Today, the Council of Indigenous Peoples hosted the “Dinner Celebrating Taiwanese Indigenous People Participating in the 2020Tokyo Olympics” at The Grand Hotel, where council minister Icyang Parod personally commended the Olympic athletes and presented them with certificates of merit and reward money, expressing his congratulations and appreciation, as well as his hope that the athletes would continue to work hard and set new records.

Minister Icyang Parod stated that all athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics had gone through grueling training. In particular, the Taiwanese indigenous athletes made outstanding achievements, with many of them making a name for themselves on the international stage. Among the 68 Taiwanese athletes who participated in the event, 13 (approximately 20%) were Taiwanese indigenous people, which was a remarkable feat considering that Taiwanese indigenous people only accounted for 2.45% of the Taiwanese population. Hsing-chun Kuo (an Amis weightlifter) and Yung-wei Yang (a Paiwan judoka), who won gold and silver, respectively, accounted for 1/3 and 1/3 of the total gold and silver medals won by Taiwanese athletes. These athletes have thus brought honor to their people and allowed Taiwanese indigenous people to make a name for themselves worldwide.

Minister Icyang Parod underlined that in compliance with the Guidelines for Encouraging and Rewarding Indigenous People with Special Talent, the council had offered reward money to the 13 indigenous athletes over the years as a form of support and encouragement. The goal was that these athletes could continue to run faster, get stronger, and jump higher, thus enabling them to shine on the Taiwanese and international sports stage.

Minister Icyang Parod noted that one of the most delightful and touching moments was when boxer Nien-chin Chen shouted to the camera “I am an Amis child” in the Amis language when she clinched her match—a demonstration of the transmission of Indigenous languages and cultures. With registration for this year’s Indigenous Language Proficiency Examination beginning in mid-September, Minister Icyang Parod offered special thanks to the aforesaid Indigenous athletes for partaking in the shooting of indigenous language promotional videos organized by the council. He also urged everyone to speak indigenous languages and enter this year’s Indigenous Language Proficiency Examination to support the transmission of Taiwanese indigenous languages and cultures.