A Real-life Taiwan Amis Parallel to the New Zealand Maori Story in the Movie Whale Rider

The movie, Whale Rider, centers around the fictional story of an Austronesian Maori Chief who raises his granddaughter because his son, a fine art sculptor, leaves the troubles of the local Maori village with its fading culture for the big cities of Europe after the death of his wife and son in child-birth. His art is a union of traditional Maori sculpture with ultramodern art. Due to the efforts of the granddaughter to preserve Maori culture and renew the family and village, the son eventually comes back to the village and becomes reconciled with his heritage.

Following is an article by Jerome Keating, author of several books on Taiwan including Island in the Stream: A Quick Case Study of Taiwan's Complex History, Taiwan: The Search for Identity, Taiwan: The Struggles of a Democracy, and The Mapping of Taiwan.

Keating writes of Yosifu, an Austronesia Amis artist from Taiwan who also heads to Europe to make a name for himself through his art. Unlike the fictional character, Yosifu actively promotes his culture and homeland. He also comes back to encourage his community.
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A growing grassroots movement

Arts may be giving more people a reason to volunteer

By Jerome Keating  /  Contributing reporter

Yosifu recently completed a workshop with Amis youth from Taitung County.

Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Cultural & Creative Platform Foundation

Yosifu, a fine arts painter and Amis Aborigine, has just completed an art workshop for some of Taitung’s Aboriginal youth.

“I came back [to Taiwan] and did it because I wanted to give back to my people and help other indigenous artists develop,” he told the Taipei Times.

Yosifu, who lives in Edinburgh, promotes Taiwan’s indigenous culture throughout Europe.

As one of the first Taiwanese Aborigines to achieve international artistic success and recognition, he typifies the need for involvement at the grassroots level.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples and government agencies can set policies and hold conferences such as the recent 2013 International Austronesian Conference, but the level, extent and degree to which policies and actions are carried out often depends more on people at the grassroots level. Fortunately, in Taiwan that level is increasing.

There’s no one event or phenomenon that triggered this recent grassroots surge of involvement, though the increased use and ability of Facebook, YouTube and other social media may be a factor. In addition, art is a common denominator in many of the new grassroots projects.

Elise Tseng (曾珮貞) left a career in the art industry in 2011 to take charge of the Taiwan Cultural & Creative Platform Foundation.

“I saw that despite Taiwan having many artists, [art] had not yet touched and explored its basic base, namely its indigenous people,” Tseng said.

Her foundation sponsors workshops such as the one held by Yosifu. After researching Australian models of promoting indigenous culture, Tseng and the foundation used them to organize art and festivals.

Read more...

Book Showing Ancient Austronesian Motifs Used in Contemporary Products

This book can be purchased at the Taiwan Shop across from National Taiwan University in Taipei.

Greatly inspiring story...

A free Taiwan continues to be a nation of innovation.

This from the Taipei Times, October 9, 2013:

"A local biotechnology company in Greater Taichung on Monday said it has developed paper cups that are resistant to high temperatures, acid and alkaline solutions...

...Chang Ching-wen (張靜文), the owner of a paper cup manufacturing company, has conducted research and development on high temperature, acid and alkaline-resistant paper cups.

Since traditional paper cups provide no resistance to high temperatures, acid or alkaline, many people inadvertently consume plasticizer released from the cups when the liquid they contain is too hot, Chang said...

...The cups can be placed in a microwave and are also acid and alkaline-resistant. They are 40 percent lighter than ordinary paper cups and their decomposition rate can exceed 97 percent. Chang said the cup has obtained patents from up to 100 countries and received SGS and US Food and Drug Administration certifications."

Read more...

Looks like a good healthy environmentally responsible product. (So different from what you get across the strait.)

Countering brainwashing

From the Taipei Times, August 16. Note that at the end of the article a different case is cited where an Austronesian singer was pressured into saying that she is from China, Taipei, Pingtung County.  How can an Austronesian verbally give up Taiwan, THE AUSTRONESIAN HOMELAND, to Chinese in China?  Answer:  brainwashing by the KMT derived education system in Taiwan.
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Dancers proud of national identity

By Wang Jung-hsiang and Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer.

China’s rise has attracted an increasing number of Taiwanese entertainers and businesspeople to the world’s second-largest economy, and while some are willing to gain fame and fortune at the expense of their national identity, an 11-year-old professional ballroom dancer and her father say nothing is worth such sacrifice.

Cheng Yu-hsin (鄭玉歆) has been dubbed the “little ballroom dancing diva” after she staged a duo performance with her father, Cheng Chu-hung (鄭竹宏), also a professional ballroom dancer, on a Taiwanese talent show and bagged the championship.

Cheng Yu-hsin started learning ballroom dancing at the age of six and won her first medal at age eight.

Over the course of the past three years, the 11-year-old has added more than 200 medals to her list of accolades, including six gold medals at this year’s World Chinese Cup International Standard Dance Transnational Invitational.

However, the Chengs faced a crossroad in December last year when they were invited to perform in a Chinese talent show, China’s Got Talent (中國達人秀), in Shanghai.

“Everything had gone smoothly until a few minutes before my husband and daughter were supposed to go on stage,” Cheng Chu-hung’s wife, Huang Tzu-ling (黃子玲), said earlier this week.

“The show’s director and some staff suddenly asked them to say in the preview to their performance that they came from ‘China, Kaohsiung’ (中國高雄), otherwise the part featuring them could be edited out,” Huang said.

Huang added that the director also tried to persuade them by saying repeatedly that they stood a good chance of getting the judges’ approval and that they could even earn the opportunity to launch a performance tour.

Although making an appearance on the show would have guaranteed them a shot at fame, the father and daughter decided to follow their hearts and tell the live audience that “we come from Taiwan Kaohsiung,” Huang said.

Huang said the statement apparently displeased the program’s director and staff members, as of the four judges on the talent show — including Taiwanese singer Annie Yi (伊能靜), Hong Kong superstar Leon Lai (黎明) and two Chinese entertainers — only Yi gave the Chengs her approval, while one of them even blatantly told the pair that “he simply doesn’t want to give them his approval.”

“The incident involving Aboriginal Taiwanese singer Yeh Wei-ting’s (葉瑋庭) made me realize the predicaments faced by most Taiwanese entertainers wanting to make a name for themselves in China, but I’m glad I chose to stick to my beliefs,” Cheng Chu-hung said.

Cheng Chu-hung was referring to the controversial statement Yeh made last month on the Chinese talent show The Voice of China (中國好聲音), in which she said she came from “China Taipei Pingtung District” (中國台北屏東區).    August 16, 2013

Why it is important to preserve endangered languages

Taiwan Austronesian Choir in North American Concert Tour

This choir will be performing in San Diego on 8/10/2013 at 2 pm. Who wants to go hear them perform with us? 

8/10 SAT 2:00pm 
雅歌堂基督教會 
House of Praise Evangelical Church of San Diego 
511 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas, CA 92024