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.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its