Over the past decade, the MOFA and Discovery Channel have jointly produced seven documentary series, Ma said. These claimed numerous international awards and reached over 190 million viewers in 24 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, he added.
The president said he expects “Taiwan Revealed,” scheduled to premiere June 5, to continue this success and further showcase homegrown innovations and technologies worldwide.
Also attending the event was MOFA Minister David Y. L. Lin, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific President and Managing Director Arjan Hoekstraan and ambassadors and Taiwan-based representatives from the nation’s diplomatic allies and partners.
Echoing Ma’s remarks, Lin said the collaboration with Discovery Channel dives into stories of innovation in Taiwan and the heroes behind the scenes.
Taiwan is proud to be a forerunner in the field of culture, education, medicine, technology and even humanitarian assistance. These hard-earned achievements should be shared with the nation’s friends across the globe, so people can get a better picture of a modern Taiwan, Lin added.
The innovations and heroes highlighted in “Taiwan Revealed” include cutting-edge eco-friendly agriculture and the near-miraculous reconstructive microsurgery by Dr. Wei Fu-chan of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taoyuan County.
Wei, an Academician at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica and a key figure in CGMH’s Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Center, has used innovative microsurgical techniques to perform toe-to-hand transplantation as well as jaw reconstruction using a patient’s leg bone.
Ma said the world-leading techniques and technologies employed by Wei underscore the importance of the government’s Free Economic Pilot Zones. There is no doubt the FEPZs will provide an arena for such Taiwan innovations to tap into global opportunities, he added.
The president also singled out two other extraordinary Taiwan figures for praise.
One is the world’s most prolific blood donor, Chang Kuo-sen, who has made over 2,000 donations to date. The other is Lian Zi-chin, fondly known as “Dr. Mosquito” to the people of Sao Tome and Principe off the west coast of Central Africa. Lian helped the ROC diplomatic ally eradicate malaria through his lifelong research on mosquito-carried disease prevention.
Ma said he looks forward to furthering the partnership between the MOFA and Discovery Channel into the next decade, helping inform the global community of the contributions made by people like Chang and Lian. (YHC-JSM)
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