Thanking what nurtured you
The 59th Golden Bell Awards was held in Taipei on Saturday. The best leading actor award went to Wu Kang-ren (吳慷仁) for his role in the TV drama series Living (有生之年).
Unfortunately, Wu did not attend the ceremony and was not able to accept the award in person. Instead, the award was collected by Hsu Chao-jen (許肇任), one of the directors, who also read Wu’s acceptance speech on his behalf.
There is always something lost when a proxy delivers an acceptance speech for somebody unable to attend the ceremony. It lacks warmth and feeling, no matter how well written it is or how exuberant the delivery. My opinion was not changed in any way by Hsu’s reading out of Wu’s words.
There is a saying in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese): tsiah kue-tsi pai tshiu-thau (食果子拜樹頭), which literally means “when you partake of the fruit, thank the tree” that produced it. This phrase was eating at me as I watched the ceremony.
Perhaps because Wu is an actor who was raised, nurtured and learned his trade in Taiwan, I asked myself how he could stay away from the Golden Bell Awards. For a Taiwanese performer, it is the ultimate honor and every Taiwanese actor aspires to be awarded this accolade, to receive the approval of their peers.
I am sure that Wu is a busy man, but no matter how much he has on his plate, it is surprising to me that he would not push everything else to one side so he could partake of the fruit of his success, especially since he was nominated.
Veteran media personality Ti Chih-wei (狄志為) wrote an article congratulating Wu on his win, but added: “Remember the TV drama circles in Taiwan that nurtured you.” I could not agree more with that sentiment.
Going to China to film is a personal choice and I respect that, as I am sure his fans do. However, whatever Wu’s reasons were for not attending an important ceremony in Taiwan’s drama world, it does make me want to say to him, “tsiah kue-tsi pai tshiu-thau”: when you partake of the fruit, thank the tree that produced it.
Hsu Chia-hsin
Taipei
Disrespecting your nation
Retired general Tsang You-hsia (臧幼俠), former head of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) pro-unification Huang Fu-hsing chapter, stood at attention when the Chinese national anthem was played and its flag was raised at a Hong Kong event hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification in August.
As a result, the Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday last week slashed his pension by 75 percent for the next five years — from NT$90,000 to NT$20,000 (US$2,813 to US$625) — which means he would get NT$70,000 less each month or NT$4.2 million less over five years. Any honors he has received that are not related to his service would also be taken away.
It was factually incorrect for the ministry to assert that he contravened the law, Tsang said in a statement released by his lawyer.
Military officers and generals are well-paid for safeguarding national security when they serve. They are rewarded with a more generous pension and enjoy a better life compared with many other people when they retire. Their families are also well taken care of.
They are supposed to remain loyal to the country and devote themselves to public service or activities related to protecting the country and the people. They should act as a role model for the military and be respectable.
However, some of the retired generals go to China or take part in activities that promote unification, thereby assisting the Chinese Communist Party’s “united front” activities.
It does not matter if there is an exchange of interest or not; it is immoral and inappropriate to do so, as it would undermine the dignity and morale of the armed forces. It is only right that severe punishment is meted out in such cases.
The ministry deserves recognition for punishing him in accordance with the National Security Law (國家安全法) and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
Tien Fong-wen
Taipei
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