Federal Support for the Flint Water Crisis Response and Recovery

Federal Support for the Flint Water Crisis Response and Recovery

The President and his Administration are committed to doing everything possible to assist local and state efforts to help the people of Flint in this crisis. At the direction of President Obama, there has been an all-of-government response to this crisis: from the over 9 million liters of water and 50,000 filters distributed by FEMA, to the expansion of Medicaid, funding for Head Start and local health centers by HHS, to water testing and technical expertise by EPA, and helping to provide help for the local economy to recover by SBA, HUD and others. The federal government will continue to offer expertise and technical assistance to state and local agencies for as long as needed to support in the community's recovery and resilience.

On January 16, 2016, President Obama issued an emergency declaration for the State of Michigan and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions in Flint, Michigan, affected by contaminated water. The President's action authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide water, water filters, water filter cartridges, water test kits, and other necessary related items; assistance with those commodities has been extended through August 14, 2016.

Additionally, the President offered assistance in identifying other Federal agency capabilities that could support the recovery effort but do not require an emergency declaration. On January 19, the President designated the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the lead Federal agency responsible for coordinating Federal support for response and recovery efforts in Flint. Dr. Nicole Lurie, the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and currently the Federal Government's senior response official in Flint, is coordinating the efforts of all the Federal agencies, including: HHS agencies, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Commerce (DOC), and the Department of Education (ED). Federal agencies are providing water and filters to the State of Michigan, testing water in Flint residences, and supporting health and community outreach.

Federal agencies will continue to offer expertise and technical assistance to state and local agencies for as long as needed to support the community's recovery and resilience.

Ensuring Access to Safe Water

Federal officials have worked with state and local partners to improve access to bottled water and water filters.

* FEMA has provided over 9.3 million liters of water to the state for distribution, over 50,000 water and pitcher filters, and over 243,000 filter replacement cartridges.

* HUD has worked with the Flint Housing Commission to ensure 100% installation, the future upkeep of water filters in every unit of public housing, and HUD's Federally-assisted and HUD-insured properties.

* In addition, HUD is working with local partners to ensure that seniors and disabled residents in public housing receive and have continuing access to clean water.

Protecting Health

Blood Lead Testing

The Federal Government is working to make blood lead testing available for Flint residents, especially children under the age of six.

* HHS continues to work with healthcare providers and local officials to offer blood lead testing to as many children and residents as possible.

* To assist with the testing initiative, USDA temporarily authorized blood lead screening at clinics for participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

* HUD is working with a local provider to offer onsite blood lead testing for children in public housing.

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps cleared a backlog of approximately 800 blood lead level screening results and prepared test result notifications for parents and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Rash Investigation

EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts continue to support the state's investigation of rashes and other skin concerns affecting Flint residents to help identify potential causes. Lead is not known to be a skin irritant.

Services for Children

The HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded Medicaid coverage for children and young people up to age 21 and pregnant women in Flint impacted by lead exposure. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services expects to begin enrollment in May.

* Approximately 15,000 additional children, young people, and pregnant women will now be eligible for Medicaid coverage, and 30,000 current Medicaid beneficiaries in the area are eligible for expanded services.

* This comprehensive health and developmental coverage includes blood lead level monitoring, behavioral health services, and targeted case management. Targeted case management services will include assistance to help impacted residents gain access to needed medical, social, educational, and other services.

HHS provided $250,000 in emergency supplemental funding to both the Hamilton Community Health Network and Genesee Health System to hire new staff and provide additional services. In the first 30 days after receiving the funds, the health centers reportedly provided outreach services to more than 2,600 patients to help prevent continued lead exposure, tested more than 1,600 patients for lead, referred 28 patients with elevated lead levels for follow-up appointments, including 27 patients younger than six years old, and provided behavioral health services for almost 450 patients.

Since February, Federal nurses have assisted Genesee County Health Department with enrolling children with elevated blood lead levels into Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for case management. Federal nurses from the CDC, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration have made 377 homes visits and phone calls to Genesee County families to help enroll children in the program and provide lead prevention education. 

The HHS Administration for Children and Families provided guidance to the state on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, with the goal of helping families in the program access bottled water, gas cards, and bus passes to reach water distribution sites or healthcare facilities.

One-time HHS emergency funding of $3.6 million helped Head Start grantees expand early childhood education, behavioral health services, health services, and nutrition services. Grantees have:

* Opened three additional classrooms beginning March 2016 through June 2017 for children in the most affected areas. These classes were filled by March 28.

* Lengthened the current school year by three weeks and lengthened the school day from seven hours to seven-and-a-half hours.

* Provided Head Start comprehensive services to preschoolers already enrolled in the school's special education program.

* Enrolled two dozen additional children in the home-based model.

An assistant surgeon general with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps worked with the mayor's office as a health advisor to help develop health goals for a community recovery plan and to help identify a permanent health advisor for the city.

Nutrition

Foods rich in calcium, iron and vitamin C helps mitigate lead absorption in children. USDA increased access to these foods by:

* Providing summertime nutrition assistance through a Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer pilot program for the more than 15,000 Flint children who live or attend schools in the area affected by lead-contaminated water. These students are eligible to receive a $30 benefit package each summer month for nutritious foods that may help mitigate lead absorption. Nationwide, the pilot program will provide $26.9 million for summertime nutrition assistance this year.

* Encouraging all eligible Flint Community Schools and other Flint-area schools to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, a program that ensures universal access to healthy, school meals.

* Providing an additional $62,700 to help schools purchase fresh fruit and vegetable snacks. Four additional schools serving more than 1,200 students are now participating in this program.

Allowing eligible mothers of non-breastfed infants to use WIC benefits for ready-to-feed infant formula, which does not need to be mixed with water.

Behavioral Health

HHS behavioral health teams provided basic psychological first-aid skills training to 183 people. They conducted stress management training with 247 healthcare providers and responders and taught a "Train the Trainers" for 32 local providers to enable them to teach basic psychological first-aid training. HHS also sponsored Spanish and English versions of the training materials tailored to the Flint water crisis to be shared with the community.

HHS also facilitated development of a long-term mental health recovery and resilience plan in coordination with Genesee Health System and other community partners to help improve the behavioral health system as the community recovers. This plan will be implemented by the community with technical assistance from the HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Restoring Flint's Water System

EPA is conducting water testing to monitor restoration of the city's water system. Results show the system is recovering.

* Diagnostic Lead Sampling: EPA is conducting lead sampling upon request and in homes that are identified as being at risk for high lead levels to help determine if lead is coming from the house or the service line. Most sampling teams are accompanied by community engagement staff to ensure that residents can ask questions and receive plain-language answers about sampling. EPA has evaluated over 4,500 samples in more than 650 homes and other properties. These results are available via an interactive map at >www.epa.gov/flint< 

* Lead and Copper Rule Sampling: In accordance with the administrative order that EPA issued to the State of Michigan, EPA reviews Michigan's Lead and Copper Rule compliance sampling plans before they are implemented. EPA may also collect samples at some of these locations to gather more information about the impact of lead in the water.

* Testing Lead Filters in Homes: EPA has taken nearly 400 samples of drinking water in approximately 200 homes at residents' request and in households with known lead levels of 100 parts per billion or higher to test the effectiveness of filters at removing lead at high concentrations. Filters distributed in response to this water crisis are rated at 150 parts per billion. EPA's sampling results confirm that the filters are effective in removing lead from drinking water at levels higher than 150 parts per billion. As a precaution, bottled water is still considered the safest option for vulnerable populations, including pregnant and breast-feeding women, infants, and children under six years old whose water tests higher than 150 parts per billion. Everyone else should use filtered water for drinking and cooking. Pets should also drink filtered water.

* Overall Water Quality Testing: EPA is collecting water samples from locations throughout Flint to evaluate the levels of fluoride, other compounds, and pH. As part of this assessment, EPA is analyzing the overall stability of water quality throughout Flint's distribution system. EPA is also testing to be sure enough chlorine is in the water. Chlorine is used to disinfect drinking water and prevent the growth of bacteria and other pathogens. At locations where chlorine is low, EPA follows up with additional testing for bacteria.

* Flush for Flint Initiative: EPA, the City of Flint, and the State of Michigan launched the Flush for Flint campaign to encourage residents to run water from their kitchen sinks and bathroom tubs for 5 minutes each day for 14 straight days during the month of May.  More water flowing will help flush out additional lead particles in the water system. The State of Michigan is paying for the program and credit will be added to residents' water bills.

Economic Recovery

The Federal Government is providing economic development assistance to help Flint recover from the crisis and continue to grow its economy. 

* The U.S. Department of Labor is providing a National Dislocated Worker Grant for up to $15 million to assist with humanitarian and recovery efforts resulting from the water crisis in Flint. The $7.5 million released initially is providing temporary employment for eligible individuals to assist with recovery work, as well as offer career and training services to help them find permanent work.

* SBA provided approximately $400,000 in additional funding through a number of programs, including $100,000 in Microloan capital, an additional $100,000 available for training and technical assistance to Flint entrepreneurs, a $100,000 increase in existing technical assistance for small businesses in the area, and $100,000 in supplemental funding to the Kettering University Small Business Development Center. SBA also approved a state request for low-interest disaster loans for small businesses within the greater Flint area.

* The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) determined properties may still qualify for FHA-insured mortgage if the individual water purification system meets all Federal, state, and local standards. This helps homebuyers in Flint secure FHA-insured loans.

* HUD allowed $325,000 of an existing lead-paint hazard grant for public housing in Flint to be applied to this crisis.

* Technical and capacity-building assistance to Flint through the White House Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) initiative has been extended through 2016. Co-chaired by HUD and the Domestic Policy Council with the involvement of 19 federal agencies, this program focuses on economic development in economically distressed communities. Flint has a federal team lead embedded in city hall coordinating Federal resources to support the city in three core areas: public safety, blight elimination, and economic development.

Connecting the Community to Public Health Resources and Services

* EPA has partnered with local non-profit organizations on a door-to-door canvassing effort to educate residents on safeguards they should employ to protect themselves from high lead exposure. To date, EPA has collaborated with these organizations to reach more than 10,000 homes.  In addition, EPA staff have made more than 500 visits to approximately 450 locations around Flint to inform and engage residents regarding the federal government's response efforts and related resources.

* HUD, the Flint Housing Commission, and more than a dozen local partners collaborated on a Lead Testing and Informational pilot outreach event.   More than 250 public housing residents participated to learn more about the water situation in Flint, lead testing, available health services, and general public health information.

Building Capacity through National Service

* The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers AmeriCorps, recently announced $1.3 million in new AmeriCorps commitments >www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/national-service-agency-announces-13-million-new-americorps-commitments< to support state and local efforts addressing the water emergency, blight, and public safety in Flint. On May 2, nearly 20 AmeriCorps NCCC members arrived in Flint to support water distribution, resource coordination, and blight elimination efforts. CNCS is expanding Operation AmeriCorps to support a total of 55 AmeriCorps members in the Flint Community School Corps to provide before, during, and after-school and summer learning activities for K-7 grade students, including tutoring, health education, conflict resolution, service-learning, and access to social services. In total, more than 120 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers have been deployed to Flint in response to the water crisis.

