1064 42 4

Vol. 42 No. 4 April 2017

CHINESEENGLISH BILINGUAL MONTHLY ISSN 1991-525X

4
Taiwan Panorama

Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

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Publisher: David Tawei LEE

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The Gift of Love
G uided by the holy light, a band of an-
gels traveled far from home and came
on a mission of love to Taiwan, where they
put down roots all over the island. Choos-
ing the road less traveled, they passed
nearly a half centuryfrom the prime of
their lives up to the presentthe trajectory
of their lives converging on this island of
dreams where their spirits burned brightly.
Such is the power of love that each in their
own way these foreign missionaries, through
dance, culture, education, the arts, or medi-
cine, enacted their good deeds in the public
interest, submerging themselves in the local
life of town and country, their kindness leav-
ing a deep impression on the daily life of the
people. They enthusiastically enmeshed their
own lives with our communities, devoting
themselves without complaint or regret to
their mission, and planting the seeds of love
and compassion through their example.
Reading of their deeds fills our hearts with
boundless gratitude. The bright light of their
aims and achievements shines through in the
stories of each of these angels. Their journeys
of hope are as boundless as the sea and filled
with birdsong and fragrance. Their example
inspires eternal esteem and admiration.
In last months cover story we explored
the world of Taiwanese enterprises in Malay-
sia, reporting on e-commerce entrepreneurs,
farming enterprises, and second-generation
Taiwanese businesspeople. In this issue we
return to Malaysia with articles on education,
culture, and Muslim-related business oppor-
tunities.
In our Artists and Artisans series, we in-
troduce celebrated watercolorist Chen Yang-
chun, whose innovative style combines
Eastern and Western techniques. The founder
of the Continental Watercolor Art Hwa-yang
Awards, he has been invited to exhibit all over
the world, but has also long acted as a cultural
ambassador, raising Taiwans international
profile and drawing attention to our nations
accomplishments.
With roots in a Pinghu fishing village, the
Luperla Jewelry Company started out mak-
ing mid-priced jewelry from pearls and coral.
Today it is an international brand that carries
the creative spirit of Taiwans craft industry
around the globe by teaching and supporting
craftspeople in other countries. We report on
their efforts in the Solomon Islands and Mar-
shall Islands.
Continuing our Old Residences series,
this month we stop off in Chiayi to visit the
former residence of Chen Cheng-po, known
as the father of Taiwanese modernism, along
with the museum dedicated to his memory. In
this issue we also delve into the world of Kuo
Su-jen, who has become a major figure in the
movement to restore old buildings and infuse
them with new life. Though her background
is in the construction industry, her real pas-
sions are collecting art and fostering aesthetic
appreciation. Through the restoration of a
series of dilapidated structures in quiet side
streets, she has created a thriving space for
young artists to realize their dreams.
As we join hands to face lifes uncertain-
ties, we offer our heartfelt gratitude to those
missionaries for their selfless contributions.
As for love eternal, together let us continue to
spread its message. l
(Tien Yun-liang/tr. by Robert Green)
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CONTENTS 1064 42 4 Vol. 42 No. 4 April 2017

Cover Story

6
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

10

10

Spreading Hope in Houbi:
Father Verny

20

My Brothers Keeper:
St. Josephs Hospital

30 30

Fifty Years of Dance: Father Michelini

38

Telling It in the Mountains:
The Bethlehem Mission Society

48

62

Enriching Lives in Qingquan:
Father Martinson

Editors Note The Fleeting World

01 56
The Gift of Love Variety Pages

 Old Residences

62
Cover: Angels have come to Taiwan from afar,
spreading love and hope.
Bloodied Artist, Warrior of Life
Chen Cheng-pos Former Residence and
Museum

Southeast Asian Focus

70
Halal: The Key to Muslim Markets

78

78
Chinese Education in Malaysia:
The Taiwan Connection

86
Film, Entertainment, Culture:
Taking Taiwans Soft Power South

Restoring Old Buildings

94

94
A Collectors Vision:
Kuo Su-jen Brings Art into Old City Streets

Artists and Artisans

104

Paintings Knight Errant: Chen Yang Chun

Craft Entrepreneurship

114

104

Island Sisters, Sister Islands:
A Taiwanese Jewelry Firm Helps in Pacific
Island Diplomacy


Jingliao Holy Cross Church
Bethlehem Mission Society St. Josephs Hospital constructed in Houbi, Tainan.
(BMS) in Taiwan established founded with Fr. Georges
in Taitung. 0DVVLQDVUVWGLUHFWRU

100
Fr. Gian Carlo Michelini
Centennial of the Catholic
mission in Taiwan. arrives in Taiwan.
BMS mission head Fr. Jakob
Hilber founds Kung-Tung
Technical Senior High School.

6 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Culture p. 10

Medicine p. 20

Dance p. 30

Education p. 38

$UW p. 48

Fr. Barry Martinson arrives
in Taiwan. Fr. Martinson assigned Fr. Franois Verny arrives
to Holy Cross Church in in Taiwan, assigned as
Qingquan, Hsinchu. missionary to Houbi.

Fr. Michelini founds Lan St. Josephs Hospital sets up
Yang Dancers. Fr. Michelini takes Lan Yang <XQOLQVUVWSHGLDWULF,&8
'DQFHUVRQUVWLQWHUQDWLRQDO
tour; they perform for Pope
Paul VI.

7
 1950

Design: Henry Wang

Photos: Chuang Kung-ju, Jimmy Lin, Lin Min-hsuan, Fr. Barry Martinson, Bethlehem Mission Society,
St. Josephs Hospital, Jingliao Holy Cross Church, Lan Yang Dancers, Lan Yang Youth Catholic Center
Kuangchi Program Service contributed to the writing of this feature.

24
St. Josephs Hospital provides
Yunlins only 24-hour pediatric
emergency service.
Fr. Martinson opens Sacred
Heart Preschool.
Fr. Josef Eugster gives foot
massage to Pope John Paul
II.

Fr. Michelini spurs creation of Fr. Martinson completes
Yilan International Childrens wall mosaics he worked St. Josephs Hospital sets up
Folklore and Folkgame on for 15 years. childrens rehabilitation center
Festival. to aid in early intervention.

8 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 D uring the 1950s, Taiwan was just emerging
from a period of war and chaos, and faced in-
adequate conditions in culture, education, medical
care, and public health. At this time, Catholic mis-
sionaries from Belgium, the Netherlands, France,
Switzerland, Italy, and elsewhere arrived with
much-needed donations and material assistance.
Bolstered by their firm faith, these men and
women have over time built hospitals, formed
dance companies, founded after-school programs
to help disadvantaged children, and promoted
community arts and culture. Strangers in a strange
land, they have learned the local languages and
60
Bethlehem Mission Society
in Taiwan celebrates 60th Fr. Verny launches after-school
anniversary. supervision and study program
for children in Jingliao.
50
Fr. Verny launches Fr. Michelini celebrates 50
renovation plan for Jingliao years in Taiwan.
Holy Cross Church.
assimilated into local culture. Though some-
times faced by material privations, culture shock
and other difficulties, they have nonetheless
persevered.
Over the past half-century and more, these
foreign Catholic missionaries have done things
that no one else had thought to do, but which
many people have very much needed. They have
dedicated their whole lives to this land, from
vigorous youth to old age, and even to the grave.
Like angels, they have continually spread the
message of love in our society.
(Sanya Huang/tr. by Max Barker)
Fr. Verny launches
repurposing plan for Pingan
Church in Houbi.
Fr. Martinson holds charity
auction of stained-glass artwork.
9
 Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

Culture

Spreading Hope in Houbi:

Father Verny

I t was at a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in
the Houbi District of Tainan City that Father
Franois Verny, originally from France, first made

himself well-known among the local peoplespe-

FLFDOO\E\NDUDRNHVLQJLQJWKH7DLZDQHVHODQJXDJH
hit Marching Forward. Since then, Tainan people,
27 Catholic or not, have known this foreign priest not
RQO\IRUKLVQHVLQJLQJYRLFHEXWHYHQPRUHIRUKLV
XHQF\LQ7DLZDQHVH
Verny, who has been living in Taiwan for 27 years,

is much more than just a missionary for his faith. He

is very concerned about issues related to children,
DQGDERXWWKHRXWRZRISRSXODWLRQWKDWLVOHDYLQJ

Taiwans rural areas desolate and with no clear fu-
ture path for survival. Beneath his warm and gentle
EHDWLF H[SUHVVLRQ KLV GHGLFDWLRQ DQG FRPPLWPHQW
SXWPRVW7DLZDQHVHWRVKDPH$QG\HWKHVKUXJVR
accolades, merely saying, The more you put in, the
more you get back.

It is early on a Monday morning, and the weekend

tourists have all gone home, leaving the little town of

Houbi tranquil. Few vehicles traverse its winding roads
1990
275

The rotund Father Franois Verny always greets visitors with a
smile.

10 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

11

60
The pyramid-shaped aluminum spire of the Jingliao Holy Cross
&KXUFKKDVEHHQDTXLHW[WXUHLQWKHUXUDOFRPPXQLW\RI+RXEL
for 60 years.

2005

1960

97
2012 1

60




60

12 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


Cross Church, built in 1960, has been carried along in
Symbols of the Roman Catholic faith embellish the interior of the
church.
DQGODQHV$JDLQVWDEOXHVN\DGRUQHGZLWKRDWLQJFORXGV
there suddenly appears the pyramid-shaped aluminum
VSLUHRIWKH-LQJOLDR+RO\&URVV&KXUFKZLWKDPLOGUHHF-
tive shimmer that has mellowed and faded with time.
The person who opens the door, with a round body to
match a round face, is wearing black-framed glasses and
smiling like a Buddha. Although the face is clearly that
of a foreigner, the greeting to visitorsHello! How are
you?is in perfect downhome Taiwanese.
This Taiwanese made in France, Catholic priest
Father Franois Verny, left his home in 1990 to come to
Houbi in Taiwan as a missionary. Each day he gets up
at 5 a.m., just like the neighboring farmers, and strolls
'HVLJQLQJWKH-LQJOLDR+RO\&URVV&KXUFKZDVWKHUVWSURMHFW
ever undertaken by Gottfried Bhm, who later in life would win
the Pritzker Prize for architecture. But the actual construction
was done entirely by Taiwanese builders.
WKURXJKWKHFRXQWU\VLGH7KHGLHUHQFHLVWKDWZKHUHDV
WKHIDUPHUVDUHSDWUROOLQJWKHLUHOGV9HUQ\VPLVVLRQLV
to bring out the best in Houbi and improve the quality
of life of all of its residents.
Renovating a church, renewing an old attachment
It was eight years ago that Verny transferred from the
Anxiliao Catholic Church (also in Houbi) to Jingliao. At
UVW KH WKRXJKW WKDW OLIH ZRXOG EH VORZHU KHUH EXW KH
has been busier than everperhaps because he can see
the problems up close.
Children, the elderly, the future of Houbiall these is-
sues clamor for his attention. At one moment he is trying
WRJXUHRXWZKDWWRGRDERXWNLGVZKRKDYHQRSODFHWR
go after school. At another he is pondering the problem
of care for senior citizens. And then there are his poorer
parishioners. And always in his mind are the mainte-
nance and repair of the Jingliao Holy Cross Church, tasks
that are always near the top of his to do list.
Jingliao, a community in the Houbi District of Tainan
City, was thrown into the national spotlight back in 2005
with the release of the documentary Let It Be. Since then,
many out-of-towners have come here to explore this
archetypal rice-growing township. The Jingliao Holy
the tide, becoming an attraction in its own right. Yet few
people know that it was designed by the well-known
German architect Gottfried Bhm, who is now aged 97.
Bhm did the design in Germany and sent the
plans to Taiwan, leaving it up to local builders to com-
plete construction of the church, with its distinctive
pyramid-shaped main spire and the conical spires on its
bell tower and baptistry. Circumstances at the time did
not permit him to come to Taiwan himself. Imagine his
surprise and delight when the memory of this building
was brought back to him in 2012, after he received a let-
ter from Fr. Verny, written as renovation plans were in
the works. Verny invited Bhm to come to Taiwan to see
LQSHUVRQKLVUVWHYHUSURMHFW6DGO\*RWWIULHGZDVWRR
old to travel, so he asked his son Paul, also an architect,
to take part in the renovation project.
13


Verny has a plan to renovate Houbis closed Pingan Catholic

Church to provide a place of shelter for local elderly people and
children.

Verny blesses a parishioner.

