Over the years, Cheng Mei-chu (鄭美珠), 43, has received many looks because of her wrinkled skin and 11 fingers, but her physical disability never stopped her from pursuing her passion for art.
“I have an interest in painting, sports and literature. I have full control over my life,” Cheng said during a ceremony in Taipei. “When facing life’s challenges, one should have the courage to showcase his or her talents, have a free mind and never waste energy on unsolvable problems.”
Cheng, who was born with Ichthyosis — a severe genetic skin disorder — was among the 12 recipients of this year’s Fervent Global Love of Lives Award, chosen from 1,929 domestic and internal candidates by the Chou Ta-Kuan Foundation.
Cheng, now an art student pursuing a master’s degree, is known for the imagination displayed in her artwork, which often features scenery from her hometown in Penghu.
Despite occasional discrimination, she said she dreamed of creating a museum of art in Penghu, where she could share her joy and the beauty of the outlying islands with more people.
Another recipient was Mark Inglis, a New Zealand mountaineer who lost both legs during an intense blizzard in 1982 and later dedicated his life to helping physically disadvantaged individuals.
US columnist and psychologist Daniel Gottlieb also received the award for his battle with paralysis.
Also on the list was Wu Chung-yun (吳中云), a third grader from Taichung who became completely blind as a result of a brain tumor, but who continues to paint.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), a neighboring apartment building tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the site with water to stabilize the groundwater level and then added dirt and cement to
RSS