Google Taiwan unveiled its 2019 Year in Search rankings today. Which keyword topped the chart this year?
The winner goes to The World Between Us (我們與惡的距離) — a popular Taiwanese television show that explores many of Taiwan's social issues. Not only did the show trigger a huge wave of online discussions this year, but it also became the most-searched keyword.
Tina Lin, the executor director of Google Taiwan, said Taiwan's 2019 searches involved a lot of films and TV shows. The World Between Us was the first Taiwanese show to examine the psychological aspect of serial killings. It also provoked many discussions on the struggling journalism industry, mental health, and the death penalty.
The second most popular keyword was "typhoon," given the multiple typhoons that had swept by Taiwan this summer. It is then followed by Han Kuo-yu and several historical Chinese drama series.
The most searched news events of the year
The Taiwanese baseball team made its way to the WBSC Premier12 semi-final this year and Taiwanese were paying close attention to the matches. The WBSC Premier12 understandably took the top spot for the most popular news events.
Next on the list was the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, followed by Eva Air's union strike.
The hottest political figures
As Taiwan's 2020 elections are approaching, political figures have attracted much online attention as well. Since the nine-in-one local elections in 2018, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has been the top trending celebrity in both political and non-political spheres. Han has maintained the top spot this year, while Foxconn founder Terry Guo (郭台銘) came in second on the list of political figures.
Aside from candidates who are running for office, spokespeople have also piqued people's interest. For example, Joyce He (何庭歡), the spokesperson for Han's election campaign office, took the sixth place for trending political figures, just after James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Horror and thriller movies gained popularity among Taiwanese
Horror and thriller films have been trending in Taiwan this year. Joker was the most-searched film of the year, while Detention and Parasite took the third and sixth place respectively. While Detention is a rare commercial film that explores Taiwan's White Terror, dark comedy thriller Parasite has received multiple nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards and provoked many thoughtful discussions on societal hierarchy.
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TNL Editor: Daphne K. Lee (@thenewslensintl)
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