More than 500,000 expected to attend Pokemon GO Tour

More than 500,000 expected to attend Pokemon GO Tour

2025-01-09

If you are Pokéfan, you better get ready for the much-anticipated Pokémon GO Tour coming to Taiwan. From Feb. 21 to 23, the New Taipei Metropolitan Park will be filled with exclusive Pokémon.

They include both Black and White Kyurem, which will be making their debut in the game. A total of 500,000 players are expected to attend the event, where they’ll also be able to take photos with Pokémon themed backdrops and even meet Pikachu. Those who complete special missions to explore Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan on the MRT will even be awarded special medals to commemorate their achievements.

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寶可夢盛會2/21日新北大都會公園登場估湧50萬人潮

2025-01-09

寶可夢迷注意了! 睽違六年，"Pokémon GO Tour"盛會，2/21將在新北大都會公園登場。

今年不只有「闇黑酋雷姆」與「焰白酋雷姆」，現身傳說團體戰，還會與美國洛杉磯同步開戰，預估將湧入50萬人參戰。主辦單位安排拍照、打卡點，皮卡丘見面會等，還結合雙北、桃園捷運，特別規畫10大路線探索新北，完成路線可獲得官方認證徽章。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
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ITRI showcases smart healthcare technologies at CES 2025

CES 2025 in Las Vegas kicked off this Wednesday. At the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI showcased 10 innovations in wellness and smart medical technologies. From mobility aids to sports training, and even cell therapy, ITRI’s top technologies got big thumbs-up from global peers.

A quick smash, then the speed, height and landing of the shuttlecock shows up on the screen. Taiwanese-American Olympian Howard Shu tries his hand at ITRI’s booth at the CES in Las Vegas.

Howard Shu
Badminton player
I mean, it’s really cool to be able to play from the actual machine, because usually we’re playing with someone on the other side of the court. But to see the machine and then to be able to see it have the data output was really cool.

The AI Badminton Trainer by ITRI utilizes cutting-edge 3D-IC technologies. A high-speed camera captures the player’s stroke technique and position and sends the data onto the cloud. Then, with generational AI, it aids professional training. Another highlight from ITRI are these devices.

They’re KneeBO and HipBO exoskeletons that provide mobility assistance and training for individuals with knee or hip joint degradation. With these devices, patients can even tackle a challenging hike.

Franz Maye
OPED BDM
It’s really interesting for me, trying the product and feeling the support that you get from when you lift your knee or when you walk, you know, it pulls your leg. That was very impressive, so, yeah, great product.

The world’s largest consumer electronics show, known as CES, kicked off on Wednesday. This year, ITRI is showcasing ten innovations centered on wellness and smart medical technologies. Another breakthrough was iKNOBeads developed with Reliance Medical Technology Corporation from Singapore. It’s a bionic magnetic bead-based platform for manufacturing various immune cells.

Edwin Liu
ITRI President
This year we made changes to our existing strategies. Our whole system is based on wellness, which then extends to showcasing smart medical and cell therapy technologies. So at this year’s CES, our entire focus is on smart healthcare.

With more than 4,000 developers from 150 countries worldwide participating in CES, ITRI truly brought Taiwan’s very best technologies to the global stage.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

Kenting tourist numbers hit 41-year-low in 2024

Tourist numbers at the seaside resort town of Kenting have plummeted in recent years. The figure hit a 41-year low in 2024, as the town recorded just 2.14 million visitors, a decline of 480,000 from the previous year. The sharp decline has dealt a crippling blow to the local tourism industry. Already, three resorts have announced they’ll be shutting down in the first half of the year. Though some have said they are closing for renovations, other business owners in the area see a dark future ahead.

It’s a lovely day in Kenting, but the streets are deserted. Once a popular tourist destination, visitor numbers have been steadily dropping to a low of 2.14 million visitors in 2024, a 41-year low.

Ms. Lee
Hotelier
Just 10% of what it was before. I haven’t had business in two, three days. It’s a transition period.

Beach stand operator
Do you see anyone? That’s the answer. You can see the mountains and the sea, but no people.

Restaurant owner
Our business keeps falling and falling. That’s also true for the hostels. Take a look for yourself. You can take a picture there and there. Are there any guests?

On weekdays, workers outnumber tourists in Kenting. And on weekends and holidays, it’s not busy enough to sustain a business. Three resorts: Hotelday+, Uni-Resort and Toong Mao have announced they will be shutting down in the first half of the year.

Voice of spokesperson
Uni-President
The hotel has been in operation for almost 30 years. Due to big changes in the market and different consumer needs, the hotel will suspend operations on Feb. 28, and we will make any necessary adjustments.

Employee
Toong Mao
The company may reallocate workers to other locations, if we are willing to move. If not, then we’ll get laid off with severance pay.

The operator has not yet confirmed the plans. Other businesses in the area say the business landscape has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The sharp drop in visitors has dealt a significant blow to the local economy, and operators are calling on the government to promote travel to Kenting. If tourists don’t come back, they say, the wave of closures could become a tsunami.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

Taoyuan councilor captures his city on camera

Do you have a hobby that complements your work? For Taoyuan City councilor Lee Po-fang, it’s photography. The councilor has been developing his camera skills for a decade, and loves to take a moment out of his official duties to capture his city for posterity. He shoots his snaps on a simple smartphone, using know-how anyone can easily apply. And his credo is to appreciate the small things. Many of his voters have taken classes that he holds in his spare time, to share these accessible photography skills.

The setting sun is reflected in the lake water, creating a heartwarming scene. Photography is the big love of Taoyuan City councilor Lee Po-fang. When he’s out and about visiting voters in the city, he often takes a moment to capture the scenery on camera.

Lee Po-fang
Taoyuan City councilor
If there’s a blue sky and white clouds and it’s reflected in the water, then it’s stunningly beautiful, and bursting with color.

Lee has been serving the city for over two decades. Ten years ago, he began his photography hobby, and since that time he’s amassed over 80,000 snaps. He’s even published a book, introducing readers to the charms of Daxi and Fuxing Districts.

Lee Po-fang
Taoyuan City councilor
We don’t have to go and seek out a grand view or a spectacular vista. Such views may crop up, but you can’t force them. But if I can observe the beauty in something through a tiny detail, actually, I can gradually change my habits. In other words, if I start with looking at the little things first and then the bigger picture, then even more wonderful surprises are in store.

Lee teaches students through practice – his expertise is not a guarded secret. He says you don’t need a premium SLR camera: any smartphone is good enough to capture a lovely view. He loves to teach other hobbyists precious little tips that can elevate the beauty of their images.

Chen Pei-shih
Photography student
The councilor taught me to put the main focus of the image in the center of the shot, and to adjust the lighting, to create more contrast in the resolution.

Kao Juo-yun
Photography student
After getting a lesson from the councilor, you take another photo and think, “Oh wow! The quality of the image is really better!” You don’t need an amazing phone.

Outside of his work as a city councilor, Lee has dedicated himself to his interest in photography. And each of his shots is a record of the beauty of his home.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

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Health officials warn of uptick in flu infections ahead of Spring Festival

The Lunar New Year is fast approaching, a holiday for getting together with friends and family and traveling in Taiwan and abroad. Though fun and festive, these activities could also result in a spike in infectious diseases, such as seasonal flu. On Thursday, government officials urged the public to get vaccinated to avoid spending the holiday sick in bed.

The peak of the Spring Festival flu season is almost upon us, with an expected 150,000 weekly visits to medical centers. Lawmaker Wang Cheng-hsu on Thursday gathered the health minister and medical sector representatives for a press conference on the infection risks during the holiday.

Wang Cheng-hsu
Lawmaker (DPP)
During the nine-day period a lot of people will be traveling abroad, or returning to their hometowns. They’ll be taking time off work, attending New Year’s celebrations and gatherings. We’re concerned that these events could mark the start of a new wave of infections, as has been the case in the past three or four years.

Chiu Tai-yuan
Minister of health
Since 2018, we’ve been holding this press conference every year ahead of the Lunar New Year.

As the former head of the Taiwan Medical Association, Chiu Tai-yuan urged the general public to follow advice from the government and get vaccinated.

Philip Lo
Centers for Disease Control
Since Jan. 1 flu shots have been available to everyone. If more people are willing to get vaccinated, there will be fewer people seeing doctors. In turn, people in the medical sector and us will feel more at ease this holiday season.

Wang Chun-chieh
Keelung City Medical Association
We shouldn’t ignore the fact that, although seasonal flu accounts for the most cases, there are still a couple of COVID infections. Doing exercise is very important. A healthy immune system can prevent other infections.

A recent measles outbreak has caused a rush to get vaccines, and reports say local clinics are running out of stock. The health ministry urged for calm, saying that supply is sufficient for those willing to pay for a jab out of pocket.

Chiu Tai-yuan
Minister of health
We have a total of 270,000 doses from both companies, which will be provided to people who want to pay for a shot. Testing is underway for an additional 9,000 doses, which will be administered by month’s end.

There are enough vaccines for medical professionals and for people heading overseas. If you do unfortunately fall ill during the holidays, medical centers will have special Lunar New Year clinics around the country to start the Year of the Snake in good health.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

Technology imagery in spotlight for 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival

The 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival is just down the road. This year, the festival will be held in Taoyuan. Officials were out in force to launch the countdown to the event, which is themed “Paradise.” A special portable lantern will be available. It can be twisted into many different shapes, including that of a snake, to celebrate the incoming Year of the Snake. Meanwhile, the main big lantern of the festival is in the shape of an infinity symbol this year. It’s combined with tech imagery to highlight Taiwan’s high-tech industries.

An infinity symbol with baseball imagery, using AI and movement capture, creates a vision of paradise infused with technology.

