After the biggest manhunt in Minnesota history, authorities have detained 57-year-old Vance Boelter, who is accused of fatally shooting democratic lawmaker and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their Minnesota home early on Saturday in what authorities say were politically motivated assassinations. He is also accused of wounding state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in a separate shooting.

“Melissa Hortman was an outstanding leader that was very loved and respected by many people, and what this means for us is that we lost a leader that was very important to us,” says Patricia Torres Ray, a former Minnesota state senator and a former colleague of both Hortman and Hoffman.

Police say they found three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9mm handgun and a hit list written by the gunman that contained the names of about 70 people, including prominent Democratic lawmakers and abortion providers and advocates. Flyers for Saturday’s No Kings rallies were also found, prompting many organizers in Minnesota to cancel their protests.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Fifteen artists have been selected as the inaugural beneficiaries of NZ On Air’s New Music Pan-Asian funding.

The initiative, the first of its kind, aims to support the Asian music community in New Zealand.

The fund was established due to a lack of equitable representation of Asian musicians in the country’s music sector, says Teresa Patterson, head of music at NZ On Air.

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“Our Music Diversity Report clearly showed the under-representation of Pan-Asian New Zealand musicians in the Aotearoa music sector,” she said.

“This is reflected in the number of funding applications we received for this focus round.”

The funding provides musicians with up to $10,000 for recording, mixing and mastering a single, some of which can be set aside for the promotion and creation of visual content to accompany the song’s release.

“We received 107 applications for 15 grants, which is outstanding,” Patterson said.

‘Wonderful range’
“The range of genre, gender and ethnicity among the applicants was wonderful. We received applications from artists who identify as Chinese, Indian, Filipino, South Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Thai and Iraqi.

“The genres varied from alternative/indie and pop to hip-hop/RnB, dance/electro and folk/country.”

Six of the 15 songs that secured funding are bilingual, featuring Asian languages such as Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Malay and Punjabi.

Patterson believed this variety would “really help to reflect the many voices of Aotearoa New Zealand” and add to the vibrant cultural music mix experienced by local audiences.

Swap Gomez, a drummer, visual director and academic lecturer, was one of the panel members responsible for selecting the musicians for the funding. He emphasised the challenges faced by Asian musicians in New Zealand.

“What was awesome to see was so many Pan-Asian artists applying; artists we had never heard of coming out of the woodwork now that a space has been created to celebrate their work,” Gomez said.

“This is the time we can celebrate those Pan-Asian artists who have previously felt overlooked by the wider industry.

“Now there is an environment and sector where they can feel appreciated for their success in music. As a multicultural industry, developing initiatives such as this one is more crucial than ever.”

NZ On Air has announced that funding opportunities for Asian musicians will continue in the next financial year.

“The response we have had to this inaugural NZ On Air New Music Pan-Asian focus funding round has been phenomenal,” Patterson said.

“It tells us that there is a real need, so NZ On Air is excited to confirm that it will return in the new financial year.”

The full NZ On Air’s Pan-Asian New Music recipient list:

• Amol; cool asf
• Charlotte Avery; just before you go
• Crystal Chen; love letter
• hanbee; deeper
• Hans.; Porcelain
• Hugo Chan; bite
• Julius Black; After You
• LA FELIX; Waiting
• Lauren Gin; Don’t Stop
• Memory Foam; Moon Power
• Phoebe Rings; 아스라이
• RESHMA; Kuih Lapis (Layer Cake)
• tei.; sabre
• Terrible Sons; Thank You, Thank You
• Valere; Lily’s March

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Gao Yan, 19, died by suicide while at his parental home in the northern province of Hebei, where he had gone to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time dedicated to family reunions.

Gao, who came first in a province-wide dance examination, had performed several times at the Spring Festival gala performance for state broadcaster CCTV in February, and who had already won a prestigious dance award, was about to begin his junior year majoring in dance at the Shandong University of Arts.

"There are suspicions that he had been bullied and suppressed by his class teacher for some time prior to his death," a report on the Chinese news portal Sina.com said.

"An investigative team has gone to Shandong University of Arts hoping to find out the truth and make some account on behalf of this beautiful youth."

"He loved his major and loved to dance so much ... and had promised his friends he would work hard for the postgraduate entrance examinations, and he had the potential to become a future dance star," the article said.

"Why is the school procrastinating? Was Gao Yan's suicide caused by [issues in] his family of origin, or [homophobic] discrimination by his class teacher?"

"Everyone should stay calm and wait for the team to investigate," it said.

A post on the Wikipedia-like site Zhihu said the main reason Gao had been ostracized and suppressed by his class teacher was his sexual orientation.

"While same-sex marriage has not been legalized in our country, these groups still exist, and none of them have been declared illegal," the post said. "So you may not accept or understand them, but I hope you can learn to respect them."

"It's not as if they are affecting your daily life."

Gao's parents were seen in one video circulating on social media weeping and calling for an explanation from the school.

"We are from the countryside, and we have been here for eight days," Gao's father tells the camera. "Now we are waiting here for a statement, and we can't say anything."

"The school just keeps trying to avoid any responsibility, so we don't know what to do now; there's nothing we can do," he says.

Their comments drew a stinging rebuke from Li Jun, dean of dance at the Shandong University of Arts, who accused them of trying to profit from Gao's death.

Screenshots from Gao's chat history showed an exchange with his class teacher Zhang Dalu, in which Zhang tells Gao he's going to be assigned to a "low-quality" class for his junior year, despite his excellent performance and achievements to date.

A group of Gao's classmates also took to social media, speaking out on Zhang's behalf, saying "we believe our teacher, whom we know better than any of you."

Homophobia remains common

Some online reports suggested that Zhang had mocked Gao's sexual orientation with quips about a gender reassignment operation in Thailand.

A gay man who went to university in Shandong and gave only the surname Chen said homophobia is still fairly common in higher education in China.

"My classmates would often make fun of LGBT people, and [I would] feel uncomfortable after hearing it," Chen said.

Pan Zhigang, a member of the banned China Democracy Party currently living in Los Angeles, who is also a gay man, said growing intolerance of sexual minorities is directly linked to a change in official attitudes since ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

"They're not tolerant; they view such minorities as something alien," Pan told RFA. "This will always exist in a tyrannical system, and will never be absent from an authoritarian system."

LGBT+ groups have been increasingly moving away from the public sphere amid growing political restrictions on public speech under Xi Jinping.

In October 2021, LGBT Rights Advocacy China (also known as Queer Advocacy Online) announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts.

The group had campaigned for LGBT+ rights, including same-sex marriage, and its founder Peng Yanzi once went undercover at an electroshock "conversion therapy" facility, successfully suing it.

It had also brought landmark cases to the court, including those granting custody rights to non-traditional families.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Sun Cheng for RFA Mandarin.