The band Mayday (五月天) has served as Greater Kaohsiung’s ambassador in its tourism campaign for four years, so it came as no surprise when, in the aftermath of the gas explosions that rocked the municipality last week, the group was among the first to make a donation to the disaster relief account set up by the Greater Kaohsiung City Government’s Social Affairs Bureau.
The band gave NT$15 million (US$500,000) to the fund, with each of its five members pitching in NT$1 million and another NT$10 million donated from the proceeds of its “Just Love It” tour on behalf of its fans.
Mayday’s ties to Greater Kaohsiung go back a long way. Bass guitarist Tsai Shen-yen (蔡昇晏), known to fans as Masa, went to school there as a child, while lead guitarist Shi Chin-ang (石錦航), known as Stone, proposed to his wife in the city.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
The band has staged dozens of concerts in the port city and its members frequently chat about things happening in Greater Kaohsiung on social media sites.
Mayday began acting as the “global spokesperson” for the city’s tourism campaign in July 2011, appearing in promotional videos and giving the local government the right to produce calendars featuring pictures of band members.
A poster of the band inviting people from other countries to visit Taiwan can be seen in places such as New York and Mayday also took a trip to Shanghai and Beijing to promote Greater Kaohsiung-grown fruit and other agricultural products.
In July 2012, Mayday announced that it would act as the city’s ambassador for free for the rest of the year. The group said that this was its way of thanking the enthusiastic support and passion that the Greater Kaohsiung public has shown the band.
The band members renewed the contract last year.
Mayday has also headlined the city’s New Year’s Eve events for the past few years. During these concerts, the band would talk about local events and strike up conversation with fans, interactions which it says have built an enduring friendship and emotional bond with local fans and residents.
Mayday also says it has forged a special relationship with Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊). At the city’s most recent New Year’s Eve event, held at the Kaohsiung World Games Stadium, Chen visited the band backstage before its concert.
While there, Chen relayed to the band members many fans’ wishes for them to play past midnight and continue the show into the morning hours.
The band members said they worried about receiving fines, since municipal bylaws lay out restrictions on noise and concerts at late hours, to which Chen responded with a laugh: “It is OK by me. I’m the mayor. If you get fined, I will pay the bill.”
At a recent pre-concert publicity event Chen attended to show her support for the band, Masa gave her a bikini and thong slippers as a gift on behalf of the band.
“If more than 50,000 fans attend the concert, I will wear the slippers on stage. If a crowd of more than 100,000 comes, then I will consider wearing the bikini,” the mayor said to laughter from the audience.
Mayday lead vocalist Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏), known as Ashin, has said that “I am already a half-Greater Kaohsiung native (半個高雄人)” and often writes about the city, inviting people to visit it to experience its various scenic attractions, cuisine, cultural heritage, arts and religious diversity.
Mayday members said they hope their donation will spur more people to assist in the recovery effort and give financial aid to those affected by the disaster.
“This city occupies a special place in our hearts. Now we are part of the national effort, under which Taiwanese can unite to help Greater Kaohsiung recover from this tragedy,” they said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS