Golden Bell Awards: After Seventeen Years of Three-Network Rotation, Taiwan Draws a Line for "Our Television" Each Year
On the evening of October 22, 2022, at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Chen Ya-lan walked onto the stage in a black off-shoulder evening gown, her body still trembling, tears held back at once—a man does not shed tears lightly.1
In 《Jiaqing Visits Taiwan》, she played a male lead role in Taiwanese opera—cross-dressing, gender-bending, the same kind of character her mentor Yang Li-hua once performed on television. The award given to her was called the "Best Actor in a Drama Program Award." At the 57th Golden Bell Awards, this was the first time the award went to a woman.1
She first thanked the judges, saying she was grateful they were "willing to recognize a Taiwanese opera performer who has worked so hard along this path." Then she spoke of her mentor: "She taught me how to be a person, taught me how to act, taught me how to interpret male characters. This award should be hers, but the name Yang Li-hua will forever be the best actor in all our hearts."1 To film this production, she sold three of her own houses.2 She said Yang Li-hua taught her to cherish the culture of Taiwan, "her example and teachings have influenced me my whole life."3 After leaving the stage, she made a phone call backstage to Yang Li-hua to share the good news.4
30-Second Overview: The Golden Bell Awards are Taiwan's broadcast and television awards, administered by the Ministry of Culture's Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau. Three ceremonies are held each year: radio, programs, and drama. In recent years they have all been held at the Taipei Pop Music Center. It was established in 1965 for radio; from 1981 to 1997, the drama program award never left Taiwan Television, China Television, or Formosa Television. After that, Public Television, Hakka drama, Taiwanese opera male leads, and Vietnamese actors one by one entered the winners' list. What this article discusses is: what the Golden Bell Awards present each year is acting and programming, but what it truly draws is a line—who counts as "our television," and who remains outside the line.56
Taiwanese opera once had its own side entrance at the Golden Bell: the 2007 incentive guidelines still included an independent "Traditional Drama Program Award" specifically for Peking opera, Taiwanese opera, and puppet theater; it stopped being presented from 2010 onward.78 The award Chen Ya-lan received was placed in the same category as all television drama male leads. Twelve years after that side entrance closed, Taiwanese opera walked through the front door.
The line this bell draws for Taiwan has been moving outward. To see how far it has moved, we must first return to when it was at its narrowest.
On October 22, 2022, Chen Ya-lan won the 57th Golden Bell Awards Best Actor in a Drama Program Award for the Taiwanese opera 《Jiaqing Visits Taiwan》, the first female recipient in Golden Bell history. Photo: Sanlih E-Television Star News. CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
That Night at Zhongshan Hall, Not a Single Television Among Eight Golden Bells
On the evening of July 10, 1965, at 8 p.m. at Taipei's Zhongshan Hall, Executive Yuan President Yan Jia-gan presented eight Golden Bell Awards one by one. The recipients were radio stations—Zhengsheng, China Broadcasting Corporation, and Armed Forces Radio among them, with China Broadcasting taking two. That year, television was not yet within the scope of the awards.9 When the Information Bureau named this award, they had "moral education" in mind; the official website still displays an ancient text passage explaining that bronze bells were ritual instruments in antiquity, invoking the meaning of "transforming customs and civilizing the people."5
Television was not incorporated until around 1970; the official website records 1970, while the United Daily News from March 1971 wrote "starting this year."59 For more than two decades after that, only three stations—Taiwan Television, China Television, and Formosa Television—could bring a drama into living rooms across Taiwan.
In August 1983, Taiwan Television aired Stars Know My Heart at 8 p.m. Wu Jing-xian played a mother dying of a terminal illness who had to find new homes for each of her five children. At the next year's Golden Bell Awards, the drama won the Drama Program Award, and she won Best Actress.1011 The winning organization listed was Taiwan Television. The year before was also Taiwan Television, the year before that was Formosa Television, then China Television, Formosa Television, China Television, China Television, and Formosa Television. From 1981 to 1997, whenever the Drama Program Award was presented, the winning organization never strayed from these three names.612 What Taiwanese people watched at 8 p.m. in that era is covered in a separate article; see Prime Time 8 p.m..
One of the last few bells in this line went to Jin Chao-jun. In 1995, he won Best Actor for Bao Zheng: The True and False Bao Gong, and that dragon-headed guillotine would be placed in an exhibition organized by the Golden Bell Awards itself thirty years later.13 Two years later, when a fourth terrestrial broadcaster launched, a fourth name finally appeared on the list.
These seventeen years had little to do with the judges' taste. The list could only rotate among three names, because there were only three names. When the line is narrow, you cannot even see that it is a line.
Zhongshan Hall in Taipei today. On the evening of July 10, 1965, at 8 p.m., the first Golden Bell Awards ceremony was held here, with all eight Golden Bells awarded to radio stations. Photo: Yu tptw. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Doors Are Made to Open, Lines Are Drawn by Judges
The line began to move when someone opened another door nearby.
Taiwan's fourth terrestrial broadcaster, Formosa Television, launched in 1997 and won the Drama Program Award just two years later with 《Spring with a Stepmother's Heart》.1415 In its third year on air, Public Television Service won its first award with 《Once》.16 Later came Da Ai Television, Hakka Television which won its first Drama Program Award in 2011 with 《The Sky Above the Cloud Top Is Very Blue》, and then idol dramas from SET and Eighth Great Entertainment.17 The first time a production company's name appeared in the award-winning unit column was in 2010, when 《Moonlight of Affection》 listed Perpetual Broadcasting instead of a channel. In the past three years, production companies have led the way.18619 How the industrial structure of the Big Three networks was opened up by cable and platforms is covered elsewhere; see Taiwan Television Industry History.
What truly pushed the door wide open was a document most viewers never read. In the 2017 incentive guidelines, four things changed in the same version. Works that premiered on internet video platforms could now apply. Multiple channels under Public Television Service would count as only one applicant unit. Judges had to sign a declaration, and the full list of judges would be made public after the winners were announced. The mini-series award and television film award were split into two separate categories.2021 For platforms like Netflix, the door for their dramas to enter the Golden Bell was built into the wording of the first rule.
Three years after the door opened, Fox's 《Someday or One Day》 won the Drama Program Award. A year later, Taiwan Mobile stood alongside Public Television Service and Atom Image in the award-winning unit column.2223 In 2024, the entry threshold for the Drama Program Award changed from counting minutes to counting episodes; the Ministry of Culture told media this was to adapt to the OTT era.24 One line of regulation changed, and the next year the roster had a new kind of person.
Source: Golden Bell Awards official website history, Ministry of Culture annual incentive guidelines, Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau award rosters by year
The second rule concerns Public Television Service, specifically its application quota: private broadcasters get one quota per channel, but all of Public Television Service's channels combined count as only one. At the 61st Golden Bell Awards, Public Television Service self-reported sixty nominations, and the ceremony was broadcast by SET Metro and PTS Main Channel.2526 The unit whose quota was reduced to one, the unit that self-reported sixty nominations, and one of the channels broadcasting that evening—they are all the same Public Television Service. Three things lined up in the same year; how you read it is your own judgment.
The guidelines determine where the door opens. After the door opens, who can stand firm depends on each year's judges voting one by one. The government opens the door, the judges draw the line. When judges draw the line, they are already looking at far more than just channels.
The bell-shaped landmark installation at the entrance of the 2015 Songshan Cultural and Creative Park "Golden Bell 50" special exhibition. The shape of the Golden Bell hasn't changed in sixty-one years, but the guidelines determining who gets to stand on stage change every few years. Photo: Solomon203. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The Line Drawn Into a Murderer's Home
On October 5, 2019, the 54th Golden Bell Awards. The World Between Us took home six awards: Drama Program, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenwriter, and Best Director.2728 The drama follows how the families of a perpetrator and victim, a defense lawyer, and a person with mental illness navigate life after a random murder.
Jia Jing-wen played Song Qiao'an, a mother who lost her son. After twenty-nine years in the industry, she won the Golden Bell for the first time. On stage, she said: "Thank you to heaven—all the glory belongs to Qiao'an, so everyone knows that only love and letting go allow us to move forward." She told her three daughters that their mother has always worked hard in the career she loves, and hopes they will do the same when they grow up.29 Screenwriter Lü Shiyuan, who wrote this script, once wanted to flip the table and quit. On stage, she first thanked Public Television Service for its tolerance, then told the production team and director something very direct: "They pay people too little, love to make changes, and love to complain."30 Director Lin Chun-yang said what they wanted to do was heal everyone and create reconciliation.30
That same night, the Best Actor award went to Long Shao-hua for the Tzu Chi production The Taste of Vegetable Stem.27 When he received the award, he shouted "Great, really great!" Then he said: "To get this long-dreamed-of award, I offended a lot of people—I'm sorry! But now I've matured, I won't do it anymore."31
He was apologizing to himself from 2011: that year he was nominated for Best Actor for Roadside Chairman, but lost to Pan Wei-bo for Love ∞ Infinity. In an interview, he said: "This Golden Bell is worthless, it's garbage."3233 At the celebration dinner, he added: "I was immature back then, my heart was too narrow. When others won awards, I always thought I acted better than them—that's wrong!"31
One drama put something Taiwan was afraid to watch on television. One actor came back eight years after cursing this award to accept it. Both happened on the same night, on the same line.
📝 Curator's Note
Reading the six awards for The World Between Us, it's easiest to read as "this drama was well made." Placing it back on the list, what's more interesting is the subject matter. The drama that won in 1984 had as its protagonist a mother finding a new home for her child; the one that won in 2019 had the camera walk into a murderer's home. In thirty-five years, the people Taiwan was willing to see on its own television changed. The line the judges drew was drawn on the channel, and also on the subject matter.
These Subject Matters Were All Closed Off Before
The line has been widest in the past two years.
