Indonesian migrant workers enjoyed a day of karaoke at Da-an Forest Park yesterday.
The karaoke competition was the last in a series of cultural events hosted throughout the year by the Taipei City Government's Migrant Workers' Cultural Center, who commissioned the Rerum Novarum Center (RNC) to organize the activities.
"The events are held as a token of our appreciation for the contributions migrant workers make to Taiwanese society," RNC employee Lara Lin (林倩如) said. "[The events] are also intended to alleviate the workers' homesickness and allow Taipei residents to learn more about the cultures of our neighbors in Southeast Asia."
PHOTO: CNA
Sixty-one Indonesian men and women signed up for the singing contest and 10 finalists progressed to the second round, in which they competed for prizes such as heaters and electric stovetops.
Indonesian bands Jampez and Jakarta played popular Indonesian music at the event, helping to attract a crowd of hundreds of migrant workers, exchange students and Taiwanese.
"We host cultural events for migrant workers from Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia -- the countries where most of Taiwan's migrant workers come from -- in the months that they have major religious celebrations in their native countries," Lin said.
More than 10,000 Indonesians work in Taipei, making them the third-biggest foreign work force in the city, Lin said, adding that most of them work as caregivers.
Competition winner Yuni won a return ticket to Jakarta.
"Taiwan is a lovely place to work, especially because the people make me feel at home," she said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS