wife Phyllis Tran are the brains behind the concept, coming up with the idea after failing to find similar shows on the more than 100 channels available in Taiwan.
“Despite starting new lives in Taiwan, new immigrants still want to have cultural connections with their home countries and territories,” Tran said March 1. “Entertainment shows are a good way to maintain and spotlight these ties.”
According to Tran, the talk show is based on hit local program “Queen.” Guests discuss hot topics and issues of concerns for women, as well as teaching new residents how to dress spectacularly for less than NT$3,000 (US$96).
Funding the project with NT$4 million raised through various community-based undertakings, the couple also secured NT$8.85 million in support from the National Immigration Agency. CTS is covering technical expenditures up to NT$20 million.
A total of 17 new immigrants, their local friends and students from Southeast Asia attended the first preshoot March 1. They included Radio Taiwan International’s Vietnamese-language host Vy Fann, aka Vietnam’s equivalent of Singaporean actress Fann Wong; TV drama actress Anny Ting from Indonesia, also a winner of a cooking contest for foreigners; Thailand’s Julalak Wu who serves as an editor-translator for “4-Way Voice,” a monthly publication for immigrants from Southeast Asia; and Zhao Erjuan, founder of an association for mainland Chinese spouses in Taiwan.
According to Chien, the choice of a temple plaza for the setting of the first episode was a no-brainer. “This is the place where the touching qualities of Taiwan people are on full display,” he said, adding that new residents will play retailers interacting with local customers as a way of demonstrating strong work ethics in their new home.
During rehearsal, several new residents tried to modify their pronunciation, but Chien encouraged them to speak naturally. “Accents are one of your distinctive characteristics and will make your performance much livelier.”
Themes for other episodes include afternoon tea, cultural explorations, current fashion trends, getting fit, online shopping and Taipei City Government’s YouBike.
Government data reveals there are 710,000-plus foreign spouses and their offspring in Taiwan, making the demographic the fourth-largest in Taiwan. (VS-JSM)