11
3



Maker

2015

14 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 :LWKRQHZLVKIXOOOHGODVW\HDU9HUQ\H[WHQGHGKLV
LGHD WR DQRWKHU KDOO RI ZRUVKLS WKH 3LQJDQ &DWKROLF
Church, a branch of the Jingliao Church located less
WKDQYHPLQXWHVGULYHDZD\
7KH3LQJDQVWUXFWXUHFRPSOHWHGRQO\RQH\HDUDIWHU
-LQJOLDRV LV RI D FRPSOHWHO\ GLIIHUHQW VW\OH ,W LV RQO\
KDOIDVODUJHE\RRUDUHDLWFDQKROGRQO\SHRSOHDW
most), has a roof constructed out of wood, and outside
the building itself it has a courtyard like a traditional
Taiwanese three-sided compound, with the whole of the
grounds surrounded by a red brick wall. After its com-
pletion it functioned not only as a place of worship, but
also as an important distribution center for charitable
relief. However, a decade or so ago, considering the de-
cline in the rural population and in church attendance,
LW ZDV GHFLGHG WR FORVH WKH 3LQJDQ IDFLOLW\ 7KH PDLQ
gate was locked and all signs of human activity faded
into oblivion.
Father Verny, seeing that many children of his com-
munity have no place to go after school, decided to
repurpose the site, which is located right next to Jing-
liau Junior High School. While the funds have yet to be
UDLVHG9HUQ\KDVORQJKDGDYHU\VSHFLFSODQLQPLQG
While keeping the external appearance of the church
unaltered, he wants to build two new two-story struc-
the church, will house an activity center for the elderly
and a recreational space for kids. Once completed, it will
EHSRVVLEOHWRORRNIURPWKHXSSHURRUVRYHUWKHFRP-
SRXQGVZDOOVDFURVVDEURDGH[SDQVHRIULFHHOGVDQG
see all the way to the Jingliao Holy Cross Church.
3ULHVWDQGSULQFLSDOQGFRPPRQJURXQG
/LQ*XRELQWKHSULQFLSDORI-LQJOLDX-XQLRU+LJKUVW
met Fr. Verny two years ago, when the latter approached
him about borrowing a school classroom for an activity.
It turns out that these two menone responsible for 11
school districts and the other for three parishesfound
themselves with a major overlapping area of responsibil-
ity: the children in their jurisdictions.
Lin notes that there are few job opportunities in Houbi,
and young people have been leaving in droves. It is com-
mon to see children being raised by single parents or by
grandparents. Jingliau Junior High got together with a
subsidiary association of the Jingliao Catholic Church to
launch a program for kids to have after-school supervi-
sion and guided study. This project also includes week-
end classes for disadvantaged children. Currently Verny
A year or so ago Father Verny got together with Jingliau Junior
tures. One, at the front of the compound, will be a hos- +LJK6FKRROSULQFLSDO/LQ*XRELQUVWOHIWWRFUHDWHDQDIWHUVFKRRO
supervision and study program for schoolchildren. Thanks to this
tel for guests to stay overnight. Another, to the east of program the children have really bonded with this foreign priest.

15










6

33
30


70
Made in Taiwan

Father Verny has had a critical tool at his disposal for connecting
ZLWKORFDOUHVLGHQWVXHQF\LQDXWKHQWLFGRZQKRPH7DLZDQHVH

16 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

not only brings snacks every day, he even arranges for
transportation to bring the kids over and then take them
home again. Donating money is easy, says Lin Guobin,
but actually being consistently present, spending time
with the children and showing authentic concern for
their problems, is a rare and demanding kind of commit-
ment. But still Fr. Verny is here each and every day.
These days, whenever students see Verny they give
KLPHQWKXVLDVWLFKLJKYHVDQGFKDWZLWKKLPIUHHO\DQG
RSHQO\,WZDVQWDOZD\VWKLVZD\(YHQD\HDURUVRDJR
kids were still quite timid around this foreign priest.
Fortunately Verny has an ace up his sleeve in breaking
down barriers with local children: authentic downhome
Taiwanese exactly like they speak and hear at home.
$%LJ1RVHQGVKLVZD\LQWRORFDOKHDUWV
Even today, it is always cause for gossip and discus-
sion when a Big Nose (a Taiwanese slang term for for-
eigners) appears in the countryside. Luckily for Fr. Verny,
KLV WHDFKHU KDG WDXJKW KLP D RQHVL]HWVDOO 7DLZDQHVH
greeting to help him through all his interactions: Have
you eaten today? Every time he encounters a Taiwanese
person in the street and sees the wonder or even sus-
picion in their eyes, he engages them with this handy
catchphrase.
Verny admits, however, Learning Taiwanese was
really hard! He says that this is perhaps the greatest chal-
lenge God has presented him with in his time in Taiwan.
Priests who entered training for missionary work in
Taiwan at the same time as Verny mainly studied Man-
darin Chinese. But he was one of a very small number
ZKRZHUHDVNHGWROHDUQ7DLZDQHVHVRDVWRWLQEHWWHU
in the more remote parts of the countryside. He admits
WKDWKHIHOWVRPHZKDWGHDWHGDWWKHWLPHEXWKHGLGQW

