SHANGHAI - A troupe of 32 Taiwan aboriginal artists will perform during the warm-up part of the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo Friday evening.

"Although the World Expo has a long history, it had not aroused much attention in Taiwan in the past," the troupe leader Kao Chin Su-Mei said Wednesday.

"But it is different this year. The Taiwan media and the public are very interested in the World Expo in Shanghai, and we have a feeling that the event is held at our own home," she said.

Two years ago, Kao, highly famed on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, led a troupe of more than 100 Taiwan aboriginal artists to give a 3-minute-plus performance during the warm-up part of the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing.

"The Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo are two great events for the Chinese nation, in which all Chinese around the world take pride," Kao said.

"I am very honored and proud to be able to participate in the events," she said.

Most of the troupe members are farmers, business employees and students, instead of professional performers, she said.

"We will sing a traditional song of our indigenous ethnic minority in celebration of harvest," she said.

"The Expo is a big harvest for people across the Strait, and I hope our song will be appreciated," she added.

Source: China Daily