Indigenous singer Abao would be the first Taiwanese artist to perform at an international event in Africa when she performs at the three-day MTN Bushfire festival in Eswatini at the end of this month, Taiwan’s embassy in the African country said yesterday.
The Paiwan singer is to perform on the event’s main stage on the festival’s second day on Saturday next week, the embassy said in a statement.
Abao is being introduced by the organizers as “one of Taiwan’s biggest stars, blending soul, R&B, hip hop and electronic with traditional Paiwan folk music.”
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Government
Dremedreman, a nominee for best new artist at this year’s Golden Melody Awards and another indigenous singer of Paiwan descent, would perform at the Bring Your Fire Zone on June 1, the embassy said.
The Bring Your Fire Zone stage is an intimate acoustic stage, event organizers said.
Taiwan’s embassy in Eswatini — Taiwan’s only formal diplomatic ally in Africa and one of only 12 in the world — said that organizers of the event reached out to the office asking about possible acts for the festival.
Among several performers recommended by the office, the organizers specifically requested Abao and others who showcase a strong sense of Taiwanese culture, it said.
Their participation received the support of the Ministry of Culture and funding from private businesses of both countries, it said.
The two countries have collaborated for many years in the economic, agricultural and medical domains, but that this was the first cultural and musical interaction between the two, Ambassador to Eswatini Jeremy Liang (梁洪昇) said.
The MTN Bushfire is one of Africa’s largest annual multicultural gatherings, the event’s Web site said.
First held in 2007, it features some of the “finest musical and artistic talents from across Africa and around the globe,” it said.
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 tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
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,
The Taipei City Reserve Command yesterday initiated its first-ever 14-day recall of some of the city’s civilian service reservists, who are to undergo additional training on top of refresher courses. The command said that it rented sites in Neihu District (內湖), including the Taipei Tennis Center, for the duration of the camp to optimize tactical positioning and accommodate the size of the battalion of reservists. A battalion is made up of four companies of more than 200 reservists each, it said. Aside from shooting drills at a range in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the remainder of the training would be at
RSS