Nibun Chorus, an indigenous choir from Kaohsiung, on Sunday won a gold medal at the Tokyo International Choir Competition, despite political interference by Chinese representatives.
Nibun Chorus won the gold medal in the folklore music category of the three-day event, with a total of 95.9 points against fellow Kaohsiung choir Bukulavu Children Art Troupe and Nantou County’s Sinapalan Bunun Children’s Choir, as well as seven other choirs from around the world.
Sunday’s victory followed an incident that started the day before involving the recognition of Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Nibun Chorus via CNA
In the middle of the second day of the competition, event organizers asked Taiwanese teams if they would consent to the removal of the Taiwanese national flag at the event and to compete as “Chinese Taipei.”
The Nibun Chorus conductor wrote on Facebook that the organizers suddenly announced during their practice that after “receiving a complaint,” it was asking Taiwan to take down its official flag and that teams from Taiwan would be announced as competing from “Chinese Taipei.”
The teams had been announced as from Taiwan during the first two days, he added.
Although the organizers “asked” Taiwan about the changes, the request did not seem reasonable, which was why the choir contacted the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan for assistance, he said.
The office said it approached the competition organizers late on Saturday to address the incident.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), who accompanied Taiwan’s choirs, as well as Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council Chairman Keiji Furuya, voiced opposition to the changes with the organizers.
Nevertheless, on Sunday, the organizers announced the three Taiwanese choirs as coming from “Chinese Taipei,” but decided to remove the flags of all competing countries, not just Taiwan.
Teams from Taiwan had been using the name “Taiwan” since the competition’s inception in 2018. On the event’s official Web site, Taiwanese choirs are still identified with the Taiwan national flag.
Upon being named the winner of the folklore music category, members of Nibun Chorus made a gesture with their hands in front of their chests similar to what Taiwanese baseball player Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) did in November last year after hitting a home run that turned out to be crucial to Taiwan’s victory at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12.
“There are no words there, but everyone gets it,” one member of the Taiwan baseball team said at the time, referencing the lack of “Taiwan” on the nation’s uniforms when competing at the Premier12 final in Tokyo last year.
The name “Chinese Taipei” has been commonly used to refer to Taiwanese teams in international sports events, especially at the Olympics and in sports in the Olympic family since 1981.
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