complain, and stepped up to the challenge. He began to $PRPHQWRIUHHFWLRQDQGSUD\HUEHQHDWKDZRUNE\WKHQRWHG
travel from Tainan to Taichung each week for Taiwanese calligrapher Chen Shih-hsien.

classes.
After only six months of coursework, Verny was as-
signed a most imposing challenge indeed: conducting
an Easter Mass in Taiwanese!
Easter is one of the most important holy days in the
Christian calendar. The mass is very long and the rituals
are complicated. Verny put his nose to the grindstone,
making notations in the margin of his bible in Roman-
ization, to help him pronounce the words in Taiwanese.
When the service was over, as some of his parishioners
came forward to thank him, he replied: You are lucky
WKDW\RXXQGHUVWRRGWKHWH[W,GLGQWXQGHUVWDQGDVLQ-
gle word I was saying! All he remembers of the day
was one phrase that he said to the faithful sitting below
the altar just as the mass was ending: Bin kiann lah!
(No problem!)
$OZD\VPDUFKLQJIRUZDUG
Bin kiann lah! Bin kiann lah! This simple but
highly expressive little phrase seemed to put at ease the
mind of the then 33-year-old Verny.
9HUQ\ KDG OLYHG WKH UVW WKUHH GHFDGHV RI KLV OLIH LQ

17

K









27




Visitors who have come all the way from Hong Kong specially
to visit the Jingliao Holy Cross Church leave with a sample of
Vernys original French-style New Years couplets.

18 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 27
It was quite a transition for Father Verny to come from the great French city of Lyon to remote Houbi District. But he
has grown to love this place, and 27 years have passed in the blink of an eye.
)UDQFHV VHFRQGODUJHVW FLW\ /\RQ %HIRUH KH HPEDUNHG
for Taiwan, his mental map of the world only contained
WZRGHQLWHORFDWLRQV$IULFDDERXWZKLFKKHKDGKHDUG
from his childhood priest, and his homeland of France.
In the 1970s the only thing he associated with the word
Taiwan was cheap, lowbrow Made in Taiwan man-
XIDFWXUHG JRRGV ,WV QR ZRQGHU WKDW ZKHQ WKH FKXUFK
asked Verny if he was willing to come here, he immedi-
ately rejected the idea.
But now that place he once refused to come to has
become for Verny his spiritual home. Taiwan was even
responsible for an attack of homesickness he felt
when he was re-assigned back to France by the church
for a period of time.
In fact, if you were to obscure the silhouette of his
IDFH\RXZRXOGQGDPDQZKRVHZKROHZD\RIOLIHLV
almost identical to that of a Taiwanese. About the only
time you feel that he is even a little bit French is when
you see the French-language annotations next to his
In many ways Verny is a very creative person. Even
before beginning calligraphy with brush and ink he was
GRLQJFDOOLJUDSKLFZRRGFDUYLQJ:KHQKHUVWVWDUWHG
he pored over each character, rigidly following the rules
about how to depict it. But now he lets his imagination
run free, and he uninhibitedly adapts his characters to
the shape and grain of the wood.
I love freedom, he says with obvious joy and satis-
IDFWLRQ,WVKDUGWREHOLHYHWKDWZKHQKHZDV\RXQJKH
was painfully shy, only able to express himself through
gymnastics. Over the last 27 years the straightforward
and open-hearted lifestyle of the southern Taiwan
countryside has changed him, and as his once lithe phy-
sique has become well-rounded, so his personality has
become expansive and warm. It is this generous, warm
spirit that has become the most familiar characteris-
tic by which this foreign priest has come to be known
among the rural folk of Houbi District. 
(Liu Yingfeng/photos by Chuang Kung-ju/
Chinese calligraphy. WUE\0D[%DUNHU

