Mr. Jimmy Chiang, Conductor;
Members of the Vienna Boys' Choir;
Mr. Albin Mauritz, Director, Austrian Office Taipei;
Mr. Liu Da-Nien (劉大年), Deputy Secretary-General, National Security Council;
Ms. Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs;
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning! Guten Morgen!
I'm very happy to be here today, and on behalf of the people of the Republic of China, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the Vienna Boys' Choir.
The internationally renowned Vienna Boys' Choir was established in 1498, and has been entertaining audiences for over 500 years. Its alumni include famous composers like Haydn and Schubert. The full choir now has 100 singers, divided into four touring choirs, each named after a renowned composer—Mozart, Bruckner, Schubert, and Haydn. Two of the touring choirs spend three to four months performing abroad on a rotating basis each year, bringing beautiful music to people around the globe.
During this trip to Taiwan, the Vienna Boys' Choir will be performing in Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan. That gives people from all around the island a chance to appreciate their musical artistry. I myself am looking forward to the little preview performance that we'll be hearing, and I'm sure you'll all be delighted!
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the Vienna Boys' Choir for the warm reception they gave my wife, the First Lady, in September of last year, giving a 30-minute performance in the concert hall of Die Chorschule der Wiener Sängerknaben, the choir school of the Vienna Boys' Choir.
In September of this year, our own Taiwan Vox Nativa Children's Choir also performed in Vienna. They visited the Vienna Boys' Choir school, and after some rehearsal, gave a joint performance, opening a new era in cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Europe. And I sincerely hope that in the future, cultural exchanges between our two countries will continue, and grow even stronger. Together, we can make beautiful music!
Austria is not only famous for its breathtaking scenery, but is also known as a thriving center of culture, art, and music. Many people from Taiwan have travelled to Austria to study music and art, which has helped bilateral cultural exchanges flourish. Taiwan is also a country with an incredible enthusiasm for music and art, an abundance of artistic talent, and a rich cultural heritage. So over the past few years, many outstanding music groups from Taiwan, including the Taiwan Philharmonic and the Taiwan Vox Nativa Children's Choir, have performed on the Continent, so that our friends in Europe, and around the world, can appreciate the elegant sounds emanating from Taiwan. Going forward, we will continue to promote international cultural exchanges, and will also be using cultural "soft power" and our global links, to give the world an opportunity to experience the vitality and charm of art in Taiwan.
I would also like to mention that the Taiwan-Austria Youth Working Holiday Program was inaugurated back in January of this year. So when the members of the choir get a little older, and reach the age of 18, we welcome you to participate in this program, and return to Taiwan, study the language, and gain a deeper understanding of our rich history and culture, and our diverse society.
In closing, on behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, let me once again welcome the Vienna Boys' Choir. I trust that this visit will be very special for you, and that your performances will be very special for all of us.
Last but not least, I hope you will squeeze some time out of your very busy schedule to go to two places in Taipei City. One is the National Palace Museum where you will see our treasures of the last 4,000 years as collected by at least two dozen of emperors since Chinese history. So when you go to the museum you will see our past. For you to understand the everyday life of our people I would advise you to visit our night markets. There you would have an opportunity to taste a variety of exotic and local snacks and you will understand the day-to-day life of our people. So once again as president of the Republic of China I would like to give you the most cordial welcome.
Thank you. Danke schön.