MAYOR WALSH, BPHC RELEASE HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

MAYOR WALSH, BPHC RELEASE HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

Report Demonstrates Impact of Changes to Boston's Living Wage Ordinance on the Health of Low Wage Workers

BOSTON - Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined health officials to announce the findings of the Boston Public Health Commission's (BPHC) health impact assessment of Boston's Living Wage Ordinance, highlighting opportunities to strengthen the Living Wage Ordinance by increasing the living wage and expanding the pool of workers protected by the ordinance. "As a city, one of our top priorities is making Boston an equitable and inclusive city for everyone," said Mayor Walsh. "This Health Impact Assessment is another step in the process we're taking to make all of our city's labor and wage laws work for our residents. I thank all of our partners and the Boston Public Health Commission for their work on this report and look forward to our important work ahead to provide our residents with the tools and services they need to become financially empowered." "This report demonstrates Boston's commitment to improving health for all Boston residents and, in particular, achieving health equity by addressing the social determinants of health," said BPHC Executive Director Monica Valdes Lupi. "The living wage ordinance was originally passed almost 20 years ago to give workers a better chance at making a living in Boston. While it may have succeeded initially in achieving its goal, it now falls short." The health impact assessment represents more than a year of in-depth study of Boston's Living Wage Ordinance, engagement with dozens of stakeholders, and an analysis of the relationship between health and socioeconomic status. The analysis examined the relationship between income and health to estimate the benefits of increasing the living wage. The report predicts that an increase from $14 to $17 per hour would create measurable health benefits among living wage workers, including: A 62% drop in persistent sadness and a 30% drop in anxiety; A 30% decrease in the number of residents who suffer from food insecurity and hunger, and an increase in the number of residents who could afford to eat healthier foods; A marked decrease in the number of residents who suffer from chronic conditions, including diabetes (43%), asthma (11.5%) and hypertension (9.5%).   The current ordinance applies to a small number of workers - about 600 - at the bottom of the wage scale. Mayor Walsh and health officials recommend both an expansion of its reach and increased efforts to enforce its implementation, including improved data collection systems. The Walsh Administration and BPHC will use the data collected to better target programs and services, such as job training opportunities, to low wage workers. Officials plan to work with local, private businesses around enforcement and expansion. The project, which is funded through a grant from the Health Impact Project (a joint venture of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), began in November 2014. The living wage ordinance economic analysis was performed by partners at the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. With the city's commitment to economic equity and inclusion, the results offer a better understanding of the connection between health and economic factors, paving the way for changes that could improve the health and well-being of low wage workers. Mayor Walsh, BPHC, City Council and the Advisory Board will continue to fully explore opportunities to expand and strengthen the Living Wage Ordinance. About the Boston Public Health Commission The Boston Public Health Commission, the country's oldest health department, is an independent public agency providing a wide range of health services and programs. It is governed by a seven-member board of health appointed by the Mayor of Boston. Public service and access to quality health care are the cornerstones of our mission - to protect, preserve, and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents, particularly those who are most vulnerable. The Commission's more than 40 programs are grouped into six bureaus: Child, Adolescent & Family Health; Community Health Initiatives; Homeless Services; Infectious Disease; Bureau of Recovery Services; and Emergency Medical Services.

SAUGUS STORE OWNER AND BROTHER SENTENCED FOR TRAFFICKING IN COUNTERFEIT IPHONE COMPONENTS

SAUGUS STORE OWNER AND BROTHER SENTENCED FOR

TRAFFICKING IN COUNTERFEIT IPHONE COMPONENTS

 

BOSTON – Two Peabody men were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for trafficking in counterfeit iPhone components at Accessory Depot, a store in Square One Mall in Saugus. 

 

Mickey Punjabi, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to six months of home incarceration, two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a fine of $7,500.  His brother, Hitesh Punjabi, 33, was sentenced by Judge Casper to three months of home confinement, two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and a fine of $7,500.  Both men were jointly ordered to pay restitution of $114,751 and forfeit assets seized from their home, which includes over $200,000 in cash and cash equivalents.  In January 2016, the men were charged with conspiring to traffick in counterfeit goods, specifically iPhone components that bore Apple trademarks but were not genuine Apple products.  Micky Punjabi, who owned the store, was also charged with trafficking in the counterfeit Apple components.     

 

From December 2010 to February 2015, the Punjabis sold counterfeit Apple merchandise at Accessory Depot.  Micky Punjabi also repaired genuine iPhones using counterfeit components purchased from sources outside the United States and from a supplier within the United States.  Micky Punjabi knew that the goods he was selling were counterfeit, but sold and attempted to sell thousands of pieces of counterfeit merchandise.     

 

At today’s sentencing, Judge Casper stated, “This is a serious crime…[T]here is harm not just to companies involved in terms of their reputation and the integrity of their products but also to the members of the public who bought those products.” 

 

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart of Ortiz’s Cybercrime Unit.

中國旅美青年音樂家胡濱、夏菁交融古箏、吉他

轉載 AACYF

旅美青年音乐家以东西方融合方式完美阐述音乐文化间的联系与归属

在刚刚结束的亚利桑那大学孔子学院与音乐学院中国音乐中心联合主办的《丝路之声》音乐会中，来自中国的青年古筝演奏家夏菁与国际知名青年吉他演奏家胡滨合作的古筝与吉他二重奏首演了其共同改编的两部西班牙音乐经典作品。以中国传统乐器古筝与西洋乐器吉他完美结合的表现形式，向听众展现了不同音乐文化之间的联系与归属。获得了当地主流音乐界人士的高度关注，胡滨和夏菁已收到了西班牙音乐节的邀请，与世界各地知名音乐家同台演出。

当天的音乐会中夏菁与胡滨用古筝与吉他诠释这两部西班牙作品的尝试获得了意想不到的效果。第一首《风景》曲集（Landscapes）的第一乐章《钟声和泉水》（La fuente y la campana）和第二乐章《湖》（El lago）是西班牙作曲家孟普（Federico Mompou）为钢琴创作的独奏曲，其风格受印象派影响，朦胧唯美。第一乐章中古筝清亮的旋律如远处教堂的钟声，与泉水般灵动流淌的吉他声部相互呼应。第二乐章展现了A-B-A曲式结构，其中吉他均匀的十六分音符烘托出宁静的湖面，配合着古筝飘在上面的七度音程，宛如莫奈的画作跃然眼前。

第二首作品是西班牙作曲家法雅（Manuel de Falla）广为人知的《火祭舞》（Danza ritual del fuego），选自轻歌剧《爱的魔力》（El amor brujo）。作为法雅最受欢迎的作品之一，世界各地的音乐家们已将其改编成丰富多样的版本，其中包括钢琴独奏、提琴与钢琴重奏、交响乐队以及吉他二重奏等。

夏菁以中国传统民族乐器古筝富有感染力的左手按弦技法以及戏剧性的按音把祭祀舞蹈的原始与神秘表现得恰当好处。胡滨在其丰富的游学演奏经历中积累了众多的音乐素材，在与夏菁交流了解了古筝的音阶与乐器特性后，几经思考选择了这两首作品作为初次合奏的曲目。在排练过程中，经过两人不断的研究、尝试与磨合终于找到了适用于两种乐器各自特点的演奏方式。古筝在与吉他的第一次合作中碰撞出了精彩的火花。

古筝与吉他的表现形式向听众展现了不同音乐文化之间的联系与归属。虽然来自欧亚大陆东西两个文化，还是不难从其中找到相同点的。历史上阿拉伯人的统治使得西班牙成为了中西方文化交融的温床。其中，弗拉门戈音乐就是受东方文化影响的典型产物。这种音乐风格和中国的西部音乐风格是同源的。正是如此使得古筝在演奏法雅的《火祭舞》时能将其带有古怪趣味的旋律表现得淋漓尽致、恰到好处。

