More than 60 social advocacy groups from around the nation gathered at the Rose Historic Site (玫瑰古蹟) in Taipei yesterday to mark the launch of this year’s Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Festival (蔡瑞月舞蹈節), commemorating the site’s rich legacy of social activism with a 24-hour relay of performance arts events and public lectures.
Running the night from yesterday to this afternoon, the event took place at a Japanese wooden structure home to the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute.
Originally due to be demolished in 1994, the building was saved through a landmark conservation campaign in which three dancers were suspended high above the ground by a crane for 24 hours, in protest against what they said was the government’s disregard for cultural heritage.
This year, representatives from various social advocacy groups dangled 15 stories above the ground in four-hour shifts, paying tribute to the historic campaign, with each shift representing social issues from six categories — labor rights; land and housing rights; sovereignty and human rights; gender issues; environmental conservation; and Aboriginal rights.
Dance troupes and activist musicians stirred up the crowd, and there were speeches from prominent social advocates.
The name of the event, “Hanging High Against Oppression,” was chosen because in Mandarin Chinese, the term for “hanging high,” gao diao (高吊) is pronounced the same as “conspicuous (高調),” signifying that the activists wanted their voices to be heard.
“Twenty years ago, one single building faced impending demolition, but today the very foundations of our nation are threatened,” said Tsai Jui-yueh Foundation chairperson Ondine Hsiao (蕭渥廷), who was among the three dancers who participated in the 1994 campaign.
Participants circled the site three times while holding roses in their hands in memory of Tsai Jui-yueh (蔡瑞月), one of the pioneers of modern dance in Taiwan, and pasted photographs of protests and rallies around the nation from over the past two years onto walls surrounding the building.
Several prominent international artists attended the event, including Australian dancer Elizabeth Dalman, Japanese choreographer Orita Katsuko and US dancer Martial Roumain. Taiwanese poet Lee Min-yung (李敏勇) and historian Su Beng (史明) also made guest appearances.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS