TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei City is holding a singing contest for migrant workers that will hand out NT$300,000 (US$10,000) in cash prizes to the winners.
On Tuesday (June 14), New Taipei City's Labor Affairs Department announced in a press release that after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the "2022 Labor Star Singing Contest" will be held this summer. In addition to increasing the prize money, the competition has added a category for migrant workers.
The three categories include the Vitality Star Group for Taiwanese aged 18-45 whose domicile or place of work is in New Taipei, and the Charming Star Group for Taiwanese over the age of 46. The Migrant Star Group will be open to migrant workers aged 18 and over who have resided and worked in New Taipei City for at least three years.
(New Taipei Labor Affairs Department photo)
New Taipei Labor Affairs Department Commissioner Chen Jui-chia (陳瑞嘉) said in a press release that "Labor Star" is the longest-running singing competition held by the public sector and has produced many newcomers to TV singing talent shows. Chen said this year the event has been expanded to give qualified local workers and migrant workers the opportunity to participate.
Contestants will be asked to sing one song from a list of 140 Mandarin and Taiwanese songs. They will then be judged on their pitch (40%), tone and emotion (40%), showmanship (10%), and style (10%).
The first-place winner prize in each group is NT$30,000, followed by NT$20,000 for the runner-up, NT$15,000 for third place, NT$10,000 for fourth place, NT$6,000 for fifth place, and NT$3,000 for sixth through 10th place. In addition, there will also be other awards, such as Best Modeling Award and Best Typhoon Award, so contestants can demonstrate their creativity.
The preliminary round for the Vitality Star Group will be held from July 23-24 and from July 30-31 for the Charming Star Group at the New Taipei Sanchong Labor Activity Center. For the Migrant Star Group, the preliminary round will be held on Aug. 7 at the same location.
(New Taipei Labor Affairs Department photo)
Semifinals for the Vitality Star Group will be held on Aug. 21, and on Aug. 27 for the Charming Star Group at the same location as the previous round, while the semifinals for the Migrant Star Group will take place on Aug. 28. The finals for all groups will be held on Sept. 25 at the New Taipei Labor Activity Center.
Registration for the competition started on June 14 and runs until 6 p.m. on July 15. To find out more information about the contest, visit the official website for the "2022 Labor Star Singing Contest" or call (02) 2700-4519 for more details.
According to Ministry of Labor statistics released at the end of April, there are 86,870 migrant workers in New Taipei.
(New Taipei Labor Affairs Department image)
