Singer Wen Hsia (文夏), who had nearly 100 of his songs banned during the Martial Law era, died in his sleep at the age of 93 on Wednesday.
The legendary singer’s family announced his passing through the Taiwan U-Life Association.
Born Wang Jui-ho (王瑞河) on May 20, 1928, the singer was known throughout his career by his stage name Wen Hsia and the pen name “He Who Is Sorrowful.”
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan U-Life Association
Having studied music in Japan, the Tainan-born Wen Hsia was most well-known for covering countless Japanese songs in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), as well as writing his own music.
The most memorable of his covers included My Hometown in the Sunset (黃昏的故鄉), which was not only banned during martial law, but was hailed as a de facto anthem by political dissidents blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) authoritarian regime.
With nearly 100 of his songs forbidden during martial law and recognition of his musical contributions after martial law was lifted, Wen Hsia became known as the “king of banned songs,” and was cherished as a national treasure for the remainder of his life.
Wen Hsia was also an actor who starred in 11 movies.
His family said that Wen Hsia passed away in his sleep yesterday.
A Christian memorial service is to be held, with the date yet to be determined, the family said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we