Fang Wu releases movie to promote surfing culture in New Taipei’s Zhongjiao Bay

Fang Wu releases movie to promote surfing culture in New Taipei’s Zhongjiao Bay

2022-11-07

A spot on the north coast is quickly becoming a must-visit for Taiwanese surfers. Zhongjiao Bay has perfect conditions for surfers and sunbathers alike. Singer Fang Wu just released a short movie promoting surf culture at the beach. Officials hope more tourists will be tempted out to New Taipei’s Jinshan District, to sample North coast beach life.

Singer-songwriter Fang Wu isn’t in the studio today – she’s headed for the big blue sea.

She jumps on the board, finds her center, paddles, lifts herself and stands up. Then it’s just a question of following the wave.

Wu was asked by the Ministry of Transportation to film this surfing video showing off Zhongjiao中角 Bay, the latest surfing hotspot on the North coast.

Fang Wu
Singer
It’s great for tourists, both beginner surfers and more advanced surfers, as well as experts. I hope that through making this surf movie at Zhongjiao Bay we can introduce more people from Taiwan and abroad to this location, because it’s so beautiful.

The bay has an incredible curved coastline where northerly winds and underwater reefs whip up thrilling waves. Surfers descend here en masse at weekends. The breath-taking scenery captivated the movie’s director.

Lee Wei-hsin
Film director
We realized that here at Zhongjiao Bay, the scenery and the environment are as good as anything overseas. When we surveyed the location, we went to Zhongjiao Bay at 5 a.m. to see the sunrise, and – wow! It amazed me.

Zhongjiao Bay is not just a surfer’s paradise. A newly renovated tourist center is also a hub for local recreation and nature appreciation activities of all kinds.

北海岸"中角灣" 邀歌手吳汶芳體驗衝浪天堂

2022-11-07

北台灣有個新興的衝浪基地「中角灣」，有著得天獨厚，灣口內凹的地形、加上北風吹拂、海底礁石多，形成多層次浪花；交通部觀光局北海岸及觀音山國家風景區管理處，為了推廣這個衝浪基地，特別邀請創作型歌手吳汶芳，拍攝宣傳影片。

創作型歌手吳汶芳，這回暫時不唱歌了，她要奔向大海。

趴上衝浪板，找到重心，配合划水姿勢，雙手撐起身體，瞬間轉換為站立姿勢，站在衝浪板上，挑戰瞬息萬變的浪花。

吳汶芳應交通部觀光局邀請，拍攝宣傳影片，就是要推廣北台灣新興的衝浪基地「中角灣」。

[[歌手吳汶芳]]
“無論是初階的衝浪者，或者是比較進階的，都是非常適合遊客們，也非常適合衝浪好手，一起來這個地方，我也希望透過拍攝中角灣的衝浪影片，可以讓國內外更多人認識這個地方，因為這地方真的非常美麗”

「中角灣」，有著得天獨厚的「灣口內凹」地形、加上北風吹拂、海底礁石多，激盪出多層次的浪花，每到假日，總是吸引許多衝浪客，美到讓人屏息的美景，也讓導演沉醉不已。

[[導演李維鑫]]
“我們發現，其實在中角灣這邊，這個場景，這個環境，一點都不輸國外，就像是我們場勘的時候，我們早上5點來中角灣看日出，哇，那個其實很震憾到我”

中角灣不但是北海岸的衝浪天堂，經過完整規劃、重建過後的遊客中心，也成為民眾休憩和欣賞美景的好地方。

Related News

CECC eases COVID rules, including vaccine requirements and temperature checks

The government has relaxed four sets of COVID rules starting today. Most noticeably, contacts of COVID patients are no longer required to isolate. And COVID patients can end their self-health management period as soon as they test negative in a rapid test. Temperature checks in public spaces are now a thing of the past, as well as vaccine requirements at certain events and venues.

During COVID, temperature checks were a must at train stations. Now, they are a thing of the past as the CECC loosens COVID measures.

With COVID becoming a milder disease, the CECC has removed mandatory isolation periods for contacts of COVID patients. Patients themselves must still isolate for seven days. After isolation is up, they can go out freely, but must not have meals with others or take public transport until they test negative in a rapid test. Isolation is set to be further reduced to five days starting next Monday. Also today, venues and events that previously required proof of three COVID shots, such as gyms and religious events, will no longer require it. Temperature checks in public spaces are no longer compulsory.

Member of public
Removing the temperature checks reduces the time it takes to get to work and hop on a train.

The gradual easing of isolation rules has left people wondering when the mask mandate will be lifted.

Chiang Kuan-yu
Taipei City Hospital
Cases of respiratory syncytial virus are on the rise. And there’s also the seasonal flu. Face masks aren’t just for COVID. All these respiratory diseases become more common at this time of the year. So masks could mitigate that somewhat.

The CECC recently stated it could discuss the easing of mask rules in November if COVID numbers continue going down. How measures will be relaxed has yet to be discussed by a panel of experts.

Lin Wei-wen
Taiwan Adventist Hospital
The mask mandate would be one of the last priorities. If we go straight to not wearing masks, that could cause COVID numbers to bounce back over the autumn and winter season. We could even see a new peak.

As temperatures get colder, people spend more time indoors. Experts say that a gradual approach to lifting the mask mandate is the way to go.

2022-11-07

Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Germany key figure in boosting bilateral airline links

Last week, EVA Air launched flights to a new destination in Germany, the southern city of Munich. That means that now two airlines operate direct flights to two cities in the European country. One key figure behind this development was Taiwan’s representative to Germany, Shieh Jhy-wey, who has been working for years to deepen bilateral ties. Last year, at the height of the pandemic, Hsieh signed a bilateral agreement with the country, which has paved the way for even more direct connections in the future.

EVA Air has launched direct flights to Munich. To celebrate, the airline held an event at Germany’s largest city palace, demonstrating the significance of the hard-fought route.

Taiwan’s representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey worked behind the scenes in July last year at the height of the pandemic, signing an airlines services agreement with Germany on behalf of Taiwan.

Shieh Jhy-wey
Representative to Germany
I worked on this agreement since 2016, for four or five years. Of course, there were a lot of issues that arose, which we can’t talk to the public about. Over the course of six years I signed 12 different agreements. This is a guarantee of quality from Taiwan itself to Germany’s officials, and to the German public.

Unlike past agreements signed between private companies, the Taipei-Munich flight route was worked out between government officials from both sides.

In the past, there were only seven passenger flights weekly to Germany, which flew to Frankfurt and were operated by China Airlines. Now, in addition to the four new weekly passenger flights to Munich, the number of weekly cargo flights between the two countries will increase from three to five.

Shieh Jhy-wey
Representative to Germany
This was all pre-planned when we signed the agreement. If there is a nonstop flow of passengers, and the flights don’t meet demand, then we could extend it to one flight daily.

There are 150,000 travelers annually going between Taiwan and Germany. One German tourism operator says there is a chance this number could go up in the future.

Tourism operator
There’s a great opportunity now for southern Germans to fly directly to Taipei, and if they are to come, I would suggest that you will have an increase of 10, 15, 20% per year.

With direct flights between Taiwan and Germany increasing, it is clear that bilateral relations between the two countries are improving.

2022-11-07

Lawmaker expresses doubt over National Palace Museum’s response to broken items

2022-11-07

Artistic signs ask more questions than they answer at Pier-2 Art Center

2022-11-07

Nantou ice cream connoisseur makes frozen desserts with only the best local fruit

2022-11-07

Chang Gung Child Protection Center raises awareness for Int’l Children’s Rights Day

Nov. 20 is International Children’s Rights Day. Members of the Chang Gung Child Protection Center have been raising awareness of their work with a classical music concert. Doctors in the organization provide a wide range of services to children who have been abused, as well as working to prevent abuse in the first place. Today we meet some of the team to learn about their vital work.

Doctors play a piece of joyful classical music. Nov. 20 is International Children’s Rights Day. The team at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital have been focusing on child protection for many years, and in 2018 founded the Chang Gung Child Protection Center. They provide integrated medical care and continuing protection after children are placed in a new home.

Chen Yu-jui
Chang Gung Public Dev. Committee
We have been following these care institutions for many years. In the same way, the most important thing is that we continue to pay attention when these children grow up and leave care institutions, when they’re 17 or 18 and go to college or rent accommodation, their school fees and their future possible work.

Many governmental agencies, businesses and nonprofits work together to protect children from abuse. Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show that on average 78,000 child abuse cases were reported to the police annually, over the last three years. Approximately 5,000 of those reports were made by medical professionals. And doctors say the pressures of the pandemic have catalyzed a rise in abusive behaviors.

Huang Ching-lung
New Taipei City Tucheng Hospital
During the pandemic, mental health and economics were affected. That’s to say, parents or caregivers who lost their jobs were more likely to become violent.

Children who’ve been abused need physical, mental and spiritual support. These doctors established a comprehensive clinic which offers care across 16 disciplines, including neurological, medical, physiological, and psychiatric treatments.

Hsu Mei-hsin
Chang Gung Child Protection Center
I think that all the way across Taiwan, the capacity to identify and work for children’s rights among pediatricians is uniformly high. We can see within our organization that more and more pediatricians are getting involved.

The Chang Gung Child Protection Center continues to fight to prevent child abuse, and to provide the highest levels of care and support for children who have not been given the love and care that they deserve.

2022-11-07

2.7 million Costco co-branded credit cards to expire on Aug. 7

2022-11-07

17-year-old Taiwanese golfer wins Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship

2022-11-07

Taiwan shuttlers win gold, silver at Hylo Badminton Open men’s doubles event

2022-11-07

Expert craftsman makes tea pots by hand from Taiwan clay

Taiwan’s tea culture is world famous, but have you ever seen a teapot made by hand? Today we have an interview with Lin Sung-pen, master teapot maker. He uses nothing but Taiwan clay and refuses glazes, using only the traditional techniques of Taiwan’s craft tradition. Each pot takes most of a week to complete.

A cross section of a log, with many rings showing in the trunk. But this is not real wood – it’s a teapot made of clay.

The realistic aged look of the pots delights collectors. This pot has a metal handle and top made with a screw, and won a top prize at the Taoyuan Fine Arts Exhibition. These pots are all the work of clay master Lin Sung-pen.

A lump of unassuming Taiwan clay becomes an incredible tree trunk teapot in Lin’s talented hands. The veins on the bark are utterly convincing. Lin has been perfecting his art his whole life. He grew up in a family in Yingge that produces tea ware, and began working with clay as a teenager.

Lin Sung-pen
Teapot maker
Times are changing. Because mass-production orders have already gone over to China, and are gradually contracting, our factory has had to change bit by bit. It’s not hard at all to learn clay techniques, but you need to be able to stick to it.

A machine can make hundreds or even thousands of teapots a day. But one of these handmade pots takes five or six days on average. It wasn’t always what his family hoped for, but the adolescent Lin was determined to work on his sculpting. He would work in the factory in the day and spend the nights playing with clay. That laid the foundation for the mastery he has today.

Lin Sung-pen
Teapot maker
The materials I use are Taiwanese, so I would say proudly that these are Taiwanese products. And then I add my own techniques, to tell some creative stories with the work. I think this is the real, authentic Taiwanese product.

A handmade piece like this has a unique story behind it. Lin insists on only using Taiwan clay and avoiding any glaze. That makes his work not just local but also deeply environmentally friendly.

2022-11-07

Kaohsiung barbershop goes viral with ‘insta-barber’ commercial

2022-11-07