The final round of Radio Taiwan International’s (RTI) annual Mandarin speech contest for foreign nationals is to take place on Saturday next week in Taipei, but fans can cast votes online for their favorites now.
Twenty individuals and groups have been selected for the final round of the competition, in which they will show off their Mandarin skills to vie for the top prize of NT$100,000.
Votes can be cast at the event’s Web site — events.rti.org.tw/ajax/2014/2014speech/en.aspx — through Saturday next week. The contestant who receives the most Internet votes will win a separate prize of NT$10,000.
This year’s competition brought nearly 100 contestants to the stage to give speeches on the theme “All Walks of Life,” with contestants selecting and role-playing a profession in Taiwan, RTI said.
Contestants came dressed as traffic police, taxi drivers, fruit vendors, pilots, weather anchors, cleaners and other jobs that they felt defined Taiwan.
RTI has been hosting the speech contest for foreign residents in Taiwan since 2004, but this year was the first time the event has been expanded to include non-residents.
Contestants from all over the world were required to submit an audition video for the preliminaries, with the finalists heading to Taipei to compete in person.
In addition to the prizes for the first-place and Internet vote winners, the second-place winner will receive NT$50,000 and the third-place winner will be given NT$30,000.
The Hanguang Education Foundation, a co-organizer of the contest, said the 20 who make it to the finals will also be eligible for a poetry recital competition offering a top prize of NT$30,000.
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