Members of the Hong Kong performance troupe Nonsensemakers on Monday accused the Hong Kong government of political bias over demands they claimed had been placed on the group as it prepares for an event.
A Nonsensemakers member surnamed Tai (戴) said on Facebook that the Department of Leisure and Cultural Services had made verbal demands that the troupe remove the word “national” from acting producer Luo Shu-yan’s (羅淑燕) alma mater, Taipei National University of the Arts, which is in a brochure introducing the group.
Tai said the Hong Kong government’s alleged demand was “absurd and terrible,” adding that “Hong Kong today is a totalitarian government that cannot even allow a name.”
Tai said that Hong Kong society is losing its freedoms of speech and creativity, adding that everyone must stand fast in the face of totalitarianism.
The troupe said it had tried to reason with the department on multiple occasions and even offered to change the introduction from Chinese to English.
However, the department insisted that the Chinese shorthand “Taipei University of Arts” must be used, the troupe said.
Nonsensemakers posted an article on Facebook later on Monday saying that it would rather remove the controversial wording from the introduction than print partial or edited information.
The name of one’s alma mater is a basic fact and to include it in its entirety is to respect both art and the academia, the troupe said, adding that hopefully, Hong Kong continues to enjoy the troupe’s most prized core values — freedom of speech and creativity.
The group included in the post a photograph of Luo holding her diploma from the university.
Taipei National University of the Arts president Yang Chi-wen (楊其文) told On.cc, a Hong Kong Web-based media outlet, that the department’s demand that the word “national” be removed was “incredibly stupid and without wisdom.”
Yang said he would continue to protest the politicizing of art by the department.
As of press time last night, the department had yet to respond to a request for comment.
Chinese-language Hong Kong newspaper Headline Daily found an archived use of the full name of the university in official department documents dating back to October 2003.
The department then issued a media release promoting a new rendition to the Chinese opera piece Golden House for My Beloved (金屋藏嬌) by Wu Hsing-kuo (吳興國), who the department called “Taipei National University of Arts department of drama associate professor.”
Nonsensemakers have an upcoming performance of The Third Lie in Hong Kong, a retelling of the book of the same name by Agota Kristof. It is the third in a trilogy, with The Notebook and The Proof the first and second books respectively.
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