When people mention Wang Dan (王丹), the first thing that springs to most people’s mind is the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre because of his role as one of the student leaders who protested against the Chinese government.
However, for the 60,000 fans of Wang’s Facebook page, the human rights advocate’s weightloss efforts are as praiseworthy as his work for democracy.
While most people welcomed this year with New Year’s resolutions such as getting a better job or saving more money, Wang made a resolution on his Facebook page — which he said has become his addiction — to lose about 7kg.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
“I have tried literally everything to lose weight, because being an idealist means to endeavor to achieve the unachievable,” Wang said.
Saying that the fundamentals of pushing for China’s democratization and that of losing weight were practically the same, Wang said that the greatest sense of accomplishment usually comes from achieving what seemed impossible and was worth spending a lifetime fighting for.
Inspired by his personal experiences of going from being an imprisoned dissident in China and an exile in the US to a doctoral graduate from Harvard University and an visiting assistant professor at Taiwan’s Tsing Hua University, Wang seeks to teach his ideology to his students, especially those from China.
“Talking about the difficulty of achieving something is meaningless. Bringing democracy to China is difficult, and losing weight is no easy task either, but should we just sit back and do nothing?” Wang asked.
Turning to his addiction to Facebook, Wang said he spent an average of three to four hours a day engrossed in the social networking site and that frequently updating his Facebook status had become a habit for him.
Except for his long-time endeavor to campaign for democracy and human rights in China and worldwide, Wang said he was not much different from others.
“I also hang out with friends for a couple of drinks and am sometimes a little poetic or even shed tears in the moonlight,” he said.
However, Wang said being a renowned democracy advocate had its drawbacks.
“It is horrifying to be stared at in public, so I always put on a mask to keep a comfortable distance from the public,” Wang said, adding that despite the disguise, some people still recognized him.
After 24 years, the Tiananmen crackdown continues to remain at the center of Wang’s conversations with almost everyone, he said.
“Although I am getting tired of topics surrounding the incident, I have to admit that it has become an integral part of my life,” he said.
While self-mockery seems to have helped Wang embrace his past in a more light-hearted manner, sitting in a movie theater appears to have the same therapeutic effect for a man who considered himself a “born optimistic idealist.”
“‘Brainless’ Hollywood movies are good for releasing pressure, especially those whose names you would forget the minute you walk out of a theater,” Wang said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
RSS