Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) promised on Thursday to help with the production of a documentary on Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰), better known as “the king of Formosan song,” who died of pancreatic cancer at Taipei Medical University Hospital, on Wednesday at the age of 82.
Hung, who was blessed with a deep, resonant voice and was a prolific songwriter, is familiar to middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese-language music fans.
Old numbers such as Memories of an Old Love (舊情綿綿) and The One I’m Missing (思慕的人) are still very popular among KTV patrons.
Chiu Kun-liang (邱坤良), a professor at National Taipei University of the Arts who grew up listening to Hung’s songs, said he awakened the Taiwanese identity of many people.
NATIONAL TREASURE
“He was unfortunate to have been born in Taiwan ... If he had lived in another country, he would have long been recognized as a national treasure,” Chiu said.
Chuang Yung-ming (莊永明), a researcher of Taiwanese history, said Hung’s contribution to Taiwanese-language songs lay in his inheritance of the independent creative spirit of the Taiwanese during the period of Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945).
“A group of talented Taiwanese artists composed many lyrical Taiwanese-language songs between 1932 and 1940. However, their development came to an abrupt halt after Japan launched a campaign to turn ‘Taiwanese into loyal subjects of the Japanese emperor,’” Chuang said.
ENKA
Hung successfully incorporated the Oriental five-note scale musical style popular in the 1930s into his compositions and also made use of features of Japanese enka and jazz music that made their way to Taiwan in the 1950s, Chuang said.
“As a result, he created a unique blend or hybrid style that reflects the complexity of Taiwanese history,” he said.
Hung was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer on Dec. 7, his family said. He was hospitalized on Dec. 26 after he fell into a coma following a bout of pneumonia and was transferred to a hospice ward on Feb. 11.
A memorial service will be held for him on March 13.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and