Taiwan Today

The Ministry of Culture is sending teams of gifted young Taiwanese to Southeast Asian nations as part of a broader effort by the government to forge lasting and meaningful ties with the many cultures of the region. Part of the Tsai Ing-wen administration’s New Southbound Policy, the MOC’s “cultural gardeners,” as the youths are called, will visit Southeast Asian nations including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. MOC Deputy Minister Yang Tzu-pao said the program aims to enhance cultural exchanges and cooperation with South and Southeast Asian nations. “Young artistic talents are particularly well-suited for such activities, as they are open minded and creative, and adept at communicating and interacting with different cultures,” he added. The program’s coordinator, Hsu Chen-yu, said 38 teams applied to take part in the endeavor, though only seven were selected, with 49 young people participating in total. Each of the youths chosen to take part excels in their respective fields, which include documentary filmmaking, animation, dance and pantomime. Once in their designated countries, the cultural gardeners will display their talents and hold workshops in the communities they visit. Rina B. Tsou, a Filipina-Taiwanese independent filmmaker, will lead a four member team to Palo, Leyte Island in the Philippines to take part in documentary screenings and workshops. In 2015, Tsou participated in the Berlinale Talents and Locarno Filmmaker’s Academy film programs. Her latest 24-minute short film, “ARNIE,” was screened at the 2016 Semaine de la Critique, which runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival and focuses on introducing young talents. Lin Chih-yu, a graduate student at Taipei National University of the Arts, said her team, which includes a dancer, dance choreographer and visual artist, will visit Cambodia’s capital Phnon Penh, as well as the provinces of Siem Reap and Battambang, to present a project titled “Dance in ASEAN – Sart Kampuchea.” During their monthlong stay, they will perform and jointly create dances with their local counterparts, Amrita Performing Arts, New Cambodian Artists and the Sovanna Phum Art Association. Lin has visited Cambodia several times in the past. It is her hope that during this visit, the dancers’ collaborative efforts will foster understanding between the people of Taiwan and Cambodia. (WF-E) Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw