ART
Singer’s China show axed
Taiwanese Mando-pop singer Tien Fu-chen (田馥甄), better known as Hebe Tien of the girl band S.H.E., yesterday expressed regret after her scheduled performance in China next month was canceled by the Chinese event organizer. Tien was initially listed in the line-up to perform at the Bubbling Boiling Music & Arts Festival in Tianjin on Thursday. Following protests attributed to “little pinks” — a term used to describe young, jingoistic Chinese nationalists online — event organizers on Saturday announced her performance would be canceled. Chinese online pundits have labeled Tien a supporter of Taiwanese independence ever since August 2022 when she posted a picture of herself eating spaghetti on Instagram at a time when then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Pelosi is of Italian descent and Tien’s post was taken as a show of support for Pelosi. Tien has not performed in China since. Separately, Taiwanese singer Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), originally slated to perform on Friday at the Strawberry Music Festival in Beijing, would not be performing at the event anymore, event organisers said on April 21, citing a health issue of a member of Lu’s team. Lu was previously blacklisted by Chinese authorities over his support of the 2014 Sunflower movement.
Photo courtesy of Pourquoi Pas Music
FOOD
Sudan III found in pepper
A black pepper product submitted by a New Taipei City company for voluntary testing that was found to contain a synthetic chemical dye has been recalled, the city government said yesterday. The samples, submitted by YOU-CI Co, contained Sudan III and Sudan IV industrial dyes that are banned from use in food products, said the New Taipei City Department of Health, which tested the pepper products. As a result, that brand of black pepper powder, which is sold mainly to bulk buyers, has been recalled in the city, the department said. It said it has collected ingredient samples from the company’s suppliers for testing, to determine whether the toxic dyes were in the raw materials used or were added during the production process. The batch of contaminated black pepper — about 170kg — had been distributed in New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung, and in Yilan, Hsinchu, Changhua, Yunlin and Pingtung counties, the department said, adding that all the local governments have been informed of the problem.
DIPLOMACY
Former AIT head joins GTI
Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director Brent Christensen is to join the Washington-based think tank Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) the institute said. “As a longtime Taiwan fan, I look forward to working with the GTI to promote stronger US-Taiwan relations,” Christensen was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the institute on Thursday. Institute executive director Russell Hsiao (蕭良其) said: “[Christensen’s] lifelong passion for Taiwan and dedication to the practice of US foreign policy are precisely the combination of enthusiasm and hands-on expertise that will help further the unique role that GTI plays in advancing the vital US-Taiwan partnership.” Christensen is to become the third member of the institute’s advisory board who has served as AIT director, along with Stephen Young and William Stanton. The institute was founded in 2016 with a vision to “raise awareness, deepen affinity, and create opportunities for strengthening the relationship between Taiwan and the international community,” it said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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