On October 18, 2025, at the 60th edition, the Drama Program Best Actor Award went to Lien Ping, a Vietnamese actor. In Hua Wai Zhi Yi (Beyond the Pale), he played a Vietnamese plastic surgeon who, to care for his mother with burn injuries, hides in a hospital morgue working as a cleaner and secretly treats migrant workers on weekends.34 On stage he shouted "Oh my god" three times, then said in Mandarin: "I love Taiwan very much and am grateful for Taiwan's kindness." He said that when people talk about undocumented migrant workers, they usually carry negative views, and he hopes this role will help audiences see Vietnamese migrant workers going abroad to work from a different angle.34 After winning, he announced he would donate half his prize money to a foundation supporting migrant workers in Taiwan.35
That same evening, Yang Xiao-li won the Mini-Series Best Actress Award with Tâi-gí Guán Innˋ—Shuann Jin Khuann Tsiannˋ Bue (Taiwanese Has It—Who Cares for Life?) on the Taiwanese-language channel. She began acting at age five and said on stage: "When I was little, whenever I got tired from acting I would think that if I won a Best Actress Award someday, I'd keep going. Thirty-some years have passed, and the dream has finally come true."3637
One year later, at the 61st edition, the nomination list saw Hakka Television with twenty-six nominations, and Indigenous Television with eight nominations in the program category, with one animated series hata la异世界 alone accounting for four.3839 Among the five nominated works in the Drama Program category was Urban Founding Ancestor, produced by Hakka Television, about subway construction workers. Zhuang Kai-xun played Zhong Cheng-cai, a construction foreman whose tunnel has been under excavation for twenty years.4041 A drama like this, placed in the same category as PTS's The World Between Us II, is comparable.41
The day the list was announced, a reporter asked Cao Rui-yuan, the chair of the drama category judging committee, whether the high number of local-subject and Hakka works in the nominations indicated political intervention. His answer was "I served as a judge with absolutely no political manipulation," followed by a remark more worth remembering.42
These local dramas really had no political intervention—don't think that way. It's because these subject matters were all closed off before, and now they have a chance to appear.
Media scholar Luo Shi-hong wrote in Hakka News that ethnic media like Hakka Television have been filling gaps in topics the mainstream market rarely touches, and the core of media representation is "deciding what becomes visible and what gets marginalized."43
Gezaixi opera, Taiwanese, Hakka, Vietnamese—over these years they have entered the nominations one by one. The line drawn here is already very far from those seven stations in 1965.
October 2, 2021, endpoint of the Star Walk at the 56th Television Golden Bell Awards. Every October, the whole island first recognizes people on the red carpet, then hears the winners' list at the ceremony. Photo: Solomon203. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Outside the Line: The Broadcasting Half
People have always stood outside as the line moved outward. What is most often forgotten is the birthplace of this award itself.
When the Golden Bell was born in 1965, it was purely a broadcasting award. Today it still holds a broadcasting ceremony every year, and in the 61st edition, 1,096 works were submitted—more than the drama category that same year—yet it barely registers in public view.4445 The year before, at the 60th edition, Hakka Public Broadcasting Foundation's Jiangke Radio won three awards with a single program, 《Music Chaos Battle》, and few people knew about it.46
In September 2026, the Golden Bell broadcasting special award went vacant. The only person recommended was Wang Yi-ming, who has worked in broadcasting for thirty-one years, long promoted Taiwanese language culture, and has won both Golden Bell and Golden Melody Awards. The Broadcasting Association urged him to accept the nomination for three consecutive years; this year he finally agreed. What was submitted was over ten CDs, eight DVDs, a book he wrote himself, and a collection of calligraphy and paintings—and it failed to pass the review threshold.4748 He said: "Only one person entered the competition, my opponent is thin air. You can leave it vacant if you want, but you have to prove how bad I am."48 And another line: "The meaning of the Golden Bell Award is to encourage, not to confiscate."4748
Reviewer Fang Di said the broadcasting circle is not lacking talent; rather, radio stations don't know whether to recommend hosts, producers, or engineers, and fear offending other departments, so it ends up as "rather than recommend A and offend B, let's not recommend anyone."47
📝 Curator's Note
For most people, "Golden Bell" means the drama night. The broadcasting half has the same case-by-case reviewer voting, the same public release of reviewer names after winning, recorded from 1965 to today. One line drawn by the same bell—half seen, half invisible.
Those outside the line are not only in broadcasting. Since 2013, news programs have been explicitly excluded from the scope of television Golden Bell awards; news anchors have no news category to win in this bell.49 At the 57th edition in 2022, 《Lights Come Up on Taipei》, which was nominated for eleven awards, won none. Review Committee Chair Chen Hui-ling said "many of our reviewers really liked 《Lights Come Up on Taipei》, it's regrettable that it won nothing," and producer and lead actress Lin Hsin-ju's response was: "Maybe we weren't good enough?"50
In 2020, another group of people stepped outside the line themselves: that year's variety show host award nominations were reduced from the usual five to four. Review Committee Chair Qu You-ning said: "The rise of online programs has taken away many talents."51 They went to the internet, and this side of the line lost a few names.
One line is drawn, people inside the line take the stage, people outside the line speak up. The Golden Bell stirs controversy every year, and it's always about this. Of the three major awards, the other two—the Golden Melody Awards for music and the Golden Horse Awards for film—each have their own line.
This Year's Line, Drawn on the Evening of October 24
All three ceremonies of the 61st Golden Bell Awards were held at Taipei Nangang Software Park. Broadcasting was awarded on October 17, programs on October 23, and drama on October 24.52 The lists were already printed: We and the Evil Distance II and Forget Me, Remember Me each tied with thirteen nominations—one from the Public Television Service system, the other from Netflix.53 Netflix's five Taiwan dramas totaled forty nominations across all categories; the PR statement called it a historic high, though the 58th edition three years ago also had forty.5455
On drama night last year, the official YouTube livestream had nearly 170,000 concurrent viewers.56 The night before, at the programs ceremony, Barbie Hsu won the variety show host award and said: "Mom, even though my sister isn't here, I'm still here." That same night, Tsai Kang-yung said that no matter how times change, people always need companionship.57 You were probably one of those 170,000, waiting on your phone for a name to be called.
Golden Bell Awards Official Channel: 60th Golden Bell Awards Drama Category Awards Ceremony livestream archive, 2025. Nearly 170,000 people watched simultaneously that night, when Lien Ping and Yang Jing-hua each took home the male and female lead acting awards.
Around the time of last year's ceremony, the Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau held a "60/60" exhibition at Huashan, turning the list of names called across sixty editions into something visible. The original dragon-head guillotine prop from Bao Zheng sat on display in the exhibition hall.58 Thirty years earlier, in the era when Jin Chaoqun won an award for that series, the list still rotated among three names.
One award was already presented this year: the Special Contribution Award went to Wu Jin-cheng. In an era without computer graphics, he hand-drew set design and construction drawings stroke by stroke for over forty years, earning the nickname "director on paper." He served as art director for Dragon Brothers, Tiger Brothers and also for Yang Li-hua's gezaixi opera television productions.59
In the era when Yang Li-hua performed gezaixi opera on television, the drama program award still rotated among three names, and Wu Jin-cheng was drawing sets for her shows. Decades later, her student took home the male lead acting award, and the last words on stage were "I love Taiwan, I love my fans, I love you all, I love gezaixi opera," then called her backstage.1 The set designer received the Special Contribution Award. The same bell recorded two people—one in front of the curtain, one behind it.
That night at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in 1965, Yan Jia-gan presented eight Golden Bells, and there was no television at all. On the evening of October 24, 2026, the lights at Taipei Nangang Software Park haven't yet come on. Where this year's line will be drawn, who will be inside it and who still outside, won't be known until that night when the names are called.
Further Reading:
- Public Television Service — How the public broadcasting group that went on air in 1998 went from Once to 61st edition with 60 nominations, the most frequently appearing names on this list
- Theatrical Plays Project — That initiative that won the drama program award in both 2017 and 2018, the first time "Good Scenery" appeared in the award-winning unit column
- Taiwan Television Industry History — How the industrial structure of the old three networks' seventeen-year monopoly formed and how it was opened up by cable and streaming platforms
- Prime Time Slot — What Taiwanese people watched at 8 p.m. in the era of Stars Know My Heart and Bao Zheng
- Golden Melody Awards — Another of the three major awards, where Taiwan presents awards for its own music and records what sounds deserve to be remembered
Image sources
This article uses 5 CC-licensed images, all cached in public/article-images/culture/ to avoid hotlinking source servers. 1 video is a standard embed from the Golden Bell Awards official YouTube channel.
- 45th Television Golden Bell Awards ceremony main stage (hero) — Photo: ☼ うみ 目覚めたら, 2010-10-22, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chen Ya-lan at the 57th Golden Bell Awards — Photo: 三立娛樂星聞, 2022-10-22, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Zhongshan Hall, Taipei — Photo: Yu tptw, 2023-07-12, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Golden Bell 50th Anniversary Exhibition entrance bell-chime monument — Photo: Solomon203, 2015-09-12, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- 56th Television Golden Bell Awards red carpet finale — Photo: Solomon203, 2021-10-02, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Video: 60th Golden Bell Awards 2025 – Drama Category Awards Ceremony Live Stream — Golden Bell Awards official channel, YouTube standard embed
References
- Central News Agency — Chen Ya-lan Becomes Emperor at Golden Bell Awards, Sets Record — October 22, 2022 report with verbatim record of Chen Ya-lan's acceptance speech: 'Thank the judges this year for recognizing an opera performer,' 'Yang Li-hua, these three characters will forever be the best male lead in our hearts,' 'I love Taiwan, I love my fans, I love you all, I love Taiwanese opera'; also records her saying Yang Li-hua 'taught me how to be a person, taught me how to act, taught me how to interpret male roles, this award should be hers,' trembling on stage but immediately holding back tears 'because men do not shed tears lightly,' and 'I love Taiwan, I love my fans, I love you all, I love Taiwanese opera.'↩234
- Mirror Weekly — Woman Playing Man Wins Best Actor, First of Its Kind; Chen Ya-lan Thanks Mentor: This Award Also Belongs to Yang Li-hua — October 22, 2022 report documenting Chen Ya-lan's disclosure that she sold three houses to film 'The Emperor Jiaqing Tours Taiwan,' and her statement that Yang Li-hua's teachings and example influenced her entire life and that this award also belongs to Yang Li-hua.↩
- TVBS — First Female Golden Bell 'Best Actor'! Chen Ya-lan Wins Male Lead, Tearfully Thanks Mentor Yang Li-hua: Taught Me How to Be a Person — 2022 report with verbatim record of Chen Ya-lan saying Yang Li-hua asked her to cherish Taiwan's cultural heritage, 'Her example and teachings have influenced me my entire life, if I have any small achievement today, it is all given to me by her,' and that the three houses were earned through thirty-some years of frugal living.↩
- CTWANT — Golden Bell 57 / Yang Li-hua Surprised in Front of TV; Chen Ya-lan Reports Good News Backstage — 2022 report documenting Chen Ya-lan calling her mentor Yang Li-hua backstage after winning to share the good news, as recounted by Yang Li-hua herself during a celebration banquet interview.↩
- Golden Bell Awards Official Website — About the Golden Bell (60th Edition) — Official history page of the Ministry of Culture's Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau, documenting all institutional milestones: founded by the Government Information Office in 1965, taken over by the Ministry of Education's Cultural Bureau in 1968, returned to the Government Information Office in 1975, radio and television awards separated in 1993, co-hosted by private sector 1995–1999, administered by the Audiovisual Fund 2000–2003, taken over by the Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau starting with the 47th edition in 2012, and the origin of the award name from 'bian zhong as an ancient Chinese ritual instrument for education.'↩23
- Wikipedia — Golden Bell Awards Drama Program Award Winners List — Index of award-winning works and winning organizations by edition: 7th edition (1971) through 14th edition (1978) listed under 'General Entertainment Programs,' 16th edition (1981) onwards listed under 'Drama Program' series through 60th edition (2025); page records first Drama Program Award given in 1981, used to confirm all winning organizations 1981–1997 were TTV, CTV, and HTV, and that there were no television category winners in 1994, 1996, and 1998; key editions in this article cross-verified with official Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau pages.↩23
- Ministry of Culture Regulations Query System — 2007 Television Golden Bell Awards Incentive Guidelines — 2007 version guidelines documenting the quota regulation that mainland and foreign nationals serving as lead or supporting roles 'shall not exceed one-third of the total number of leads and supporting roles in the program,' a separate 'Traditional Drama Program Award,' and award amounts of NT$100,000 for each category.↩
- Wikipedia — 45th Golden Bell Awards — 2010 award winners index showing Drama Program Award for 'Da Ai Drama Theater: Sentiments Under Moonlight' produced by Sustainable Communications and broadcast by Da Ai Television; also records that the Traditional Drama Program Award ceased being presented starting this edition.↩
- Baoshiguang — Did the Golden Bell Awards Not Reward Television When First Established?! — United Daily News archive reprint of original July 11, 1965 United Daily News, documenting the first ceremony 'held yesterday (the 10th) at 8 p.m. at Taipei's Zhongshan Hall, presided over by Premier Yan Jiagan with eight award recipients listed'; also cites March 3, 1971 United Daily News: 'The Cultural Bureau will henceforth include television programs in the awards.'↩2
- Central News Agency — Unboxing Old Photos: Tear-jerking Drama 'Stars Know My Heart' — Documents 'Stars Know My Heart' premiered on TTV August 15 to October 7, 1983, and won multiple awards at the 19th Golden Bell Awards in 1984 including Drama Program Award and Best Actress for Wu Jing-xian.↩
- Wikipedia — Stars Know My Heart — Entry documenting premiere August 15, 1983, ending October 7, 1983, airing Monday through Friday 20:00-21:00 for 40 episodes total, and listing as a Golden Bell Awards Drama Program Award winner; used to supplement broadcast dates, with award edition cross-verified through Central News Agency report.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau — 1995 Television Golden Bell Awards Nomination List — Official nomination list for the 30th edition (1995), with three series nominated in the serial drama category: 'Brothers of Fate,' 'Earth Endures and Heaven Lasts,' and 'The Empress Dowager Cixi Speaks'; winner 'Brothers of Fate' was a CTV production.↩
- Wikipedia — Golden Bell Awards Drama Program Male Lead Award Winners List — Index of award name evolution, documenting nine different names used for this award between the 15th edition (1980) and 43rd edition (2008), and noting Jin Chaoqun won in 1995 for 'Judge Bao: The True and False Judge Bao.'↩
- Wikipedia — Formosa Television — Entry documenting Formosa Television founded March 27, 1997, with terrestrial channel launch June 11, 1997, as Taiwan's fourth terrestrial television station and first privately-owned terrestrial television station.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Audiovisual Industry Bureau — 1999 Television Golden Bell Awards Nomination List — Official nomination list for the 34th edition (1999), listing Formosa Television's 'A Stepmother's Spring,' the drama that became Formosa Television's first Drama Program Award winner.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2000 (Year 89) Television Golden Bell Awards Nomination List — Official nomination list for the 35th edition in 2000, listing PTS's 'Once Upon a Time,' the first drama program award won by PTS.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2011 Television Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 100) — Official winners list for the 46th edition in 2011, released on 2011-10-24, including Drama Program Award 'Hakka Theater—The Sky Above the Cloud Top (Hakka Television)', Drama Program Screenwriter Award 'Huang Yu-jia / Hakka Theater—The Sky Above the Cloud Top (Hakka Television)', and Drama Program Supporting Actress Award Zhu Xin-yi for 'Marry My Dead Husband'.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2010 Television Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 99) — Official winners list for the 45th edition in 2010, released on 2010-10-25, Drama Program Award 'Tzu Chi Theater—Moonlight of Affection and Righteousness (Sustainable Communication Co., Ltd.)', with award recipients listed only as production company.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2024 Drama Category Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 113) — Official winners list for the 59th edition in 2024, Drama Program Award 'Within a Lifetime', with three production units: Fengcai Creative, Youying Pailang Culture, and Lianli Media, with additional participating units including Baiyou Digital and Shichang Film and Television.↩
