CHOIR: Community choir starts practice
People who share a passion for singing are invited to join the International Community Choir, which will start rehearsals for a new season on Thursday. No audition is required to join the choir. Under the direction of Joan Pipkin, a Julliard-trained cellist who teaches music at the Taipei American School, the chorus puts on at least two concerts a year — one at Christmas and another in May. Because of a scheduling conflict, this season’s first practice will not be held at the regular location, the American Club, but at the Mother of God Church at 171, Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 7. For more information, read this month’s issue of Centered on Taipei or send an e-mail to internationalchoir@gmail.com.
VOLUNTEER: Immigrant center needs volunteers
Faced with a staffing shortage, the Taiwan Alien Care Association has issued a call for volunteers who are interested in helping immigrant spouses. The Taoyuan-based association was founded two years ago in order to assist Southeast Asian spouses from disadvantaged families. It welcomes volunteers who are computer literate, can help with document processing and can speak Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer or Indonesian. The group is planning to provide Chinese-language classes to immigrant spouses and Southeast Asian language classes to Taiwanese, association secretary-general Shen Fang-yu (沈芳羽) said. Interested parties can call the association at (03) 363-0037 or get in touch with Shen at 0982-661-341.
LECTURE: German center to hold lecture on heritage program
The German Institute and the German Cultural Center Taipei will hold a lecture on Thursday on the success of the UNESCO cultural heritage program. Dieter Offenhauser, deputy secretary-general and spokesman of the German Commission for UNESCO, is the invited speaker. The lecture is in English and is open to the public. For more information, contact the institute or the center at www.dk-taipei.org.tw.
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RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
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