Difang (
"My father had been suffering from diabetes in recent years," Difang's son, Chiang Chin-hsing (
Difang, of Taiwan's Amis tribe, gained global recognition for his wide vocal range and his memorable tune, A Drinking Song for the Elders, after the German music group Enigma sampled it for use in its hit track Return to Innocence. The song made such an impression that it eventually was used as the theme song for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and was included in its commemorative CD.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
However, Diafang was far from impressed to learn that Enigma was making serious money from his original song, which was used without obtaining his prior consent.
"On behalf of Difang, we, the Magic Stone Music Co, took [Enigma's] recording company to court the same year [1996] for violating intellectual property rights," said Magic Stone's spokeswoman Elai-ne Hsiung (熊儒賢), who had worked with Difang on the production of his albums.
According to Hsiung, the lawsuit was resolved in Difang's favor in 1999, after the parties settled out of court. In the settlement, Enigma's recording company agreed to compensate Difang financially.
"Winning was very meaningful to Difang," Hisung said, "because it realized Difang's wish, which was to make known to the whole world that the voice behind the enchanting 1996 Atlantic Games' theme song was that of a member of Taiwan's Amis tribe."
"Difang's voice was indeed a voice of innocence," Hsiung said. "A voice that is an almost unworldly combination of pride and free-spiritedness and an outpouring of truth and beauty that touches peoples' hearts."
"Difang was considered a national treasure for his great contribution to Taiwan," said independent legislator May Chin (
"Not just because he introduced Taiwan's Aboriginal music to the world stage through his exceptional voice," Chin said, "but also because he was wholeheartedly behind the promotion of Taiwan's Aboriginal cultures."
Hsiung echoed Chin's remarks.
"Out of a sense of mission and cultural expectation," Hsiung said, "Difang made numerous world tours to countries like France and Japan and enjoyed giving public performances."
Difang released two solo albums named Circle of Life and Across The Yellow Earth in 1998 and last year respectively. He was also involved in the production of several other Aboriginal recordings.
"Without doubt, it is fair to say that Difang was a pioneer of Taiwan's Aboriginal music," Hsiung said. "It was because of him that Aboriginal youngsters such as Wang Hung-en (王宏恩) and Chen Chien-nien (陳建年) gained the courage to begin singing careers."
"Difang's death is a great loss to Taiwan's Aborigines and to Taiwan's cultural reservoir," Chin said. "We'll never again hear a voice quite as haunting as his again."
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS