CHOIR: Community choir starts practice
People who share a passion for singing are invited to join the International Community Choir, which will start rehearsals for a new season on Thursday. No audition is required to join the choir. Under the direction of Joan Pipkin, a Julliard-trained cellist who teaches music at the Taipei American School, the chorus puts on at least two concerts a year — one at Christmas and another in May. Because of a scheduling conflict, this season’s first practice will not be held at the regular location, the American Club, but at the Mother of God Church at 171, Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 7. For more information, read this month’s issue of Centered on Taipei or send an e-mail to internationalchoir@gmail.com.
VOLUNTEER: Immigrant center needs volunteers
Faced with a staffing shortage, the Taiwan Alien Care Association has issued a call for volunteers who are interested in helping immigrant spouses. The Taoyuan-based association was founded two years ago in order to assist Southeast Asian spouses from disadvantaged families. It welcomes volunteers who are computer literate, can help with document processing and can speak Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer or Indonesian. The group is planning to provide Chinese-language classes to immigrant spouses and Southeast Asian language classes to Taiwanese, association secretary-general Shen Fang-yu (沈芳羽) said. Interested parties can call the association at (03) 363-0037 or get in touch with Shen at 0982-661-341.
LECTURE: German center to hold lecture on heritage program
The German Institute and the German Cultural Center Taipei will hold a lecture on Thursday on the success of the UNESCO cultural heritage program. Dieter Offenhauser, deputy secretary-general and spokesman of the German Commission for UNESCO, is the invited speaker. The lecture is in English and is open to the public. For more information, contact the institute or the center at www.dk-taipei.org.tw.
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NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the