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China Shuts Down Notorious Army Song-And-Dance Troupe

China's First Lady Peng Liyuan singing in 2009
China's First Lady Peng Liyuan singing in 2009

Chinese President Xi Jinping's glamorous singer wife Peng Liyuan used to perform with them. But so too did less reputable women, including several who became the center of public scandals. Now, after more than six decades of service, the Chinese People's Liberation Song and Dance Troupe has been disbanded, reports Taiwanese newspaper China Times.

Founded in 1953, the troupe's main mission was to boost PRC army morale and entertain the Chinese public with propaganda songs touting the Communist Party. But it was revealed in recent years that some of its top stars lived in villas and drove luxurious cars, which contrasted with the lifestyle and salaries of ordinary military officials.

One singer in particular achieved notoriety. Tang Can, a singer from the central province of Hubei, joined the troupe only to help it gain a reputation as a breeding ground for corruption and debauchery. Her name was linked with Zhou Yongkang, the former head of the Chinese security apparatus, who became the first Politburo Standing Committee member since the founding of the People's Republic of China to be tried and convicted on corruption-related charges. Known as the "military enchantress", Tang has since disappeared from view.

According to New York-based Chinese-language NTDTV channel, the troupe's dissolution is partly due to Xi's plan to downsize the army, but is also meant as a response to some female members' involvement in "improper relationships" or dealings with corrupt officials and businessmen. Some referred to the song-and-dance outfit as a "harem" for high officials that supplied party bigwigs with "warm beds."

NTDTV said that it was not at all surprising that this very public stage of the People's Liberation Army became the first target of President Xi's military reform, which is said to include the reduction of some 300,000 non-combat military personnel.

China's current First Lady Peng Liyuan has long been a popular national singer, and once a member of the troupe early in her career. She later served as the commander of the troupe before her husband became the Communist Party chairman.

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Society

How Argentina Is Changing Tactics To Combat Gender Violence

Argentina has tweaked its protocols for responding to sexual and domestic violence. It hopes to encourage victims to report crimes and reveal information vital to a prosecution.

A black and white image of a woman looking at a memorial wall in Argentina.

A woman looking at a memorial wall in Argentina.

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Mara Resio

BUENOS AIRES - In the first three months of 2023, Argentina counted 116 killings of women, transvestites and trans-people, according to a local NGO, Observatorio MuMaLá. They reveal a pattern in these killings, repeated every year: most femicides happen at home, and 70% of victims were protected in principle by a restraining order on the aggressor.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Now, legal action against gender violence, which must begin with a formal complaint to the police, has a crucial tool — the Protocol for the Investigation and Litigation of Cases of Sexual Violence (Protocolo de investigación y litigio de casos de violencia sexual). The protocol was recommended by the acting head of the state prosecution service, Eduardo Casal, and laid out by the agency's Specialized Prosecution Unit for Violence Against Women (UFEM).

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