Opinions

A Dialogue Through Lieder-Singing: Diao Ke Bridges East and West in Vienna

On 1.October 2026, the historic Palais Pálffy in Vienna became the setting for a musical dialogue between China and Austria. Presented by the Golden July Music Festival Vienna, the Vocal Recital with German and Chinese Art Songs on China’s National Day was dedicated to China as well as 55 years of diplomatic relations between Austria and China. The evening featured Chinese tenor Prof. Diao Ke, Welsh tenor Steffan Mullan, and pianist Byron Yue. The program placed the Lieder of Hugo Wolf alongside Chinese art songs by Huang Zi, Ma Sicong, Lu Zaiyi and Ding Shande, creating a fascinating encounter between…

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Remarks by the UN Secretary- General António Guterres to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the International Court of Justice 

Your Majesty, Mr. President, Distinguished Judges, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Moments of crisis are moments of choice.  They reveal who we are – and what we stand for. Today, we come together in the quiet dignity of a city that is synonymous with justice and international law. But it is easy to forget the world of eighty years ago. Europe – and far beyond – lay in ruins. The Hague itself was scarred and shaken. And yet, in that dark and difficult moment, world leaders made a defining choice. A choice to reject a future ruled by coercion and violence…