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.
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
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or