Long-distance running is one way to get an in-depth experience of a place’s nature and local culture, and the hundreds of marathons held each year in Taiwan attract many foreign competitors and travelers. Our Cover Story this month focuses on the various types of marathons staged here, including urban marathons, small-town marathons, canyon marathons, and trail marathons. Besides introducing the routes of these events, we also discover the history, culture, and warmhearted hospitality of nearby communities and highlight the strong foundation for sports tourism in Taiwan.
After a hiatus of three years during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are now able to resume our overseas reporting program thanks to the lifting of restrictions worldwide. Our first stop is Vietnam. Taiwan is Vietnam’s fourth-largest source of foreign investment, while in Taiwan there are more than 250,000 Vietnamese migrant workers and over 100,000 children with a Vietnamese parent, indicating the closeness of economic and cultural links between our countries. Starting this month, we will bring you reports on Taiwan–Vietnam interactions from economics to healthcare and from art to cuisine, as well as our centuries-long historical connections.
What first comes to mind when you think of visiting Alishan? The forest railway? The sea of clouds? Besides these, Alishan is also home to many endemic plant species. Of Taiwan’s 5,000 known native plants, 120 are named after Alishan, including tropical plants, climbing plants and ferns. This rich green ecosystem is waiting for you to discover it.
Another story this month is about ‘Hualien No. 26,’ the first Taiwan-bred risotto rice variety, which was developed by the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station. Associate researcher Huang Chia-hsing, leader of the breeding project that led to Hualien No. 26, tells us that the new cultivar not only can benefit Taiwan by reducing our food industry’s dependence on imported rice, but also has the potential for high-end export sales. We learn how researchers crossed Western and Eastern rices to develop a high-yielding variety, and how their success makes it possible to raise the international profile of yet another Taiwanese food ingredient.
We also have an exclusive interview with Andrea Bowman, ambassador of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and dean of the foreign diplomatic corps in Taiwan, in which she talks about the friendly people-to-people interactions between our two countries and her favorite Taiwan cuisine; and we bring you a report on the translation of Taiwanese literature for publication overseas, and this month’s Readers’ Photos, on the theme of the aesthetics of temple life. This rich content will help readers better understand and appreciate life in Taiwan from a wide variety of perspectives.
