Taiwan Excellence is a campaign founded in 1993 by Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) with the vision of showcasing superior brand, innovation and technology of Taiwanese manufacturers to the world. The campaign has been active in the Philippines for 5 years now. To celebrate its anniversary, for the first time ever, Taiwan Excellence Day was held at the SMX Aura Convention Center last June 15 and 16.
It was a busy weekend with the Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone 2 last September 29 – October 1, fittingly kicking off the holiday season. The interactive event was held at the SM Mall of Asia, and showcased Taiwan’s best brands with the esteemed Taiwan Excellence seal.
Sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) implements the Taiwan Excellence campaign to promote innovative and superior-quality products, and encourage Taiwan innovators to continue transforming current technologies.
Taiwan Excellence highlighted its sports and leisure products in this area. On its first day, TAITRA executives and PBA’s Phoenix Fuel Masters player Doug Kramer came for the opening ceremony, a fashion show, and a booth tour.
The first 50 registrants got to win a Meet & Greet and a signed basketball from Kramer. (Oh and BTW, I won one too! 😅) Afterwards, there was an awarding for online contest winners, in which participants got a chance to win the following: 2 roundtrip tickets to Taiwan, a Paper Shoot Hinoki digital camera, a Tatung Fusion Cooker, a Saeko Marlin K9 swimming goggles, a Tern Verge X10 foldable bicycle, and signed basketballs from Kramer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZpUrpcFn8Y/?taken-by=amiciness
Beyond the booths and presentations, the 3-day event thrilled the crowd with activities, performances, fashion shows, games, and raffle draws. The Gosiengfiao Sisters made an appearance on the last day. And mall-goers got to enjoy performances from Angeline Quinto (September 29), 4th Impact (September 30), Inigo Pascual (October 1), and the Judy’s Harmonica Ensemble.
Excited visitors got a first-hand experience of products that maximize active lifestyles, such as the Johnson S3+ Spinner Bike, which parallels the rigors of a spinning workout, while at home. Meanwhile, a Revolution Tri-Max Fabric is a sport suit made from special super-stretch fiber to support muscle, boost performance and reduce body soreness after exercise.
There was also a plethora of options for the ride you and your loved ones have been looking for — the Verge X10, with its ultra-light wheels getting you places in style, the Strida LT making riding, carrying and storing your bike superbly convenient, as it folds in 5 seconds tops, or a Kymco Xciting 400 motorcycle, which makes riders feel completely safe, while enjoying the pleasures of driving.
I enjoyed exploring and learning about the various innovative products from Taiwan. I can see people using them in the future. Some are a bit unique and quirky too! It’s nice to have an event like this that help showcase and share Taiwan’s products to the Philippine market. Way to go Asia!
Get more info about the innovations of Taiwan’s leading brands and the Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone 2 at www.taiwanexcellence.ph and TaiwanExcellence.ph on Facebook.
Day 2- Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
The next day, we walked from our hotel to the cable car station. There, we boarded a cable car to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. This costed NT$ 600 per head (inclusive of the entrance fee and the cable car). The village is divided into three areas: a) Aboriginal Village Park, b) Amusement Isle and c) European Garden.
My friends and I went to Taiwan last week. Generally, we had the most awesome experience. I admire Taiwan’s government, infrastructures and especially the people. I will definitely go back and explore more cities and provinces.
We spent four days there and here’s a summary of our Day 1. Enjoy!
We booked our Taiwan trip early this year so we had a lot of time to “plan” and layout our itinerary for this four-day vacation. Our visas were processed by a travel agency and costed us Php 2400 per head. (Yes, Taiwan requires a visa even if we are just close neighbors). Our airplane tickets costed us about Php 4,000 each. We were lucky enough to avail Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare promo so the “fare” only pretty much covered baggage fee, insurance and fuel surcharge.
Unfortunately, the payoff of the cheap plane tickets was the inconvenient schedule (well, for some of us). If you asked me, I prefer going to NAIA at night. Less people and less stress (but without air-conditioning!). What’s even more unfortunate was that all travellers are required to pay travel tax (Php 1620) and terminal fee (550). Ugh!
We left Manila at around 10PM. (None of our flights were delayed. Thank God!)
@KatarinaRodri #AsNTM2
I can go to size 0 whenever I want, but you can’t change your face.
-Katarina Rodriguez