The Sun Son Theater (
The theater troupe opened its latest play on Wednesday at the Huashan Arts District.
According to artistic director Wu Jong-Liang (
What aroused the interest of police and prosecutors was widespread media reports that 10 minutes into the performance, the three actors and three actresses remove their clothes and dance in a circle for about five minutes.
The Taipei City Police Department's Chungcheng First Precinct began an investigation into whether the play was a pornographic performance after reading sensationalized stories in the local media, said actress Chien Chao-yi (
"We felt so helpless and astounded when the police came into the theater without any advanced warning and insisted on taping the play," Chien said.
"The police acted as if we were doing something immoral. We have not been respected," she said.
The police launched an investigation because the theater group was suspected of "offending society's morals and decency," according to Taipei District Prosecutor Ho Chun-ying (
"Because the police videotaped the whole performance on the first day, they do not need to attend the rest of the performances," Ho said.
The police action drew strong protests from the actors and Taipei City councilors.
Democratic Progressive Party City Councilor Lan Shih-tsung (
"It is ironic that the city police cracked down on a show that has been approved and subsidized by the city's Cultural Affairs Bureau," Lan said.
The city councilor said that the police "made too much of a fuss" over the play.
City councilors have blamed Taipei Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Liao Hsien-hao (
Liao said he was sorry about the police action and was confused about their motivation.
"The police might not understand the content and connotations of the performing arts. It is easy to identify whether the play is art or pornography from the performers and the location," Liao said.
"We have suggested the police consult with us before taking action next time," Liao said.
Liao admitted, however, that the bureau has difficulty grasping the details of every performance under its auspices but said that it did not want to intervene in every cultural activity.
"We endeavor to protect artists' freedom to create. This won't happen in the future," Liao said.
The Sun Son Theater is a well-regarded experimental-theater troupe. It received a NT$150,000 subsidy from Taipei's cultural bureau and NT$250,000 from the National Culture and Arts Foundation for Circle of Love.
The troupe was also selected to appear at the Asia Pacific Little Theater Festival, starting this weekend.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS