Hundreds of migrant workers along with their labor brokers and employers on Sunday gathered at an annual competition in Taoyuan to promote friendship through music and dance.
More than 300 people from local companies and employment agencies cheered on their favorite groups, who competed in the finals of the singing, instrumental and dance categories at the Taoyuan Foreign Workers Talent Contest.
Goldhome International Manpower and Management Co promotes the contest by helping its migrant workers register for the event and organize practice sessions, company deputy manager Lin Yu-ju (林育如) said.
“We encourage our migrant workers to take part in this competition, because it provides a stage for them to express themselves, in addition to allowing people to understand their culture through dance and music,” she said. “It also allows migrant workers to better integrate into Taiwanese society, as many of them choose to compete by singing songs in Mandarin.”
Two groups of Filipino competitors from Goldhome International clinched top prizes. The E-Boyz dance crew received NT$15,000 for winning first place in the dance category and the E-Boyz band received NT$14,000 for first place in instrumental.
Both groups expressed their gratitude to the employment agency for its support.
A manager from AU Optronics Corp said that the firm also views the competition as a valuable experience for its migrant workers.
“We encourage our employees to participate in these activities and we have been bringing them here for many years,” said the human resources senior specialist, identified only as Amanda.
First prize in the singing category went to 29-year-old Philippine machine operator Garidos Luciano Jr Hibaya, who works for an electronics company in Taoyuan. He received a trophy and a cash prize of NT$14,000.
The competition, now in its fifth year, aims to promote friendship by helping migrant workers feel at home, while also encouraging employers to create friendly working environments, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said.
The contest gave out a total of NT$157,200 in prizes.
Preliminary judging was held on June 29, when migrant workers from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand competed, with participating 84 in the singing category, 46 in dance and six in instrumental.
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