TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Google on Wednesday (Dec. 9) released its Year in Search for 2020, including the results for Taiwan, which revealed that the two most searched terms this year were related to the U.S. presidential race and the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
The most searched keyword of the year in Taiwan was "U.S. presidential election," followed by "Wuhan pneumonia" in second place. As the government issued a number of vouchers to stimulate the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, "sports vouchers" (動滋券) and "Arts Fun vouchers" (藝FUN券) were the third- and sixth-most searched term.
Coming in at fourth place was Taiwan's 'queen of ballroom dance,' Serena Liu (劉真), who died at the age of 44, after waiting 45 days for a heart transplant. In fifth place was "Xiao Gui" (小鬼, Little Ghost), which is the nickname for Taiwanese entertainer Alien Huang (黃鴻升), who suddenly died at the age of 36 from aortic dissection.
Taking seventh place was the South Korean television series "Crash Landing on You" (愛的迫降), which is the highest-rated drama on tvN and the third highest-rated TV drama in the history of South Korean cable television. Placing in eighth place was the Chinese TV drama series "Go Ahead" (以家人之名).
In ninth place was Trump (川普), with Taiwan being the only country in Asia where more of its citizens favored Donald Trump than Joe Biden during the U.S. presidential election, according to a YouGov poll. Rounding out the top 10 was "The World of the Married" (夫妻的世界), another South Korean television series.
Top 10 Google searches in 2020 in Taiwan
- U.S. presidential election
- Wuhan pneumonia
- Sports vouchers
- Serena Liu
- Xiao Gui
- Arts Fun vouchers
- Crash Landing on You
- Go Ahead
- Trump
- The World of the Married
As for the most searched persons in 2020 (not including recently deceased persons), Trump took the top spot while Biden grabbed seventh. Second place was taken by Taiwan mandopop star Show Lo (羅志祥) due to a salacious post on Weibo in April by his ex-girlfriend Grace Chow (周揚青), who accused him of infidelity and hosting sex parties, earning her third place on the list.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (金正恩) rocketed to the fourth place spot when rumors began to swirl in April that he was gravely ill. Singer-songwriter Chih Siou (持修) took fifth place for winning Best New Vocal Award for the album "The Elephant in the Room."
Rising Democratic Progressive Party star Enoch Wu (吳怡農) came in sixth place this year due to intense attention by female voters during his "duel of hunks" with Chiang Kai-shek's great-grandson, Wayne Chiang (蔣萬安). Taking eighth place was Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang (唐鳳), after drawing international praise for creating an app to find government-rationed masks in Taiwan.
Coming in at ninth place was Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Tsai Yi-fang (蔡宜芳), after the TPP expelled Taipei Culture Foundation deputy chief executive Chang Yi-san (張益贍) for allegedly having an extramarital affair with her. Last, but certainly not least, Minister of Health and Welfare and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who has drawn both domestic and international acclaim for his unparalleled handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan, with only seven deaths and 720 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Top 10 most-searched persons on Google in 2020
- Trump
- Show Lo
- Grace Chow
- Kim Jong-un
- Chih Siou
- Enoch Wu
- Biden
- Audrey Tang
- Tsai Yi-fang
- Chen Shih-chung
