The 4th Indonesia Independence Day Art and Culture Festival in Taiwan was held on Aug. 19. Indonesian migrant workers from all over Taiwan formed a parade and set off from Taipei Main Station, singing the Indonesian national anthem along the way while waving the Indonesian flag. They marched to a square in front of the National Taiwan Museum, where they participated in a celebration to give Taiwanese people an opportunity to understand the history and culture of Indonesia. This event shows how new immigrants in Taiwan are increasingly enjoying equal cultural rights.
The number of Indonesian immigrants, migrant workers, and international students in Taiwan currently exceeds 300,000. Indonesian restaurants and shops can be seen all over the country, and there are large-scale Southeast Asian communities around the railway stations in major cities.
The visual theme of this year's festival — "Sensasi Kebebasan (Feeling of Freedom)" — comes from Indonesian migrant worker Tony Sarwono. This painting is his tribute to the Indonesian Independence Day and expresses his wish for freedom as a migrant worker.
Now in its fourth year, the Indonesia Independence Day Art and Culture Festival has been able to attract an increasing number of participating agencies year by year. This year's event was promoted by the National Taiwan Museum and jointly planned by the Southeast Asia Educational, Scientific and Cultural Association, with additional support from Universitas Terbuka Taiwan, Taipei City Library, Cultural Taiwan Foundation, Ever Prosper International Employment Consultant Co., and noodle company Indomie. It’s hoped that through cultural exchanges and understanding, such events can promote the harmonious cultural development of Taiwan.
At the event, there were also representatives concerned about migrants' issues from Serve the People Association - Taoyuan, National Defense Medical Center Rumahku Volunteer Group, Brilliant Time - Southeast Asian theme bookstore, Southeast Asian Mobile Library, and Taipei City Library's mobile book vans. The Indonesian instant noodle brand Indomie, which is popular all over the world, also specially prepared one thousand souvenirs to hand out to people on the spot, while participants enjoyed hands-on weaving and painting workshops.