Above it float illustrations by Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai, Taoyuan mayor Chang San-cheng and Chou Yung-hui, Director-General of the Tourism Administration.

Li Ming-tao
Taiwan Lantern Festival main lantern designer
The image of a snake evolves into the symbol of infinity. It’s assembled with LED lights. So it can speak a vivid graphic language.

The main lantern is 18 meters high. Meanwhile, this year’s design for the eternally-popular small portable lantern was also revealed.

Lin Chia-wei
Taiwan Lantern Festival lantern designer
The inspiration came from the shape of the numerals on digital clocks. So, using the seven sections of the lantern, we can create the shapes of the 10 numerals, 0 to 9. Of course, apart from the numbers, children can also create other shapes with it, by bending it at different angles.

Chen Shih-kai
Minister of Transportation and Communications
We’re so grateful to our master designer, who, for this year’s small portable lantern, specially included sustainable considerations. So we see the lantern doesn’t work on ordinary dry cell batteries. We want people to use this charger, which means that in the future, we won’t have to recycle lots of batteries. So we’ve incorporated that idea of sustainability.

The lanterns can be arranged into many different exciting shapes, including snakes and numbers. It also carries a message of sustainability and is sure to be a big hit with children young and old.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

Green measures in place for Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is coming up soon. The iconic sky lantern festival will take place across five days, starting on Feb. 8, accompanied by a snake-themed light show. New Taipei is keen to attract international travelers, and a South Korean celebrity has been called in to promote the celebration. A mountain cleanup event also aims to collect lantern pollution after the festival ends. New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih learns the Korean for “Happy New Year” from South Korean celebrity cheerleader Lee Dahye.

The moment the lanterns are released at the event was the very first time that Lee has ever set off a sky lantern. As the event’s ambassador, she’s very excited about the big day.

Lee Dahye
South Korean cheerleader
South Koreans also pay attention to the sky lantern festival. There’s an exchange between the event in Taiwan and events in South Korea. I hope that my serving as the ambassador will mean that people not just from Taiwan, but also from South Korea, and travellers from all over the world, will be able to take part in the sky lantern festival.

Revelers write “Happy New Year” on a sky lantern. The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival will take place across five days, starting on Feb. 8, accompanied by a snake-themed light show.

Hou Yu-ih
New Taipei mayor
A projection show for the “gold snake” will bring good luck and celebrate the Lantern Festival, as well as Valentine’s Day, making Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival the best tourist destination in the world. We want to enable more international tourists to share our traditional Taiwanese custom.

The annual extravaganza is, however, frequently plagued by environmental concerns. This year, New Taipei government is calling on businesses to make sky lanterns out of eco-friendly materials. After the festival, it is running a mountain cleanup event, calling on people to volunteer to pick up lanterns that have fall down on the mountains and recycle the materials, so the festival doesn’t become a blot on the earth.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09

Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Taipei’s MoNTUE

Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama is world-renowned for her exquisite dot and net paintings, as well as sculpture and performance works. And now, 70 of her classic works from the 1950s to 2005 are coming on show at the Museum of the National Taipei University of Education. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us in for a look!

The exhibition includes Kusama’s large-scale paintings and sculptures m ade over five decades, iconic pumpkin-inspired works, and dots series.

Aside from her signature works, the exhibition also exhibits over 10 rarely-seen video works from the 1960s, collage creations from the 1970s, and clothing designed by Kusama. These works focus on Kusama’s early experimental performances, which significantly shaped her artistic career. Some works are being exhibited in Taiwan for the first time.

Lin Mun-lee
Curator
Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition covers the period from 1951 to 2005, regarded as Yayoi Kusama’s first golden period. Now, you can see it all over the world in major art museums. Especially in the past 10 to 20 years, Yayoi Kusama has become a cultural icon because she is a creator without boundaries. The style of her artistic creation is also very diverse and rich. For this exhibition, I want everyone to see a different Yayoi Kusama. This is the first time these works are appearing in Taiwan.

In addition, the exhibition also displays works that were part of Kusama’s first exhibition in Taiwan at the 1998 Taipei Biennale. One work is called “Dots Obsession.” It was inspired by the hallucinations Kusama faced as a child, in which her surrounding space was covered with repeating patterns.

Lin Mun-lee
Curator
Yayoi Kusama’s connection with Taiwan began at the 1998 Taipei Biennale. At the 1998 Taipei Biennale, there was this work called “Dots Obsession.” It was tailor-made for the Taipei Biennale. In 1998, Yayoi Kusama was already on the world stage again. She is a very outstanding contemporary artist. She has experienced a lot of contradictions and pains in her life. Through this process, everyone can see her feelings.

From painting, sculpture, collage, fashion, video, and installations, the exhibition showcases Kusama’s diverse multidisciplinary practice. The exhibition will be held at the Museum of the National Taipei University of Education the weekend before Christmas until May 4 2025.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2025-01-09