What to see and get in the Taiwan Expo this weekend
By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
Reporter
TAIWAN is the land of bubble tea, but it can offer other T’s, as in, technology, trade, and tourism products. Our neighbor — it is less than two hours away from Manila by plane — will have its expo on Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at the SMX Mall of Asia. Admission is free.
The expo has 170 vendors that will present more than 4,500 products and services. The weekend market showcases six themes: technology, agriculture, e-commerce, Taiwan Excellence (or brands that are of high quality and innovative), medical techniques, and talent exchange.
The booths are arranged according to eight themed pavilions: city marketing, inno-tech, health and lifestyle, agricultural tech, culture and tourism, general support, Taiwan Association Philippines, and study in Taiwan.
Not only for businessmen, investors, and travelers, the expo also encourages students who want to pursue their studies in Taiwan. There are over 20 universities joining the expo offering scholarships.
Our relationship with Taiwan encompasses trade, culture, education, and employment. According to Philip Huang, deputy executive director of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Taiwan is the 12th largest investor in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, there are 1440,000 Filipino overseas workers in Taiwan.
Here are some of the items to look our for at the expo:
• SKY LANTERN TABLE LAMPS
Booth: City Marketing
A trip to Taiwan is incomplete without a visit to Jiufen, where flying sky lanterns is among the top tourist activities. In Jiufen, tourists write their wishes on sky lanterns, which symbolize peace. Available at the booth are sky lanterns made into lamps to serve as home decorations.
• Bubble Milk Tea Cookies and Pineapple Cakes
BOOTH: CITY MARKETING
From a cold drink to a sweet biscuit, bubble milk teas have changed forms, but not taste. Pair them with hot tea and other authentic Taiwanese food. There are other sweets to choose from at the booth including pineapple cakes, moon cakes, and nougats.
• Asus ZenFone
Booth: Inno-Tech
Like Japan and South Korea, Taiwan also produces its own smart cellular phones one of which is ZenFone Live, which is the world’s first smartphone with hardware-optimized and real-time beautification technology. ZenFone Live has speaker system, dual-microphone technology, and soft light LED selfie flash, among other features.
• Smart Surgical Glasses System
Booth: Inno-Tech
Working like Google glass, these smart surgical glasses are used during surgery. Smart glasses are said to reduce surgery time by 30% and increase the precision thanks to its ability to “see” a patient’s bones and tissues on screen. The technology also reduces a patient’s exposure to X-ray radiation.
