To demonstrate the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's sincerity in promoting political and ethnic reconciliation after the divisive presidential election, the Presidential Office yesterday announced that many famous entertainers who had campaigned for the pan-blue camp had promised to perform in a presidential inauguration rally on May 19.
One of them is Kao Ling-feng (
PHOTO: CNA
Kao will be the closing act at the rally and will do an imitation of Chen and DPP General-Secretary Chang Chun-hsiung (
"The election is over. All society should return to normalcy and ethnic rifts should be mended," Kao said. "Artists and entertainers should play a conciliatory role as non-partisan figures.
"Times have changed, and the post-election furor should end on May 20," Kao said, referring to the date of the presidential inauguration.
"Politics should return to politics, and culture to culture," he said. "We need to focus on ethnic reconciliation, without regard for one's color as either green or blue.
"All entertainers should play a reconciliatory role; all are responsible for mending the rifts in our society. Artists should exert their influence in this direction," he said
In the past four years, Kao has gained fame for his political mimicry.
During the press conference yesterday, Kao did an impression of Chen complete with accent, saying, "Some say Kao opposes A-bian. I don't care if he supports or opposes A-bian; what's most important is how exciting the show is!"
When Chen was Taipei mayor between 1994 and 1998, the city government cracked down on the sex industry, including a hostess bar owned by Kao. The move prompted Kao to become the leader of protests by sex industry workers against Chen.
During the presidential election campaigning, Kao acted as an anti-Chen activist.
Yesterday, Kao brought up his history and thanked Chen, mimicking Chen's voice and saying, "Kao was meant for show-biz. A-bian's shutting down of Kao's bar actually helped Kao."
Before the election, many entertainers chose sides in the race. Yesterday, Kao represented pro-blue entertainers in saying that he hoped there would more opportunities to perform in Mandarin dramas.
KMT leaders from the previous era that the pro-blue entertainers once supported should stop their protests now the election is over, he said.
His performance at the inauguration rally, he added, is a show of support for the new Chen administration by pro-blue entertainers.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS