Page Two

‘Weathering With You’ Is a Boring, Repetitive Cinematic Delight

Makoto Shinkai's 'Weathering With You' is a cinematic delight that also disappoints.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/10/08
By: Daphne K. Lee

Photo Credit: Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko)

Two years after releasing Your Name (2016), one of the highest-grossing anime films of all time, director Makoto Shinkai returns to cinema by recycling the same formula for box office success, but with less magic.

Shinkai’s new film, Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko), again tells the story of a teenage girl with mystical powers, this time grounded in a more familiar backdrop: a flooding Tokyo.

In the rainy Tokyo, a runaway teenage boy Hodaka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) is offered a job at an obscure magazine run by Suga (Shun Oguri) after struggling to survive between meals. Through Hodaka's initial struggle, Shinkai portrays Tokyo as a harsh metropolis for the underprivileged and accentuates the city’s apathy with the never-ending bad weather.

Hodaka's first assignment is to look for the mythical “Sunshine Girl” around Tokyo and eventually finds a teenage girl, Hina (Nana Mori), who had kindly offered him a burger when he was homeless and hungry. With the “superpower” of being able to pray for temporary good weather, Hina soon explodes in popularity with Hodaka’s help.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan legislator calls for single platform to access all maritime regulations

Numerous regulations governing maritime activities are currently scattered across many government agencies

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Do you know where in Taiwan you can go swimming, surfing, or catch fish? Probably not, and that’s why a legislator wants to straighten out the confused situation.

Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) on Tuesday (Oct. 8) called on the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) to integrate all maritime regulations and related data on a single website or platform for members of the public to access, according to a CNA report.

Chen issued a press release Tuesday, stating that Taiwan is an island nation and regular maritime activities are frequent. However, numerous regulations governing maritime activities are scattered across many government agencies, including the Tourism Bureau, Fisheries Agency, Construction and Planning Agency, and local governments, the statement adds.

Unable to access the relevant regulations, many people end up getting tickets or fines for doing the wrong activity in the wrong maritime place. Chen said that during a legislative meeting on Tuesday, she asked the OAC to create a website that will collect and integrate all related maritime regulations.
[FULL  STORY]

President unveils suite to accommodate video contest winners

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/08
By: Yeh Su-ping and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday unveiled a suite in the century-old

President Tsai Ing-wen

Presidential Office building, where 18 foreign nationals will take turns to stay overnight as their prize in a video blogging competition hosted by the government to promote Taiwan internationally.

In a recorded video on Facebook, Tsai gave a tour of the suite in the Lixing Building, a two-story structure in the Presidential Office compound, and highlighted the locally made furnishings and decor.

"Our goal is simple. We want the guests to enjoy the most welcoming, authentic Taiwanese ambience during their stay," Tsai said in the two-and-a-half-minute video.

The first occupant of the suite will be Kim Juhyeok, a South Korean travel photographer and blogger, who will stay overnight Tuesday.    [FULL  STORY]

City to draft rules to allay smart machine fears: Ko

PRIVACY: Vending machines that scan student ID cards might be aimed at collecting data, a councilor said, but the city said they only scan card numbers

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 09, 2019
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would ask the Taipei Department of Information

An undated photograph shows students looking at a smart vending machine on campus.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Education

Technology to draft a special regulation to protect personal information, after smart vending machines placed on school campuses in the city sparked privacy concerns.

The machines can only be operated by scanning a student’s ID card and do not accept cash.

“Smart city, big data, or AI [artificial intelligence] smart vending machines, these are imperative,” Ko said.

“However, as people are concerned about personal information protection, I will ask the Department of Information Technology to draft a special chapter to regulate city government or private companies’ handling of data ownership,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Naked cuddling couple caught by Google Street View in Taiwan

Newshub
Date: 06/10/2019
By: Lana Andelane

The cuddly couple have been caught out. Photo credit: Asia Wire / Google Maps

A naked couple who thought their alfresco embrace within a Taiwanese mountain range would remain a secret have been found out – by thousands.

An image of the couple nestling in the nude has been discovered on Google Maps after a Google Street View camera captured the embrace on Shantian Road, located within the mountainous terrain outside of Taiwan's Taichung City.

The private moment would have likely remained, well – private – if it weren't for a Google Maps user who detected the unclothed couple. 

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"I took a look on Google to see whether I'd find some animals, and unexpectedly came across this wonderful sight," said the man, who shared a screenshot of the amorous act on Twitter to the appreciation of thousands of social media users.    [FULL  STORY]

Crime drama The World Between Us bags six top prizes at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards

The Straits Times
Date: Oct 6, 2019
By: Loh Keng Fatt

Television still from The World Between Us starring Alyssa Chia. She won best actress in a drama series at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards held in Taipei on Oct 5, 2019.PHOTO: HBO ASIA

TV viewers in Singapore have seen what Taiwanese actress Pets Tseng can bring to a drama series in her portrayal of a journalist in Mediacorp drama All Is Well.

On Saturday (Oct 5), further proof of her acting skills elsewhere came when she walked away with the prize for best supporting actress in a drama series at the Golden Bell Awards.

Her role in The World Between Us was not the only reward for the crime series, with the HBO Asia show also picking up five other major trophies.

At the ceremony – touted as Taiwan's equivalent of the American Emmys – held in Taipei, the drama's lead actress Alyssa Chia took best actress in a drama series.    [FULL  STORY]

Apple removes Taiwan flag from keyboards on Hong Kong iPhones

After latest update, Taiwan flag can still be displayed but no longer appears among selectable flag icons

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/06
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Screenshot of flag emojis (Image from social media via Twitter user @thisboyuan)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan flag emoji has been removed from the keyboard input with iPhone's newest operating system update for phones set to the Hong Kong and Macao region.

The flag can still be displayed without issue but is absent from the list of selectable flag icons for iPhone users in Hong Kong and Macao. Hong Kong Free Press reports that the flag can be displayed by changing the phone’s regional setting, or by using English to input “Taiwan,” which will offer the flag as a text prediction option.    [FULL  STORY]

Complaint filed over removal of pro-Hong Kong messages on campus

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/06
By: Shen Peng-da, Yang Sz-ruei and Evelyn Kao

A Lennon Wall set up at National Taiwan University of Arts for people to express their views on Hong Kong's protest movement.

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) A Hong Kong student at National Taiwan University of Arts filed a complaint with police Sunday against two Chinese students who tore down messages posted on campus in support of the ongoing democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Gary Cheung (張俊豪), a Hong Kong student enrolled in the school's Motion Picture Department, said the two Chinese students' actions severely infringed on other people's right to free speech and asked that they offer a public apology.

According to video footage provided by students, the two Chinese students were seen on Oct. 2 at around 4 a.m. tearing down post-it notes on a campus Lennon Wall, set up for people to express their views on Hong Kong's protest movement.

Cheung said Hong Kong students at the school tried to solve the problem through the university by seeking to communicate with the two Chinese students through its international affairs department.
[FULL  STORY]

Crime series garners six awards at Golden Bells

DESERVING DRAMA: Mass shootings, their aftermath and the media are explored in ‘The World Between Us,’ which grabbed six awards on Saturday, including the top honor

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 07, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese television crime series The World Between Us (我們與惡的距離) scooped up six prizes at

From left, Pets Tseng, James Wen and Alyssa Chia hold awards for their roles in the Taiwanese television crime series The World Between Us backstage at the 54th Golden Bell Awards in Taipei on Saturday.
Photo: CNA

the 54th Golden Bell Awards on Saturday, including the award for Best Television Series.

The World Between Us, which received 14 nominations, also won Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series, Best Leading Actress in a Television Series, Best Directing for a Television Series and Best Writing for a Television Series.

At the awards ceremony in Taipei on Saturday evening, the judges praised the series as one that exhibited excellence rarely seen in recent years, while taking the debate about societal issues to a whole new level.

The production, which had a budget of NT$43 million (US$1.39 million), depicts the aftermath of a mass shooting that intertwines the fates of multiple characters, including the killer, the victims, the victims’ families and the media.    [FULL  STORY]

Veteran Taiwanese host Chang Hsiao-yen, 71, receives Golden Bell lifetime achievement award

Some of us grew up watching her shows.

MotherShip
Date: October 6, 2019
By: Zhangxin Zheng

The Golden Bell Awards, an annual Taiwanese television production awards ceremony, marked its 54th year on Oct. 5, 2019.

One of the most touching moments, which was the highlight of the night, was when veteran Taiwanese host Chang Hsiao-yen received the lifetime achievement award.

Chang received a standing ovation when she went on stage.

The 71-year-old Chang has spent close to her entire lifetime — a whopping 66 years — in the entertainment industry.

Chang debuted as a child actress when she was five years old.

In 1958, she won her first Best Child Actress award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival — a feat she repeated as she won the next subsequent two years as well.    [FULL  STORY]