The high school category of the "2026 Jiang Weishui Taiwanese and Hakka Youth Chinese Poetry Singing Competition" was established by a private platform in Miaoli County. The championship of the college category of the "2026 Jiang Weishui Taiwanese and Hakka Youth Chinese Poetry Singing Competition" was won by Lin Junyi (right) of National Cheng Kung University. Liu Guowei (left), Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education, presented the trophy and 80,000 yuan in prize money. (Provided by Jiang Weishui Cultural Foundation)
[Reporter Dong Baiting/Reporting from Taipei] The "2026 Chiang Weishui Taiwanese and Hakka Youth Chinese Poetry Singing Competition" finals and award ceremony co-sponsored by the Chiang Weishui Cultural Foundation and the Taipei City Believers Association It debuted today (5th) at the Huashan 1914 Cultural and Creative Industry Park. It was hosted by the Chiang Weishui Cultural Foundation and the Taipei City Faithful People Association. 20 young people from high school and college competed for awards by singing Chinese poetry in Taiwanese and Hakka. In the end, Lin Junyi from National Cheng Kung University and Xie Xin'en from Miaoli County Private High School won the championship in the college group and high school group respectively, and each received a bonus of 80,000 yuan and a trophy.
Lin Junyi sang Tsai Hui-ru's "Unforgettable" in Taiwanese, and Lai He's "My People" in Hakka, using two native languages on the same stage; Xie Xin'en sang Zhang Zhenxiang's "The Scenery of the Garden" and Li Yu's "Poppy Beauty" in Hakka throughout the whole performance. The second place in the high school group was Lu Yujin from Chiayi County Zhuqi Senior High School, the third place was Zhang Jiaqi from the National Taiwan Academy of Drama; the second place in the college group was Li Ziting from Fu Jen Catholic University, and the third place was won by Zhang Kaijun from National Chengchi University.
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The high school category of the "2026 Jiang Weishui Taiwanese and Hakka Youth Chinese Poetry Singing Competition" was won by Xie Xin'en (right) of the private Jiantai Senior High School in Miaoli County. Lin Hongyi (left), chief secretary of the Ministry of Culture, presented the trophy and 80,000 yuan in prize money. (Provided by Jiang Weishui Cultural Foundation)
The competition enters its 6th year this year. For the first time, it will be hosted bilingually in Taiwanese and Hakka, and Chinese poems related to Taiwanese humanities and customs will be included in the designated works. Hong Shimou, convener of the jury and president of the Tanyin Society, said that this year's contestants are close in strength and there is only a slight difference in scores between the rankings. The judges repeatedly evaluated details such as singing rhythm, vocal mastery and poetic expression.
Previous champions were also invited to perform on stage. Lu Yanwei, the champion of the 2024 college group and a student in the Department of Finance at National Taiwan University, collaborated with members of the Guitar Club of National Taiwan University to sing Chinese poetry with keyboard, cajon and guitar; Wu Guanting, the 2025 champion of the college group and Department of Gezai Opera, Taiwan Academy of Opera, also appeared on stage again.
Chiang Chaogen, CEO of the Chiang Weishui Cultural Foundation, said that the competition continues the original intention of You Xikun and Gao Zhiming to promote native language singing. The first event coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Taiwan Cultural Association. The works of Lin Xiantang, Lin Youchun, Cai Huiru and other members of the Taiwan Cultural Association have also successively become designated poems. He described: "Reading poetry is like listening to a stream, and singing poetry is like listening to a waterfall, which has a greater impact on the heart."
This year's competition is divided into two groups: high school and junior college. The first place in each group is awarded 80,000 yuan, the second place is 50,000 yuan, and the third place is 30,000 yuan. There are also 7 outstanding works in each group, with each person receiving 5,000 yuan. The total prize for the two groups is 390,000 yuan. Scoring includes pronunciation, tone and timbre, as well as emotion and stage interpretation.
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