Russia’s pride in Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, even though he was gay, is proof that the country does not discriminate against homosexuals, President Vladimir Putin said.
Putin was apparently seeking to ease concerns that a new law banning “gay propaganda” will be used to clamp down on gay rights.
“Tchaikovsky was gay — although it’s true that we don’t love him because of that — but he was a great musician and we all love his music. So what?,” Putin said in an interview with Russian state Channel 1 television.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
“There is no cause to make a mountain out of a molehill, nothing scary or terrible is happening here in our country.”
Asked whether he would meet members of the gay and lesbian community, Putin said, “I assure you that I work with these people, I sometimes award them with state prizes.”
(Reuters)
俄羅斯總統弗拉吉米爾‧普廷說,即便俄羅斯作曲家彼得‧伊里奇‧柴可夫斯基是同志,但從俄羅斯以他為榮這點來看,證明俄羅斯並未歧視同性戀者。
Photo courtesy of The Wikimedia Commons
照片由維基共享資源提供
普廷此言顯然是要舒緩(外界對於)一條禁止「同志宣傳」的新法律會被用來打壓同志權益的憂慮。
普廷在接受俄羅斯國營一號頻道電視專訪時如是說:「柴可夫斯基是同志—雖然老實說我們愛他不是因為這一點—但他是偉大的音樂家,我們都愛他的音樂。(他是同志)又怎樣?」
「沒有理由為此小題大作,我們國家裡沒發生什麼可怕或令人恐懼的事。」
在被問到是否會和男女同志界的成員見面時,普廷說:「我向你保證,我跟這些人合作,我有時還頒發國家級獎給他們。」
(路透/翻譯:張沛元)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110