除了上述音乐文化的相通点，印象派风格也是古筝与吉他的另一个桥梁。西班牙作曲家孟普的钢琴独奏曲集《风景》采用了印象派的写作手法，分别对泉水、钟声以及湖面进行了描述。印象派音乐源于法国，以德彪西和拉威尔为代表，其中借鉴了大量的东方音乐元素。《风景》曲集中所描绘的意境不难让我们想起中国的古乐和写意画。尽管采用西方的作曲手法，其效果与中国的音乐有着异曲同工之妙。尤其当古筝演奏作品中五声调式的时候，她所散发出来的空灵气质带给观众一种文化回归的体验。

青年古筝演奏家夏菁，中国音乐学院古筝专业研究生毕业，现任教于亚利桑那大学孔子学院，在推动中国民族音乐等方面，进行了卓有成效的尝试。受到当地音乐界人士和学生的喜爱。

旅美古典吉他演奏家胡滨，2012年在奥地利吉他演奏家马克塔玛友教授的指导下以满分获得了萨尔茨堡莫扎特音乐表演大学的硕士学位。2013年获得美国亚利桑那大学全额奖学金攻读古典吉他演奏博士学位，同时任教於该校。

胡滨是2014年美国图森吉他大赛冠军，2016年大卫罗素巴赫奖得主。曾获得格莱美奖的着名吉他演奏家大卫罗素作为此奖项的创办者在听了胡滨的现场演奏後作出了如下评价：“胡滨的演奏充满力量，令人信服，是我所听到的这首奏鸣曲最好的演奏版本之一。”

作为当今中国最前线的古典吉他学术研究者之一，胡滨关於巴赫的学术研究及音乐会等活动均由美国北方信托银行艺术家基金会赞助。此奖项是美国亚利桑那州为艺术家设立的最具影响力的奖项。（AACYF洛杉矶讯）

Partial Citizenship Fee Waiver Announced!

Partial Citizenship Fee Waiver Announced!

Boston, MA- This morning USCIS announced a proposed rule to adjust their fee schedule. The proposal states that the Department of Homeland Security will increase the overall fee from $595 to $640, and will charge a reduced fee of $320 for naturalization applicants with family income between 150 and 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

About 1 million of the 8.8 million people who are eligible for citizenship will be eligible for the partial fee waiver. This includes over 22,000 individuals in Massachusetts. In the past, we have seen that a significant portion of the state’s working poor have been unable to overcome the financial barriers to citizenship. With this proposed expansion of the fee waiver, citizenship will no longer be limited to those who are well to do, or have low enough incomes to qualify for the full fee waiver. The partial fee waiver will give thousands in the Commonwealth the opportunity to become a part of this nation and to participate in our vibrant democracy.     

“The new partial fee waiver will mean millions of people are no longer restricted from obtaining citizenship, but instead it will give a diverse and hardworking group of people the opportunity to integrate into our communities and pursue their American dreams,” said Eva Millona, Executive Director of the MIRA Coalition, and Co-Chair of the National Partnership of New Americans (NPNA), which has long lobbied for this change. “We are so pleased to hear the announcement, and are looking forward to the implementation of this change and the positive impact this will have, not only in our communities, but for immigrant communities across the U.S.”

For years, MIRA has been working with the National Partnership for New Americans to push for increased access to citizenship for the working poor. The MIRA Coalition holds clinics where specially trained volunteers help qualified immigrants fill out the appropriate paperwork to apply for U.S. Citizenship. "We see so many people come to our clinics who work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. They are not eligible for the fee waiver, but have to choose between paying rent and paying the $595 application fee,” said Ms. Millona.“We are excited to be able to provide the partial fee waiver option to those in our community who desperately need it."
Fee changes will be open for public comment over the summer, and are set to be implemented in the beginning of fiscal year 2017. (By MIRA）

「極至體能舞蹈團」5月初起赴美、加地區10城市巡演

僑務委員會、外交部、文化部、教育部、客家委員會、原住民族委員會、教育部體育署及交通部觀光局等國內相關部會共同遴派國內藝文團體「FOCA福爾摩沙馬戲團」及「極至體能舞蹈團」支援「2016年北美地區臺灣傳統週」活動，其中「極至體能舞蹈團」將於5月4日起巡迴美、加10個城市，為推廣臺灣多元文化貢獻心力。

　　「臺灣傳統週」是從Taiwanese American Heritage Week英譯而來，屬於美國「亞裔傳統月（Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month）」之一環，經美國前總統柯林頓宣布於每年5月第2週舉行，其目的係為促進文化交流並增進北美主流社會對移民的瞭解及重視，發展至今已成為北美地區僑社的年度盛事。僑務委員會為協助僑界舉辦相關慶祝活動，歷年來均邀集國內相關部會共同遴選國內優質藝文團體前往北美地區支援演出，同時提供文宣展品，以豐富各地活動內容，增進美加兩國人民對臺灣多元、優質文化更進一步的認識。

　　此次「極至體能舞蹈團」訪演主題為「花曲舞影（Dancing Flower）」，以蘊含「花」元素的臺灣傳統民謠，如：六月茉莉、雨夜花、孤戀花、望春風等作為舞蹈主軸，並透過融合傳統服裝秀、布袋戲、歌仔戲、戲劇之巧妙編創及古典、RAP、爵士的多元曲風演繹臺灣族群融合、表現中西文化交流，期藉由「花曲」與「舞影」交融的多元文化展演，讓美加地區觀眾對臺灣有更深的認識！

　　「極至體能舞蹈團」創立於1997年，舞團作品風格頗具多元特色，如充滿臺灣意象風格的〈掌中芭蕾〉、〈狂野台〉；戲劇融合舞蹈表演風格的〈背包客〉、〈瘋狂運動會〉。經常獲邀於國際舞蹈節，如：法國馬恩河谷舞蹈節、印度Interface舞蹈節、澳洲Mirranu Arts Festival、巴黎世界文化週等演出。此次支援「2016年北美地區臺灣傳統週」活動，將於5月5日至5月30日間巡迴於邁阿密、休士頓、亞特蘭大、華府、紐約、波士頓、多倫多及蒙特婁等10個城市演出12場次，期透過饒富創意的現代舞蹈展現我優質的民俗文化，並使僑界及主流人士體驗我國令人驚艷的文化軟實力。

　　波士頓地區本年由紐英崙廣東同鄉總會及紐英崙中華總會共同主辦，誠摯邀請各界人士共同參與「2016年北美地區臺灣傳統週」活動，波士頓地區將於5月26日(星期四)晚上7時假華埠昆士學校演出,地址：The Josiah Quincy School  885  Washington St. Boston, MA 02111   請洽波士頓華僑文教服務中心電話:617-965-8801，並可上僑務委員會網站www.ocac.gov.tw查詢。

Surging Wave Symposium （Pictures）

波士頓同源會會長李徐慕蓮（右）和李衛新（左）為開幕致詞。
（周菊子攝）

哈佛座談“書寫當代中國” （圖片）

書寫當代中國：余華，歐陽江河，梁鴻，李娟，顏歌 Writing Contemporary China: A Forum with Five Leading Chinese Writers Yu Hua, Ouyang Jianghe, Liang Hong, Li Juan, Yan Ge, with special guest Ha Jin

Date: 

Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 4:00pm to 5:30pm

See also:

Location: 

Tsai Auditorium | CGIS South | 1730 Cambridge Street | Cambridge, MA

書寫當代中國：余華，歐陽江河，梁鴻，李娟，顏歌

This forum will be conducted in Chinese. 此演讲会以汉语来进行。

Special Guest: 哈金 Ha Jin (波士顿大学 Boston University)

Host: Prof. 王德威 David Der-wei Wang (哈佛大学 Harvard University)