Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest telephone and broadband internet company, announced investment and production plans for two new series and two movies on Tuesday, the first day of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.
These new titles are part of the giant company’s efforts to build an ecosystem for the creative industries and follow one year since its co-financing agreement with Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.
“Chunghwa Telecom is more than just a platform or an Internet service. We need to support the content industry,” said Hu Xuehai, president of consumer products.
Hu asserted that “content is king and channel is queen,” and explained the company’s three goals for 2025 in the content field. These are to support high-quality content and support the highest quality delivery channels (the company says it has 10 million mobile users and 4 million fixed-line broadband households). And prioritize sound business models. It involves leveraging technology and data.
Culture Minister Lee Yuan attended Tuesday’s event after attending the Legislative Yuan in the morning. He stood by his promise last year to realize a NT$3 billion joint financing program with China, saying the plan was approved by the Legislature in May. The government portion is likely to be funded by Taiwan’s National Development Fund. “We are 20 years behind South Korea, but we are aiming to catch up,” Lee said.
The People’s Republic of China is represented by the crime drama series “The Fame”, which consists of two seasons of seven episodes. The three main characters are a famous actress, the husband of a wealthy businessman who has been kidnapped, and a police officer who was previously the woman’s friend but has become estranged. The first season’s story involves estranged friends coming together to fight a cunning kidnapper. The second season focuses more on their business dealings.
The show is reportedly based on real events that took place in the 1990s. Counting on additional funding from the Ministry of Culture and Eastern Broadcasting, the show is currently in post-production.
The drama “Addicted,” which is currently in production, has a female protagonist and depicts the struggles of teenagers, charting the rise in drug use and incarceration in Taiwan.
“Trapped in Yellow” is a horror film produced by GrX (formerly Greener Grass Productions) and previously shown at the Golden Horse Film Project Market. According to rural folklore in Taiwan, the figure in the yellow coat found in the mountains is not a human being, but a ghost who tries to lead the living astray.
The film is being produced by Hank Tseng Han-sheng and Ivan Chen Hsing-chi, both of whom previously worked on the Taiwanese horror film The Tag Along. The film, directed by first-time feature director Tsai Chia-ying, was temporarily thrown off track by recent typhoons, but is expected to be back on track in time for a 2025 release.
Chunghwa is also the producer of “Marching Boys,” a music-themed drama about three young people at an elite high school who try to resist the abolition of marching bands. The boys feel the need to fight for what they love, but at the same time show the world that they are not just rich kids who have been crammed with schoolwork and set up for a privileged life. I also feel the need to prove something. The picture is scheduled to be released in theaters in the summer of 2025.
