To showcase Taiwan's rich cultural heritage to the world, Discovery and TaiwanPlus jointly launched a brand-new TV series titled "TaiwanPlus Presents (TaiwanPlus鉅獻)." The premiere on Aug. 18 was attended by some of the most important masters of Taiwanese folk arts.
The program includes the "Master Class (師徒誌)" series, which features many national treasure-level art masters; "Taiwan Revealed (台灣無比精采)," a series that documents the glory of Taiwan; as well as a new film that has been selected from the open pitch competition. This TV series aims to demonstrate Taiwan's cultural heritage, shared prosperity and innovation. The "Master Class" series focuses on three forms of traditional arts in Taiwan: Koa-á-hì (Taiwanese opera), folk arts and glove puppetry. For the first time, the series bring viewers behind the scenes to learn how folk traditions are being passed down to the next generation and how it transforms and flourishes in the hands of a new generation to showcase the richness of Taiwan's traditional culture.
The series also features puppetry master Chen Hsi-huang (陳錫煌), who is revered as a national living treasure of Taiwan; Taiwanese opera diva Sun Tsui-feng (孫翠鳳), the pillar of the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group (明華園歌仔戲劇團); Sun's daughter Chen Chao-ting (陳昭婷); Wang Ying-jun (王英峻), the director of the Taichung Sheng Wu Jhou Puppet Troupe (聲五洲劇團); and Chio Tian Folk Drums & Art Troupe (九天民俗技藝團).
Culture Minister Lee Yung-te stated that it has been almost a year since the inception of TaiwanPlus. The vision is to form a national team to tell the stories of Taiwan through productions, and the collaboration with Discovery is a representative achievement.
The "TaiwanPlus Presents" series will be available on the Discovery Channel starting on Aug. 27 for eight consecutive weeks. After that, it will be screened in several regions across Southeast Asia and South Asia, and also, global audiences will be able to watch it on TaiwanPlus.
