Without a seat in the United Nations, Taiwan's government has to get creative in carving out a space in the international community. The Government Information Office (GIO) has decided that locally made movies may hold the key.

The GIO has purchased the rights to four Taiwanese films and has translated them into six languages. The GIO then distributed them on DVD to 56 of the nation's overseas representative offices, which can then use them for non-profit screenings and Taiwanese film festivals.

The four movies include "Chocolate Rap," which is set against a backdrop of hip hop music and street dancing; "Three Times," by noted Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien; "Fishing Luck," which has a plot centered among the Tawu Aborigines on the outlying island of Lanyu; and "The Shoe Fairy," which was featured at the 2005 Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.