- Golden Bell Awards Official Website — 2017 Television Golden Bell Awards Incentive Guidelines (52nd Edition) — Full text of guidelines archived on the official website for the 52nd edition in 2017, first introducing 'Internet video platform' registration eligibility, 'government-funded television enterprises with multiple channels shall be calculated as one broadcast channel', evaluation committee pledge documents and 'full list of evaluation committee members will be made public after announcement of winners', and separate categories for mini-series and television films.↩
- Ministry of Culture Competent Authority Regulations Query System — 2016 Television Golden Bell Awards Incentive Measures (Year 105) — 2016 version guidelines serving as comparison for the 106th edition: no Internet video platform clause, channel calculation covering only Hakka and Indigenous language channels, mini-series and television films still merged into one category.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2020 Television Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 109) — Official winners list for the 55th edition in 2020, Drama Program Award 'Your Name Engraved Herein', with both participating and production units as 'Fox Networks Group Taiwan / Sanfeng Limited Company'.↩
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2021 Television Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 110) — Official winners list for the 56th edition in 2021, Drama Program Award 'The Magician on the Bridge', with participating and production units jointly listed as PTS, Atom Cinema, and Taiwan Mobile.↩
- PTS News Network — Golden Bell 59 / Drama Program Award Now Based on Total Episode Count — 2024 report noting that Drama Program Award participation threshold changed from cumulative 480 minutes per episode to 10 or more total episodes, with Ministry of Culture explaining this responds to OTT era trends and breaks the logic based on minute counts; this article uses reporter paraphrasing without quotation marks.↩
- PTS News Network — PTS Receives 60 Award Nominations (Self-Related News) — PTS self-report from September 15, 2026, original text 'PTS received a total of 60 nominations in this year's Golden Bell Awards'; PTS marked this as self-related news.↩
- Wikipedia — 61st Golden Bell Awards — 2026 entry index recording that this edition's ceremony broadcast units are Sanlih E-Television and PTS main channel, and the most-nominated drama entries are 'The World Between Us II' and 'Forget Me, Remember Me' with 13 nominations each.↩
- Central News Agency — 54th Golden Bell Awards Complete Winners List — Verbatim list from October 5, 2019, 'The World Between Us' won six awards including Drama Program, Best Actress Jia Jing-wen, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenwriter Lü Sì-yuán, and Director Lin Jun-yang, with Best Actor Award going to Long Shao-hua for 'The Taste of Cai-tou Geng'.↩2
- Ministry of Culture Film and Television and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 2019 Television Golden Bell Awards Winners List (Year 108) — Official winners list for the 54th edition in 2019, Drama Program Award 'The World Between Us' with participating and production units as Public Television Service Foundation / Damu Film and Television International Co., Ltd.; Drama Program Best Actor Award Long Shao-hua for 'The Taste of Cai-tou Geng', with reporting and production unit as Tzu Chi Communications and Humanities Foundation.↩
- Central News Agency — Jia Jing-wen Wins Golden Bell Best Actress After 29-Year Career: All Glory Belongs to Qiao'an — Report from October 5, 2019, verbatim recording of Jia Jing-wen's acceptance speech at the 54th edition 'Thank heaven, all glory belongs to Qiao'an, letting everyone know that only love and letting go allow us to move forward' and her words to her daughters 'Mom has always worked hard in what she loves, hoping that when you grow up, you will work as hard as I do', noting she played a mother who lost her son in 'The World Between Us'.↩
- Storm Media — Golden Bell 54 'The World Between Us' Big Winner with Six Awards — 2019 report recording screenwriter Lü Sì-yuán's on-stage plea to production units and directors not to change the script in her own words 'They give people less money, yet love to change things, yet love to complain', her account of wanting to flip the table while writing and gratitude to PTS for its tolerance, and director Lin Jun-yang's paraphrased remarks on healing and reconciliation.↩2
- TVBS — Long Shao-hua Shouted "Great" After Winning Best Actor Award but Apologized: "My Heart Was Too Narrow in the Past" — October 2019 report with verbatim record of Long Shao-hua's acceptance speech at the 54th Golden Bell Awards: "Great, really great!" "I offended many people for this long-cherished award, I'm sorry! But now I'm mature, I won't do it again." and his self-reflection at the celebration dinner: "I didn't understand things before, my heart was too narrow. Whenever others won awards, I always thought I performed better than them, that's wrong!"↩2
- ETtoday Star Cloud — Long Shao-hua Blasts Golden Bell Award as Worthless — Report after the 46th Golden Bell Awards in 2011, documenting Long Shao-hua's original words when he lost the Best Actor category with "Roadside Chairman" to Pan Wei-bo: "I'm upset about losing, this Golden Bell Award is worthless, it's garbage." The judges' rationale for the award was to encourage newcomers.↩
- NOWnews — Pan Wei-bo's Emperor Coronation: Long Shao-hua Bitterly Cursed Golden Bell Award as Worthless (Retrospective Report) — Retrospective report with verbatim record of Long Shao-hua's bitter curse "This Golden Bell Award is worthless, it's garbage" when Pan Wei-bo won the Best Actor in Drama Program Award in 2011, serving as a secondary source to the original ETtoday report.↩
- Hush Star News — Golden Bell 60 / First Vietnamese Best Actor! Lien Ping Explodes in Mandarin — United Daily News Group's 60th Golden Bell Awards report in 2025, documenting Vietnamese actor Lien Ping winning the Best Actor in Drama Program Award for "Medicine Beyond Borders," making him the first Vietnamese recipient in Golden Bell history.↩2
- Central News Agency — Lien Ping Donates Half of Prize Money to Migrant Workers — October 19, 2025 report documenting Lien Ping's announcement to donate half of his prize money to foundations supporting foreign migrant workers in Taiwan after winning the award.↩
- PTS+ Drama Enough — 60th Golden Bell Awards Drama Category Complete Winners List — October 17, 2025 verbatim list including Best Actor Lien Ping in "Medicine Beyond Borders," Best Actress Yang Jing-hua in "The Diva," Best Actress in Miniseries Yang Xiao-li in "Taiwanese is Real—Who Takes Care of Life," and Drama Program Award for "The Diva."↩
- PTS+ Drama Enough — Yang Xiao-li: From Red Carpet Host to Stage Winner of Best Actress Award — 2025 report documenting Yang Xiao-li's career from child star at age five, with verbatim record of her acceptance speech at the 60th Golden Bell Awards: "When I was little, whenever I got tired from acting I would think that if I won Best Actress in the future, I would keep acting. Thirty-some years have passed, and the dream has finally come true."↩
- Hakka News — Golden Bell 61 / Hakka Television Drama and Program Nominated for 26 Awards — Hakka Public Broadcasting Foundation news platform self-report on September 15, 2026, documenting Hakka Television's 26 nominations including drama category "No One Under the Roof" with 8 nominations, "Urban Founding Ancestor" with 7 nominations, "Small Baggage" with 5 nominations, and program category with 6 nominations (including "Hakka Kitchen 2" with 3 nominations).↩
- Hush Star News — Indigenous Television Nominated for 8 Awards at 61st Golden Bell Awards — September 2026 report documenting Indigenous Television's 5 programs nominated for 8 program category awards, with animation "hata la Otherworld" nominated for 4 awards including animation program, innovation, art direction, and sound design.↩
- Hakka News — Golden Bell 61 / "Urban Founding Ancestor" Nominated for 7 Awards! Zhuang Kai-xun and Zhou Yu-min Compete for Best Actor — September 15, 2026 report documenting Hakka Television's "Urban Founding Ancestor" about subway workers' stories with seven nominations including drama program award, featuring Zhuang Kai-xun as Zhong Cheng-cai, a construction site foreman who has been digging tunnels for twenty years.↩
- TVBS — 2026 Golden Bell Awards Nomination List | Golden Bell 61 Drama Program Complete List — September 15, 2026 complete nomination list with five drama program award nominees: "We Six," "We and Evil Distance II," "Urban Founding Ancestor," "Let's Drink! Idiots," "Prison Men's Life Record," with "We and Evil Distance II" nominated for 13 awards.↩2
- NOWnews — Golden Bell Selection Suspected of Political Intervention! Cao Rui-yuan Responds — September 15, 2026 report documenting drama category chief judge Cao Rui-yuan's verbatim response: "Many external factors on film and television industry production have ideological thinking, but as a judge I was completely not manipulated by politics"; the report does not identify who raised the suspicions.↩
- Hakka News — Luo Shi-hong / Behind 26 Golden Bell Nominations: Why is Hakka Television Important? — September 17, 2026 commentary noting that Hakka Television as an ethnic media has long supplemented topics less frequently covered by mainstream markets, citing cultural studies scholar Hall's discussion of media representation "determining what is visible and what is marginalized."↩
- Ministry of Culture Audio-visual and Popular Music Industry Bureau — 115th Year Broadcasting Golden Bell Awards Nomination List Press Release — September 9, 2026 official press release stating: "This year's Broadcasting Golden Bell Awards received 280 participating organizations and 1,096 submitted works; 140 works were nominated to compete for 29 awards including program awards, individual awards, advertising awards, podcast awards, and radio station management innovation awards."↩
- more-news — 61st Golden Bell Awards Drama and Program Category Nomination Press Conference — September 15, 2026 press conference verbatim report documenting 122 organizations, 824 drama category and 883 program category submissions, with 135 drama and 101 program category nominations competing for 27 and 20 awards respectively; lifetime achievement award recipient Lin Deng-yi and special contribution award recipient Wu Jin-cheng.↩
- Hakka News — Golden Bell Awards 60 / 'Music Mayhem' Takes 3 Golds — Report from October 11, 2025, documenting that Hakka Radio's 'Music Mayhem' won three awards, with detailed records of the scale of that year's competition: 253 participating organizations and 1,113 submitted works.↩
- Liberty Times Entertainment — Golden Bell Special Award Vacancy Sparks Controversy — Report from September 11, 2026, on the 61st Golden Bell Awards' Special Award being left vacant; Wang Yi-ming, the sole recommended candidate, failed to meet the judges' threshold; includes responses from Ding Wen-qi, chairman of the Radio Broadcasters Association, and the judges, as well as the recommended candidate's direct quote: 'The significance of the Golden Bell Award is to encourage, not to confiscate.'↩23
- Liberty Times Entertainment — Recommended for 3 Years Before Accepting! Wang Yi-ming Narrowly Misses Golden Bell Special Award, Reveals Complete Submission Details — Report from September 2026, documenting Wang Yi-ming's thirty-one years in radio, the Radio Association's three consecutive years of invitations before he accepted the nomination, submission materials including over ten physical CDs, 8 DVDs, his book 'Wang Yi-ming Radio Salon' and calligraphy exhibition catalog, and his direct quote: 'Only one person is competing, my opponent is empty air, if you leave it vacant that's also OK, but you must prove how bad I am.'↩23
- Ministry of Culture Regulations Query System — 2013 Television Golden Bell Awards Incentive Measures — 2013 version, first appearance of the exclusion clause: 'News-type programs whose primary content is news reports, news features, or news current affairs topics are not eligible for rewards under these measures.'↩
- Central News Agency — 'Burning Flames' 11 Nominations All Fall Short — Report from October 23, 2022, with verbatim records of Chief Judge Chen Hui-ling saying 'Many of our judges really liked it, it's unfortunate none won' and Lin Hsin-ju saying 'Maybe we weren't good enough?'↩
- Central News Agency — Golden Bell Program Host Nominations Decline, Judges Hope Nominee List Highlights Industry Crisis — Report from August 26, 2020, with 55th Golden Bell Chief Judge Qu You-ning's verbatim statement 'The rise of online programs has taken away many talents,' noting that Quiz and Reality Show Host Award and Variety Show Host Award nominations decreased from 5 to 4 names compared to previous years.↩
- Golden Bell Awards Official Website — 61st Ceremony Information — Official page for the 61st Golden Bell Awards in 2026, documenting that the Radio Golden Bell is held on October 17, Program Category on October 23, and Drama Category on October 24 at Taipei Pop Music Center, including red carpet and ceremony schedule.↩
- Vision Magazine — 61st Golden Bell Awards Nominee List — Report from September 15, 2026, noting that 'The World Between Us II' and 'Forgotten, Remembered' each received 13 drama category nominations, tying for the most.↩
- Netflix Newsroom — Netflix Shines Bright at 2023 Golden Bell Awards With 40 Nominations and 12 Wins — Netflix official press release from October 22, 2023, documenting the 58th Golden Bell Awards with four Taiwan original dramas receiving 40 total nominations and 12 wins ('Imposter' 17, 'The Voters' 14, 'Pond Freak' 7, 'Mom, Stop Messing Around' 2); figures for the 61st Golden Bell Awards in 2026 with five dramas receiving 40 nominations ('Forgotten, Remembered' 13, 'Return of the Soul' 10, 'Spirit Medium' 9, 'If I Never Saw the Sun' 6, 'Million-Person Mystery' 2) are sourced from Netflix's 61st Golden Bell press release.↩
- Stuff Taiwan — 40 Major Award Nominations Set Historic Record! Netflix's Five Exclusive Mandarin Series Sweep the 61st Golden Bell Awards — Report from September 16, 2026, republishing Netflix's 61st Golden Bell press release, with breakdown of 40 nominations across five dramas ('Forgotten, Remembered' 13, 'Return of the Soul' 10, 'Spirit Medium' 9, 'If I Never Saw the Sun' 6, 'Million-Person Mystery' 2) and the platform's statement 'significantly climbing from last year's 29 nominations.'↩
- The News Lens — 60th Golden Bell Awards Ceremony Viewership and New Media Viewing Figures — Report from October 20, 2025, citing figures released by SET TV: approximately 5.055 million cumulative TV viewers across two ceremonies, 1.01 million YouTube views for the Program Category, 1.36 million for the Drama Category, with peak simultaneous viewers near 170,000 for the Drama Category; viewership peaks at 5 when Hsiao S announced the Host Award and 5.02 when Pan Ying-tzu appeared.↩
- Vision Magazine — Hsiao S and Cai Kang-yung Recreate 'Kangxi Comes Here' at Golden Bell — Report from October 17, 2025, with verbatim record of Hsiao S's acceptance speech after winning the Variety Show Host Award: 'Mom, although my sister is not here, I am still here.'↩
- Ministry of Culture — Golden Bell 60/60 Special Exhibition Press Release — Official Ministry of Culture press release documenting the special exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Building 7B, running through October 19, 2025, with four exhibition zones and artifact list including original props from 'Justice Bao' such as the dragon guillotine, 'Emperor Jiaqing Tours Taiwan' shipbuilding segments, 'Love Traffic Light' radio special edition, and Golden Bell Award statues from various years.↩
- Public Television News — Golden Bell 61 / Laying Foundation for Taiwan Television Production, Lin Deng-yi and Wu Jin-cheng Receive Special Awards — Report from September 15, 2026, documenting that Special Contribution Award recipient Wu Jin-cheng is known as the 'Paper Director,' having hand-drawn scene design and construction drawings for over forty years in the era before computer graphics, served as art director for 'Dragon Brothers Tiger Brothers' and Yang Li-hua's Taiwanese opera, and was nominated for the 28th Art Direction Award for 'The New Legend of the White Snake.'↩
🧬 What Semiont was thinking while writing this