Smile Taiwan (微笑台灣) celebrates a decade of spotlighting Taiwanese musicians tomorrow afternoon with an outdoor concert at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914).
This year’s lineup includes rock group Wonfu Jr (小旺福, formerly known as Wonfu), Pau-dull (陳建年, better known as Chen Jian-nian), Yan Yung-neng (嚴詠能) and Takaorun (打狗亂歌團) and Beautiful Haiyan (美麗心民謠). All the acts have been nominated for or won Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎).
The event was launched in 2002 by the publishers of Commonwealth Magazine (天下雜誌) as part of their 319 Townships (319鄉) program, which promotes tourism to off-the-beaten-path locations throughout the country.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
“We want to let Taiwan shine,” 319 Townships director Wang Sheng-feng (王聖鳳) says.
Smile Taiwan’s organizers look for groups that play lively, upbeat music.
“We want bands that are exciting, but at the same time we also look for ones that create a warm, welcoming atmosphere,” Wang says.
Wonfu Jr’s newest album, Flying to You, Flying to Me (飛向你飛向我), was inspired by the group’s 2009 visit to the Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon, where girls aged eight to 18 were encouraged to explore different styles of music ranging from heavy metal to country. After returning to Taiwan, the group added “Jr” to its name to pay tribute to the rocking youngsters. Released last month, Flying to You, Flying to Me is intended to expand the musical horizons of its young listeners, with tracks featuring unusual percussion instruments such as conga drums and tap dance shoes to create a playful sound.
In addition to being an award-winning singer and songwriter, Pau-dull also serves as a policeman in Taitung County. His music combines influences from American folk, blues and jazz with melodies from his Puyuma Aboriginal background.
Beautiful Haiyan’s repertoire also includes traditional Puyuma music, as well as contemporary Aboriginal songs sung in Mandarin.
A folk singer who performs mainly in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Yan and his group Takaorun were the surprise winners of the best Taiwanese-language album award at last year’s Golden Melody Awards ceremony for Ta Yuan I Chia Nung Chu Lai (大員一家農出來).
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
Australia’s ABC last week published a piece on the recall campaign. The article emphasized the divisions in Taiwanese society and blamed the recall for worsening them. It quotes a supporter of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as saying “I’m 43 years old, born and raised here, and I’ve never seen the country this divided in my entire life.” Apparently, as an adult, she slept through the post-election violence in 2000 and 2004 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the veiled coup threats by the military when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president, the 2006 Red Shirt protests against him ginned up by
RSS