Taiwanese-American beauty queens Tiffany Chang (張芳瑜) and MimiQ Soong (宋依珊) on Saturday said that they would like to use their status to inspire more young women to become engaged in philanthropic work, during a trip to Taiwan.
The two are studying for their bachelor’s degrees in the US and are visiting Taiwan during spring break.
At a news conference in Taipei, Chang, 2024 Miss Asia USA, discussed her nonprofit organization Madhatter Knits. Founded in 2014, it makes free hand-knitted hats to give to premature babies at medical institutions.
Photo: CNA
Chang said she came up with the idea for the project when she was in sixth grade because her family had often emphasized the importance of giving back to the community.
What started out as a tiny outfit run by Chang, her sisters and her cousins has become a multinational non-governmental organization with more than 50 chapters internationally, including one in Taiwan.
Soong, the 2023 Miss Taiwanese American, said she participated in the Dance for Parkinson’s program from 2022 to this year and worked at the nonprofit Urbanity Dance in Boston as a teaching assistant.
During her time there, Soong said she learned through her talks with her students, who had Parkinson’s disease and were mostly in their 70s, that they attended concerts or parades together, adding that it was heartwarming witnessing the positive impact of dance.
Soong said that being a Taiwanese American means being resilient and compassionate, adding that she hoped her status as Miss Taiwanese American would inspire more young women to also value these traits and engage in philanthropic work.
Soong emphasized that the purpose of their trip was not for pleasure, but to learn more about Taiwanese culture and history with visits to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and other Taiwanese technology companies, so that they can better introduce Taiwan to people when they return to the US.
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