Arriving in Taiwan yesterday morning ready for concerts in Taipei today and tomorrow, world renowned Greek songstress Nana Mouskouri held a press conference to share with fans her eagerness to perform in Taiwan again.
"I'm very happy to be here. It's a wonderful thing to come back," Mouskouri said, who visited Taiwan for the first time four years ago.
In response to being asked how many concerts she has given over the years, Mouskouri, whose career has spanned 45 years as one of the most successful singers in the world, said that she had "lost count," having performed around 120 to 130 concerts per year over the last 40 years.
Talking about what music has meant to her in all these years Mouskouri said, "As a young girl growing up after the war, the world was sad, there was no optimism; through music I found that love, freedom and peace still existed."
Mouskouri said that despite her fear of flying, "the pleasure of going somewhere and finding the audience" helped her to overcome this problem.
Known for singing in many different languages, in particular the country that she is performing in, Mouskouri said that it was due to her respect for different cultures of the world and that each place she has been to, big or small, has been very important to her.
She also confirmed that in the concerts she is due to hold in Taiwan, she will sing two Taiwanese songs, one of which is to be a surprise.
Speaking of her decision to take the final bow in her career, Mouskouri said, "Everything in life has to come to an end and nothing is forever."
She said that there were a lot of other things left to explore and discover in love, such as helping society and that she hoped to serve the music profession in other ways such as by teaching and training others.
In particular Mouskouri said that she hoped to work more with UNICEF, of which she is already an active member. Mouskouri also promised to hold a benefit concert sometime in the future in Taiwan.
As for singing, Mouskouri said, "I will always sing, as much as I can."
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS