A former Chinese acrobat who has been living precariously in Taiwan for nine years with no identification is now officially able to call Taiwan his home after recently receiving his identification card from the government.
Yun Qiaozhen’s (惲喬圳) first visit to Taiwan was 12 years ago, when he arrived on tour with the famous Beijing Acrobatic Troupe of China. During that trip, he met Taiwanese receptionist Lee Shu-chen (李淑貞) and it was love at first sight.
Yun returned to Taiwan three years later to marry Lee, who went ahead with the nuptials even though her family did not bless the union.
Despite Yun’s talents as a performer, however, they lead a difficult life as husband and wife because Yun could not perform publicly without identification.
Their lives became even more miserable when their daughter was born. Yun could only earn small sums performing acrobatics and Sichuanese opera at private gatherings illegally.
“We were so poor that at one point I thought about robbing a bank,” Yun recalled.
Fortunately, they hung on by supporting each other and vowed to face any challenge.
Eventually, as Yun became more well-known, his appointments diary began filling up, which meant more money coming into the home.
“Qiaozhen is a good husband and a good father who works harder than most Taiwanese and with greater perseverance,” said Lee, who now works as Yun’s assistant and travels with him for performances nationwide.
Yun, 37, was born in Beijing into an acrobatic family who had been performing before emperors and empresses dating back to the Qing Dynasty.
“The Yun family performed before the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Pu Yi [溥儀], the day before he was expelled from the Forbidden City,” Yun said.
Yun began to learn the craft when he was six years old.
The language barrier was not a problem living in Taiwan, Yun said, although prejudice and misunderstanding against “mainlanders” sometimes made his life more difficult.
“Today, however, I find Taiwan is getting lovelier and lovelier, particularly when I am met with thunderous applause at the end of my shows,” he said.
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