Chio Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe founder Hsu Chen-jung (許振榮) said he is working on a doctorate because the Executive Yuan’s Council for Cultural Affairs does not respect the troupe.
Hsu on June 9 submitted his doctoral thesis to Chaoyang University of Technology’s College of Management. He must pass his oral defense next month before he can be conferred a doctorate in Industrial Development Strategy.
Hsu said he received a great deal of support from assistant professor Lin Mao-hsien (林茂賢), who teaches Taiwanese languages and literature at National Taichung University of Education.
Photo courtesy of the Chio Tian Folk Drums and Arts Troupe
With Lin’s encouragement, he was determined to succeed, Hsu said, adding that his greatest hope is to change the “stubborn mindset” of professional academics and to allow young people in the performance arts to have the opportunity to stand out.
Hsu, 53, started the troupe 24 years ago, accepting troubled teenagers and those from low-income families, and teaching them to play drums as a way to release energy.
As the drummers grew more proficient, they became recognized within the performing arts sphere and started receiving invitations to perform in Taiwan and abroad.
In 2012, the story of the troupe became the subject of the 20th Century Fox film Din Tao: Leader of the Parade (陣頭) directed by Taiwanese director Feng Kai (馮凱).
However, when Hsu applied to the council 12 years ago for recognition of the troupe as one of the nation’s outstanding performance groups, the council rejected his application on the grounds that he had only a high-school education, and the majority of the troupe were junior-high school graduates.
The council viewed him as a gang leader, rather than as performance troupe leader, and used a hostile tone with him, he said, adding that he could not accept such an insult.
He spent the following 12 years completing an undergraduate program, obtaining a master’s degree and going through the doctoral program.
“Only through education can [you] change the current state of things,” Hsu quoted Lin as telling him.
Hsu required that the troupe’s main leadership all acquire at least master’s degrees, himself completing courses at Mingdao University, Ling Tung University — as well as an EMBA at Ling Tung University — and Chaoyang University of Technology.
At one point, he thought he might give up, Hsu said, citing an exhausting work and study schedule that left him with no down time.
However, realizing that he must set an example for his son, who had just been accepted to attend Taipei National University of the Arts, he persisted, Hsu said.
Assistant troupe leaders Lee Kuang-cheng (李光正) and Chen Shih-min (陳世旻), as well as Hsu’s son, who is responsible for creative direction, have all obtained master’s degrees, he said, adding that Lee is to start a doctoral program later this year.
Hsu has been accepted into the Public Construction Commission’s list of experts, and said he looks forward to assisting young people.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS