“Our lantern riddles prize draw is giving out Taiwan travel pillows, just right for those of you with stiff necks!” Taiwan Panorama’s social media editor has a lot of unusual tasks. From time to time she has gifts to give away. On National Ice Cream Day she hosted an event called “Making Friends with Ice: Taiwan Panorama Visits Justice Ice Cream.” She also went to Taipei’s Dihua Street for the “New Southbound Cultural Salon,” joining immigrant friends to discuss current events and human rights.
In July 2020 the number of followers on Taiwan Panorama’s Facebook page surpassed 10,000. This year’s post with the greatest reach (86,454 viewers) read: “The ban on gatherings in Taipei Main Station has caused heated debate, but no matter which side you take, you should recognize this group of trained Southeast-Asian volunteers who are serving the public at Taipei Main Station and other major MRT stations.” The most liked post (3423 likes) was about a photo essay by photographer Tony Lee, entitled “Under the Roof of the World: The Sherpas.” The images not only enriched Taiwan Panorama’s content, they enabled readers to get a glimpse of contemporary photography in Taiwan.
This year, many of Taiwan’s overseas representative offices, including those in Paris, Boston, Canada, Turkey, and India, shared our posts on their own Facebook pages. Meanwhile, our cover story in this month’s magazine explores the transformation of government information campaigns in recent years. Information about government policies and regulations is no longer only presented formally, but is also communicated in ways that are closer to ordinary people’s lives. Other articles this month include a story on sound artist Yannick Dauby, one on construction-site culture, and another on the Four Faces Thai Traditional Dancers Group, showing some of the diverse voices and cultures that coexist here in Taiwan.
We also report on Minerva Schools, a university program that takes the world as its classroom and has its students reside in seven cities around the globe over a four-year period. This year, for the first time, Minerva students came to Taipei, the latest city to be added to their program. We tell the story of John Tseng, CEO of industrial endoscope maker Adronic Inspection Instruments, who was inspired by his mother’s death from cancer to begin developing medical endoscopes. And we bring you the moving story of two girls who were able to get back in contact with the Southeast-Asian caregivers who looked after them as children. Where will our social media editor’s next assignment take her? Please keep an eye on Taiwan Panorama’s Facebook and Instagram channels and let the Internet take you into every corner of Taiwan and the Chinese-speaking world.
