Ma praises transformation of Nantou aboriginal village

2015/12/24

President Ma Ying-jeou said Dec. 22 that efforts of the government and local community leaders have transformed Chin-ai Village in Nantou County and improved the lives of many youths in the area.

“The village is now a budding center for violin production as a result of two local elementary school teachers,” Ma said during a visit to the community in central Taiwan. “Their dedication has made a huge difference to the lives of residents.”

According to the president, the teachers Chen Pei-wen and Wang Tzu-chien started offering music lessons to aboriginal students in 2008 using four violins bought with their own money. “The pair later began training locals to produce and repair violins so more of their kith and kin could take lessons,” he said.

As the project expanded, the students founded a string orchestra, which came first in a regional music competition in 2013. This achievement was particularly significant given the relatively scarce resources available to the group at the time.

“The government has also played a key role in the village’s turnaround,” Ma added, citing Ministry of Labor subsidies of NT$4.26 million (US$128,740) for related training programs and marketing campaigns.

Other government initiatives aimed at stimulating the region’s development include NT$1.45 million in accumulated subsidies for providing community services to the elderly.

Inspired by the village’s story, Ma said a Taiwan charity bought 10 of the locally made violins last year and donated them in a show of civic diplomacy to a music school founded by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Later the same day, the president visited Wushe Memorial Park and paid tribute to Mona Rudao, the chieftain who led his Seediq tribesman against Japanese troops during the Wushe Uprising in 1930—the last large-scale battle involving Taiwan indigenous peoples during Japan’s colonial rule (1895-1945).

“As we commemorate the 85th anniversary of the uprising, it is important to look squarely at history rather than provoking racial confrontation,” Ma said. “The government has the utmost appreciation and deepest respect for the sacrifices of these heroes.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=240585&ctNode=2194&mp=9)