Pop singer A-mei (阿妹), who gave a free concert in Taipei on Sunday to show her support for same-sex marriage and other gay rights, said she believes all forms of love should be respected.
“Some people might resist this idea out of a lack of understanding. We can use this [concert] as an opportunity to help people gradually understand,” A-mei told reporters before the show.
“Love and music can block out a lot of unnecessary things,” the 41-year-old Aborigine singer said. “No matter what we think, when we stand here listening to music together, being moved, calling out or swaying with people we don’t know, we are on some level affected.”
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
Close to 20,000 fans flocked to the free outdoor concert at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, despite the cold and wet weather.
The star performed more than 20 songs for her fans, many of whom held rainbow flags, a symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The cost of the concert, estimated at about NT$3 million (US$100,149), was covered by A-mei herself, her agent said.
Thousands of fans left messages of appreciation on the Sina Weibo microblogging site and the singer’s Facebook page after the concert.
“Thank you A-mei and a team filled with love. A moving night. We all cried!” wrote Nelson Chen, a Taiwanese man who with his partner fought a court case last year for the legal recognition of his same-sex marriage.
A-mei’s concert came as the same-sex marriage debate has heightened.
A draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage and allow married gay couples to adopt children cleared its first reading in the legislature in October.
However, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei to protest the bill last month.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS