Sat, Apr 20, 2002 - Page 11 News List

Washing away vanity

May Chin is best known for her voice and the roles she played on television and in films. But her new role as an aboriginal legislator, her voice has grown stronger

By Yu Sen-lun  /  STAFF REPORTER

"I think I can be the best mouthpiece promoting aboriginal arts and culture," she said as she put on a CD of the aboriginal band The Flying Fish and Cloud Panther Music Collective (飛魚雲豹音樂工團).

"Monday to Friday I work here and the Legislative Yuan. On the weekends, I go around the mountains to deal with tribal problems. This is a very solid and meaningful life," she says.

The only person who's worried about her new job is Chin's sister. "She's a Virgo, type-A blood, a typical perfectionist. I always need to remind her to take a rest during her busy schedule," she said.

From a past as an artist who was all about self-expression, to a politician concerned about her nation and her people, Chin seems to have shed her past ego.

"When I speak for the people, I'm no longer me ... But when I go back to the tribes -- to my childhood village, singing with sister friends -- I'm me again. I seem to have found the things lost in my childhood," Chin said.

So, will Chin go back to show business again? "It's impossible to act, because of the condition of my health. But I will continue singing. Singing is a natural gift for me. I will probably sing more of our traditional songs, rather than pop songs," she said.

May Chin will perform at the Tungpu Fund-raising Concert, co-organized by her office, The Flying Fish and Cloud Panther Music Collective and Tungpu Culture Workshop. The concert will start at 7pm, Monday, April 22 at the National Arts Education Institute, 47 Nan-hai Rd., Taipei.

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