Taiwan is reforming some of its juvenile delinquents into "cultural ambassadors" and will send them to the US and Canada next week to dance and tout local culture despite fears of an ethnic backlash against Asians following Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech, officials said yesterday.
Three traditional dance and percussion troupes wowed an audience of Cabinet officials yesterday at a press conference to launch the troupes' North American tour.
Scheduled to perform in more than 30 cities across the US and Canada, the troupes will represent Taiwan during the US' "Asia Pacific American Heritage Month," a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders and their cultures, said Chang Fu-mei (張富美), chairwoman of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC).
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Former US president George H. W. Bush designated May as Asia Pacific American Month in 1990, while former US president Bill Clinton designated the second week in May as the Taiwanese American Heritage Week in 1999. Clinton did so at the urging of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, a Washington-based group advocating Taiwan independence.
"Some of the youth in the troupes come from troubled backgrounds and even stayed in juvenile detention centers. But [OCAC] has worked with them closely and they're all in night school while rehearsing dancing and drumming by day," Chang said. "They've transformed themselves."
Indeed, the youths are worthy of the title "cultural ambassador," said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (
"Theirs is the work of cultural diplomacy -- a focus that my ministry shares in promoting Taiwan, which is why these troupes are so important and deserve our support," Yang said. "They're getting Taiwan's name out there."
The US is the ideal place to conduct such cultural diplomacy, he added, as the US government has designated the second week in May as an official celebration of Taiwan, giving Taiwan a unique "space" in which to further cultural ties with the West.
"It's a great diplomatic opportunity," he said.
Chang said her commission was preparing the performers for ethnic tension following Monday's tragedy.
The performers are being coached to stress their image as one of peace-loving, Taiwanese youth, while groups of Taiwanese across the US have expressed condolences to the victims' families.
"We've emphasized that the performers are Taiwanese, and that we're not South Korean," she said.
A South Korean gunman who was a resident of the US killed 33 people, including himself, at Virginia Tech University on Monday in the worst shooting spree in US history. US media have warned of an ethnic backlash against Asians.
"I'm worried about how US audiences will receive us," said a performer, who declined to give his name.
"I think it could affect turn-out," he added.
Sponsored by the OCAC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies, the three troupes -- the Jyou Tian Folk Drumming and Arts Group, Hong-sheng Lion Dance Troupe and Honwa Folk Dance Troupe -- will begin their month-long North American tour on Wednesday, giving 35 performances in major cities across the US and Canada.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all