A total of 102 million households in 24 countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region will soon be able to watch the locally produced Taiwanese award-winning travel program "Fun Taiwan" which will make its debut outside Taiwan on July 26 on Discovery's Travel and Living Channel, the network announced yesterday.

"Our network is proud to work with local production companies to deliver high-quality programs showcasing Taiwan's uniqueness to the world," said Tommy Lin (林東民), general manager of Discovery Network Asia (Taiwan) yesterday in a press conference held in Taipei.

The program provides a glimpse into the various cities and towns of the beautiful country from a foreigner's perspective, presenter Janet Hsieh, a Taiwanese who was born and brought up in Texas in the United States. Fun Taiwan was the first local production undertaken by the international channel in Taiwan.

It won the 2007 "Best Travel Program" award by Taiwan's Broadcasting Development Fund, and the 2007 nomination for "Best Community Entertainment Program" at the local Golden Bell Awards.

The presenter Hsieh herself has also proven her mass appeal with her commendation for "Best Entertainment Presenter" at the 2007 Asia Television Awards.

To celebrate the big date for the homemade television program, yesterday's press conference was held in the form of a wedding ceremony, where Hsieh was the bride who wore a beautiful white wedding gown to walk down the aisle with Lin and Wayne Liu, director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau's International Affairs Division.

"I was so excited and deeply moved that the program will be watched by over 100 million viewers in Asia," said Hsieh.

Hsieh added that being the host of a travel show had always been her dream job as she is passionate about traveling.

For the past three years, the program has given her an unique opportunity to open her eyes to learn more about her Taiwanese heritage and culture, she added.

Hsieh's wedding gown also echoed another major theme of yesterday's press conference, as one of the five unique experiences that she will introduce local viewers to in a special episode of the "Fun Taiwan" series is learning about modern Taiwanese wedding customs by taking part in a wedding photography session.

The exciting new episode "Fun Taiwan: Most Fun Taiwan," was the fruit of a joint effort by Discovery's Travel and Living channel and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. It will premiere in Taiwan tomorrow at 10 p.m. on the Travel and Living channel.

Upcoming episodes include visits to a famous hot spring, savoring some of the diverse delicacies imported to Taiwan, and venturing to remote and rustic villages, as well as climbing some of Taiwan's picturesque mountains.

"The bureau is very glad to work with the channel to promote Taiwan internationally and market Taiwan's charm to the whole world," said Liu.

Written by Joseph Yeh / culture.tw

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