The Taiwan Free Burma Network — an alliance of more than 100 groups supporting the democracy movement in Myanmar — will hold a Free Burma Concert tomorrow as part of an internationally coordinated campaign calling on Myanmar's military junta to release more than 2,000 political prisoners.
“This is the first time we will be holding a public Free Burma Concert at an outdoor location,” Tsai Ya-ju (蔡雅如), an executive member of the group, told the Taipei Times. “In the past three years [since the first concert in Taiwan], we've always had the concert indoors.”
Free Burma Concerts in Taiwan are held annually on June 19, the birthday of Myanmar democracy pioneer Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The problem with holding indoor concerts was that we always attracted the same crowd — activists or people who already know about these freedom movements,” Tsai said. “This time, we want people who probably don't know much about the situation in Myanmar — students, kids, or ordinary moms and dads — to join us.”
Tsai said she believed music was the most effective way to get their message across.
Several bands — including Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤), StreetVoice, Indulge, Chang Tieh-chih (張鐵志) and Ko Chih-hao (柯志豪) — will perform at the concert.
“Through our music, we hope to encourage more people to find out what's going on in Myanmar,” said Fan Chiang (范姜), a member of the hip hop band Kou Chou Ching.
“I think supporting the Myanmar and Tibetan causes, as well as justice for Tiananmen Square Massacre victims, are equally important. People in Taiwan know more about the Tibetan movement, but not enough about the situation in Myanmar.”
Although most of Kou Chou Ching's works are about Taiwanese history, politics, national identity and social phenomena, Fan Chiang said there was still a connection between the band's music and Myanmar.
“For example, one of our songs, Civil Revolt, tells the story of uprisings in Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty rule because the government was too corrupt and repressive,” he said. “This is the same as in Myanmar.”
Other than enjoying the music, people are also invited to write notes to political prisoners in Myanmar or write postcards to the military junta calling for their release, Tsai said.
The concert will be held from 7pm to 9pm tomorrow at Yonghe City's (永和) Park No. 4 at the intersection of Jhongan (中安路) and Yongjhen (永貞路) roads near the Yongan Market MRT station.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to