Kaohsiung choir wins Tokyo choir competition despite disruption from China

Tokyo, July 28 (CNA) Nibun Chorus, an Indigenous singing group from Kaohsiung, won a gold medal on Sunday at a Tokyo choir competition, despite disruptive actions by China to interfere with Taiwan's national identity and sovereignty during the event.

Nibun Chorus won the gold in the folklore music section of the three-day Tokyo International Choir Competition with a total of 95.9 points against fellow Kaohsiung choir Bukulavu Children Art Troupe and Nantou County's group Sinapalan Bunun Children's Choir, as well as seven other choirs from around the world.

The victory of the Kaohsiung choir came following an incident that started on Saturday involving the recognition of Taiwan.

In the middle of the second day of the competition on Saturday, Taiwan's teams were asked if they were okay with having their flag removed and their name changed to Chinese Taipei after organizers of the event received a complaint from China.

In a Facebook post by the conductor of Nibun Chorus, organizers suddenly announced during their practice that, after "receiving a complaint," Taiwan's official flag was asked to be taken down and that teams from Taiwan would be announced as competing from "Chinese Taipei."

The conductor added that the team had been announced as from Taiwan during the first two days before the announcement.

He said that while the Japanese organizers had "asked" Taiwan's permission for 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.

Following the announcement, the office said it approached the competition's organizers late Saturday to address the incident.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), who accompanied Taiwan's choirs, as well as Chairman Keiji Furuya of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council -- who is also a member of the Japanese House of Representatives -- spoke with the competition's organizers against the changes as well.

In the end, however, organizers still decided to announce the three Taiwanese choirs that competed on Sunday as coming from "Chinese Taipei," but decided to remove the flags of all competing countries.

On the name change, teams from Taiwan had been using the name "Taiwan" since the competition's inception in 2018.

The name Chinese Taipei has been commonly used to refer to Taiwan in international sports events, especially at the Olympics and in sports in the Olympic family since 1981.

Upon being named the winner of the folklore music section, members of Nibun Chorus made a gesture across their chest that was akin to what Taiwanese baseball player Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) did in November last year after batting a homer that was crucial to Taiwan's victory at the 2024 WBSC Premier12.

According to a member of the group, "There're no words there, but everyone gets it," referencing the lack of "Taiwan" in the nation's uniforms when competing at the Premier12 finals in Tokyo last year.

Additionally, event organizers made two versions of the winning certificates for Nibun, with one saying "Taiwan" and the other saying "Chinese Taipei."

Moreover, "Taiwan" and its official flag remain unchanged on the competition's English and Japanese websites as of press time.