Indigenous children surprise travelers to Taiwan with flash mob

Want China Times, CNA 2014-04-14

Flash mob performers pose for photos at Taipei Main Station. (Photo/Hotel Royal)

A flash mob organized by members of one of Taiwan's indigenous tribes surprised travelers at Taipei Railway Station on Sunday with traditional songs and dances and the traditional costumes they wore.

Many spectators were touched by the angel-like voices of the members of the flash mob, all Puyuma children.

"They made me tear up within five seconds after they started," one passenger at the station told reporters from Public Television Service.

Asked about what they sang, a member of the flash mob said the songs extolled the beauty of their land in Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan and the return of brave Puyuma warriors from battles they won.

The performance was in fact part of a charity program initiated by the Hotel Royal Chihpen in Taitung to help indigenous children residing in remote mountainous parts of the county live their dreams.

Most members of the flash mob, comprised of a dancing troupe and a choir, had never been outside Taitung due to their secluded living environment, the organizer of the show said.

With assistance from the Taitung County Tourism Bureau and Uni Air, the indigenous children took their first-ever flight to Taipei to show urban dwellers in Taipei the beauty of Taitung through song and dance, the organizer said.

The Puyama, one of 14 indigenous tribes in Taiwan, reside mainly in Taitung County.