The London-based LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community choir Pink Singers and the Taiwan-based group G-Major held a mini-concert in Taipei yesterday to promote an upcoming festival featuring gay choirs from around the world.
The event, co-organized by the British Office in Taipei and the British Council, was scheduled to coincide with the opening of the three-day “Hand in Hand Asian LGBT Choral Festival,” the first such festival to take place in Taiwan.
“The British government supports equality for all. Freedom from discrimination is a basic human right, is central to our values and is protected through our laws,” UK Representative to Taiwan Chris Wood said.
“In line with our values, we are proud to promote equality and human rights around the world, including the rights of minority groups that have historically not received equal treatment,” he said.
Wood’s remarks came before the two choirs staged the mini-concert, which began with a performance by the Pink Singers, comprised of male and female singers, and followed by a show given by the all-male G-Major.
The two groups then performed two numbers together, ending the show with the song Hand in Hand.
Pink Singers, which was established in 1983 and has more than 80 singers on its roster, and G-Major are set to be among the groups performing at Sunday’s concert in Taipei as part of the choral festival, whose participants are also to take part in the Taipei Pride Parade, which is scheduled to start at 1pm today.
Officials and staff from the British Office and the European Economic and Trade Office are also to join the parade to support equality for all and advocate LGBT rights.
Several events related to the LGBT community were held this week, including the largest LGBT conference in Asia, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday in Taipei.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe