Taiwanese fans who just last Friday were celebrating the news that Celine Dion would be appearing in Taipei in October discovered late on Wednesday that she had canceled her planned Asian tour and other performances.
A statement posted on Dion’s Facebook page on Wednesday said that she had decided to “postpone all of her show business activities indefinitely, in order to focus 100% of her attention on her husband Rene, their family, and associated health issue.”
“Since Rene’s surgery last December to remove a cancerous tumor, it’s been a very difficult and stressful time for the couple as they deal with the day-to-day challenges of fighting this disease while trying to juggle a very active show business schedule, and raise their three young children,” the statement said.
“Celine has also been fighting an illness that has caused inflammation in her throat muscles, and has not been able to perform any of her scheduled shows in Las Vegas since her last show on July 29th. She has still not recovered from this condition,” the statement said.
Dion was also quoted as saying that she wanted to “devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing” and “it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children.”
She apologized to her fans for the inconvenience and thanked them for their love and support.
The organizer of the Taipei concert, Kuang Hong Arts, confirmed that Dion had canceled all nine concerts on her Asia tour.
The company said that it had no further information other than what had been posted in the Facebook announcement.
However, Dion’s announcement gave renewed hope to Mariah Carey fans.
Carey had been planning an October performance in Taipei, but her organizers, Yu Kuang Music, canceled it after losing out on the Taipei Arena to Dion’s representatives.
“We were previously told that she was able to come between Oct. 27 and Oct. 30. After being told that the Taipei Arena was not available for use during that time, Carey’s team gave the spot to other Asian countries on the waiting list. They then scheduled a concert in Manila on Oct. 28, launching ticket sales yesterday,” Yu Kuang media contact Amy Ke (柯曉雲) said.
Ke said that her company contacted Carey’s agent as soon as it heard the news of Dion’s tour cancelation and are hoping that they can arrange for her to perform in Taipei on Oct. 30.
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
ENROLLMENT STRATEGIES: NTNU focuses on English instruction to attract foreign students, and helps them with employment and internships, its president said The number of foreign students in the nation’s colleges and universities hit a five-year high last year, with National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) topping the list with the most international students, Ministry of Education data showed. Last year, 123,188 international students attended Taiwanese colleges and universities, 3,259 more than the previous academic year, the data showed. NTNU had the most international students, with 7,648 students, followed by the National Taiwan University’s 6,249, it showed. NTNU yesterday said that international students accounted for 12.05 percent of its degree students last year. The percentage of overseas Chinese students at the university has also been the highest
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS