Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin Presents Ribbons to Cultural Olympics Delegation, Hopes to Let the World See Taiwan
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11. To highlight France's image as a cultural powerhouse, France will organize a "Cultural Olympics" featuring nearly 2,500 cultural and artistic programs before and after the Olympics, fully demonstrating the combination of "strength and beauty." The Taiwanese arts and culture team supported and organized by the Ministry of Culture will set up a dedicated national performance venue in the Parc de la Villette from July 27 to August 10 for 16 consecutive days, with 22 performing groups, more than 120 performers, and 60 performances participating in the Cultural Olympics. Today, Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin specially attended a press conference to present ribbons to the Cultural Olympics national delegation, formally announcing the team's departure to Paris through the presentation of five-colored sashes, with the hope of "letting the world see Taiwan" and providing support to the competing athletes.
Chang Huan-zhen, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and Chief Delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympics; Hong Zhi-chang, Deputy Director-General of the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education; Franck Paris, Director of the French Institute in Taiwan; Tang Dian-wen, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Hong Xiao-jun, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Division of the Ministry of Agriculture; Song Li-ru, Director of the Economic Development Division of the Council of Indigenous Peoples; and Huang Lü-wan, Deputy Director of the Cultural Affairs Transmission Division of the Hakka Affairs Council, attended the event to show support for the Taiwanese team participating in the Paris Cultural Olympics, representing their respective responsibilities in hosting events, as the host country of the Olympics, in diplomacy and material support, as well as team mentorship.
Vice President Hsiao Mei-chin, who specially wore green from the rainbow colors to attend the event, stated: "I have always believed that green leaves set off more beautiful artistic flowers." Hsiao noted that this year marks the 100th anniversary since the last Paris Olympics. Over the past 100 years, showcasing Taiwan—a resilient, diverse, and free island—on the international stage is everyone's honor and carries special significance. In particular, at this Olympics, Taiwan will not only demonstrate the strength and beauty of its athletes on the competition field, but for the first time, will organize a large-scale national team to participate in the Cultural Olympics. Through arts and culture, Taiwan will engage more citizens, infusing the Olympics with intellectual energy. "This is also the most eye-catching highlight of the Paris Olympics," she said.
"Economics makes nations strong, while culture makes them great," Hsiao said. She emphasized that the Ministry of Culture's plan focuses on young and middle-aged artists with small-to-medium-sized ensembles. The performing artists embody Taiwan team's agility, creativity, and professionalism, and will present Taiwan's long-standing beliefs in freedom, equality, ethnic diversity, and thriving maternal languages, as well as Taiwan's sharing of universal values of pluralistic democracy, freedom, and equality with the world—values that align with Olympic competition principles.
During her remarks, Minister of Culture Li Yuan said that upon entering the venue, "my heart was racing," as it signified Taiwan's imminent departure to share cultural arts with nations around the world on the global stage. "The greatest distinction between Taiwan and other nations is freedom and democracy," Li said. Apart from carefully curating a diverse team representing different generations, ethnic groups, languages, cultures, and gender identities at the Paris Cultural Olympics, the Ministry of Culture will also lead nine teams to the Avignon Theatre Festival in Provence, France, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the UK, and the Düsseldorf International Dance Fair in Germany this summer. "Europe will be very Taiwanese this summer, and Taiwan will demonstrate values it shares and supports with the world," Li said. She also expressed hope that through this participation, Taiwan's pathways to Olympic participation become more diverse and expansive, strengthening Taiwan's presence for all athletes and opening the world stage for artists.
Chang Huan-zhen, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and Chief Delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, mentioned that this is his 12th time participating in an Olympic delegation. This time, the Ministry of Culture has been part of the delegation from the start, working on preparations for the Cultural Olympics. He expressed hope that at the Paris Cultural Olympics venue, Taiwan will have a special slogan and gesture. When Taiwanese athletes win medals, the Cultural Olympics venue will simultaneously cheer and encourage all athletes, allowing everyone to witness Taiwan together.
During his remarks, Franck Paris, Director of the French Institute in Taiwan, enthusiastically cheered "Taiwan, go for it!" He said France eagerly anticipates welcoming everyone, noting "we know Taiwan's athletes are ready" and will wear very impressive team uniforms. "The world will see Taiwan in Paris and will celebrate together when medals are won," he said.
The 16-day series of performances will be organized around four major themes—"Voices of Freedom, Island Splendor, Contemporary New Arts, and Global Convergence"—featuring nearly 60 performances and screening videos of artworks by nearly 300 artists from the Ministry of Culture's Art Bank. The 22 groups reflect Taiwan's contemporary diverse humanistic landscape and pay tribute to values including freedom, equality, gender, ethnicity, maternal language, and hybridity. These include "Hsin Chuan Ko-a-tsioh Theater," "Rong Shing Hakka Tea-Picking Theater Troupe," "Siu Chin Opera," "Ming Hwa Yuan Di Opera," and "Fujian Island Culture," which will showcase the contemporary integration of Taiwan's traditional opera with modernity. "Three Animals' Offerings" will blend electronic music with elements of Taiwan's temple music, providing a different musical experience. ABAO will bring a fresh interpretation of indigenous Paiwan language singing combined with R&B and electronic music.
The 2024 Paris Olympics also mark the first time male and female athlete numbers have achieved balance. To jointly advocate for gender equality, the Ministry of Culture emphasizes female leadership and transcending gender in its team composition, recruiting emerging female DJ Ru-ni from Hualien, who will interpret indigenous classical melodies with electronic music. "Creative Focus" will present female circus works showcasing women's unique strength and beauty. Additionally, international drag queen Nymphia Wind, who competed in Season 16 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" earlier this year and won the championship, will lead the daughters of her crew in performances as exotic dancers from Treasure Island.
Today's press conference also unveiled a new wave of visual designs for Taiwan's participation in the Cultural Olympics. The design creatively utilizes the "W" in TAIWAN with five-colored ribbons paired with the English slogan "Win Together." These elements will be incorporated into the performance venue landscape, connecting to the Olympic atmosphere. Additionally, extended designs employ the same structure using two connected V's to convey the meaning of "together," introducing a series of playful symbols including bubble tea, forest railway cars, sky lanterns, bananas, and blue-and-white flip-flops to promote unique and globally distinctive cultural elements from Taiwan.
The Ministry of Culture states that to allow domestic and international audiences to simultaneously share information and real-time updates about the 2024 Cultural Olympics, the official website (https://cotpe.tw/) was launched today. Everyone is welcomed to stay informed about Taiwan's arts and culture team performances at the Paris Cultural Olympics.