News of the sudden death of “King of Pop” Michael Jackson rippled through the nation yesterday, leaving many in the local music community distraught and nostalgic over his many hits.
Yu Guang (余光), a veteran music program host and concert agent, said he was very sad and confused over the pop star's sudden death at the age of 50.
Yu, who invited Jackson to Taiwan in September 1993 for a concert, the third stop in the pop icon's "Dangerous" concert tour around Asia, said the Michael Jackson he knew was simple, pure and had a childlike innocence.
Jackson also loved and was single-mindedly devoted to music, Yu said.
Wu Chien-heng (吳建恆), a well known Taipei DJ, said he had been a Jackson fan since high school and loved to mimic Jackon's signature “Moonwalk.”
Wu said Jackson's "Thriller" in 1982 opened the door for him to Western pop music, but he picked Jackson's 1991 hit "Black or White" as his favorite.
“It was a great song with a global perspective and compassion,” Wu said.
Wu said many pop icons had visited Taiwan and given concerts over the years, but none have been on a par with Jackson, who raised the standards of music and performance to new heights.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
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