Luo Da-you (
"This is not a rash decision made in the heat of the moment. This is a personal decision that I have made as a musician whose profession is to freely compose music," Luo said, warning others not to follow suit.
Luo arrived at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday morning and spent more than an hour completing the procedure to give up his US citizenship. The application now awaits approval from the US Department of State.
Reading from a statement, Luo said that he was grateful that his US passport had allowed him to freely travel the world.
"However, when US representatives introduced a resolution requesting that Taiwan send marines to Iraq, I realized that while the US often stresses peaceful negotiations across the Taiwan Strait, the US government is the third party that stands in the way of truly peaceful negotiation," Luo said.
Two Republican representatives introduced a resolution to the US House last week asking President George W. Bush to request that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) deploy thousands of marines to Iraq.
However, Luo's act of protest comes after US Department of State spokesman Richard Boucher called the issue a "moot point" given that Taiwan has not offered, nor has the US asked for, a military contribution.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
"In life you often have to make choices, and I choose to give up my US passport," Luo said, adding that he would apply for a visa if he ever wanted to visit the US and that he would be composing a song about the mixed emotions he felt in deciding to relinquish his US citizenship.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS