News of the sudden death of “King of Pop” Michael Jackson rippled through the nation yesterday, leaving many in the local music community distraught and nostalgic over his many hits.
Yu Guang (余光), a veteran music program host and concert agent, said he was very sad and confused over the pop star's sudden death at the age of 50.
Yu, who invited Jackson to Taiwan in September 1993 for a concert, the third stop in the pop icon's "Dangerous" concert tour around Asia, said the Michael Jackson he knew was simple, pure and had a childlike innocence.
Jackson also loved and was single-mindedly devoted to music, Yu said.
Wu Chien-heng (吳建恆), a well known Taipei DJ, said he had been a Jackson fan since high school and loved to mimic Jackon's signature “Moonwalk.”
Wu said Jackson's "Thriller" in 1982 opened the door for him to Western pop music, but he picked Jackson's 1991 hit "Black or White" as his favorite.
“It was a great song with a global perspective and compassion,” Wu said.
Wu said many pop icons had visited Taiwan and given concerts over the years, but none have been on a par with Jackson, who raised the standards of music and performance to new heights.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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