Indigenous choir from Taiwan takes gold at Slovak music festival

Prague, July 26 (CNA) A children's choir from Pingtung County in southern Taiwan recently won four gold medals at the International Youth Music Festival in Slovakia, where they showcased their musical talent and culture to overseas audiences.

The Puzangalan Children's Choir, consisting of Indigenous Paiwan children, impressed both judges and audiences with its pure vocals and emotionally rich performances to take the four gold medals, the Taipei Representative Office in Slovakia said in a statement Saturday.

Following the competition, choir members waved Taiwan's national flag and sang the national anthem alongside Representative to Slovakia Lee Nan-yang (李南陽).

In addition to praise from overseas Taiwanese, many Slovak and European audience members commended the choir's voices and stage presence, and they were also impressed by the children's traditional attire and wondered if the choir would return in the future.

Lee expressed his appreciation to the choir for its longstanding efforts to preserve and promote Taiwan's Indigenous culture through music. Its international success has strengthened cultural and people-to-people ties between Taiwan and Slovakia, he said.

The choir previously won gold in the youth category at the 13th World Peace Choral Festival in Vienna. In recent years, it has gained international acclaim through performances and competitions abroad, including in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.