19
 Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

20 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


VWD PHPEHUV )DWKHU $QWRLQH 3LHUURW FKDSODLQ *RGHOLHYH
The three treasures of St. Josephs pose for
DSLFWXUHLQWKHKRVSLWDOVVHFRQGRRUFKDSHO
From left to right: Godelieve Franssens, Fr.
Antoine Pierrot and Dr. Marguerite Billiet.
Medicine
My Brothers Keeper:
St. Josephs Hospital
195511
1950
T hroughout the six decades since its founding in 1955,
St. Josephs Hospital in Yunlin County has been watch-
ing over the health of the local population. Several times
it has been voted the best medical center in Yunlin, and has
received 11 Medical Dedication Awards. It acts as a good
neighbor (in the Christian sense) to the people of Yunlin.
Nicknamed the three treasures of St. Josephs, senior
)UDQVVHQVDQGSHGLDWULFLDQ'U0DUJXHULWH%LOOLHWWUDYHOHG
from abroad to dedicate their lives to St. Josephs. Today,
now that Yunlin has numerous medical centers, St. Josephs
has fulfilled the mission that it undertook in a different
era, and the three are growing old. How then can they pass
21


1955

1953

The pioneering staff of St. Josephs Hospital in its early days.
Father Georges Massin stands on the right wearing a lab coat.
(courtesy of St. Josephs Hospital)
1954
210
1955
12

2




361
1985
241998
2006

1975

1953

A footbridge was built between St. Josephs Hospital and a staff
residence to facilitate safer passage between the two buildings.
(courtesy of St. Josephs Hospital)

22 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


7RGD\6W-RVHSKVLVVWDHGE\PRUHWKDQSHRSOH
Children undergoing early intervention therapies play merrily in
the childrens rehabilitation center.
Father Antione Pierrot baptizes the child of a German teacher
(center) at Yongnian Middle School. (courtesy of St. Josephs
Hospital)
HVWDEOLVKDQRQSURWKRVSLWDOLQ+XZHLWKDWZRXOGSUR-
vide medical care locally to ordinary people.
St. Josephs: Pioneers of healthcare in Yunlin
In 1953 Father Antoine Pierrot accepted the task of
setting up St. Josephs. He boarded a flight from the
Netherlands, his native land, to Rome. He then traveled
to the port of Genoa, near Milan, to catch a freighter,
and arrived in Taiwan in 1954, eager to help Bishop Niu
establish the hospital.
After the hospital building was completed in De-
cember 1955, Bishop Niu invited Fr. Georges Massin, a
Belgian native, to come to Taiwan to serve as the hospi-
WDOV UVW GLUHFWRU ,Q WKRVH HDUO\ GD\V WKH KRVSLWDO VWD
consisted of only two doctors and two nurses, who were
assisted by ten nuns. The whole hospital was like a big
family, says obstetrician and gynecologist Cai Meng-
hong, who doubles as a family medicine practitioner.
Father Massin was always forgiving and compassionate.
It was really moving, and made you want to work your
hardest. No one had to tell you to do anything. You just
felt ashamed if you didnt take things upon yourself.
and the number of hospital beds has increased to 361.
,WLVDUHJLRQDOWHDFKLQJKRVSLWDOWKDWRHUVFRPSUHKHQ-
VLYHWUHDWPHQW,WHVWDEOLVKHG<XQOLQ&RXQW\VUVWSHGL-
the torch of holistic care to a new generation and DWULFLQWHQVLYHFDUHXQLWUVWKRXUHPHUJHQF\
continue to deliver health and hope? This is the chal-
lenge the hospital faces as it seeks to transform and
modernize itself.
In the 1950s, after the chaos of the war years, Taiwan
faced a dire shortage of medical facilities. Fortunately
the Catholic Church founded clinics around the island
and brought in trained medical personnel and specialist
HTXLSPHQWIURPRYHUVHDVWROOWKHJDS
In 1955, the Catholic Church established St. Josephs
Hospital in Huwei, Yunlin County, and today it is still a
major provider of medical services locally. In the 1950s,
outside the main urban centers there were some doctors
practicing who had trained in Japan, but they were pro-
hibitively costly for the average person. For this reason,
Bishop Thomas Niu of the Chiayi Diocese decided to
SHGLDWULFVHUYLFHDQGUVWKRVSLFH
Antoine Pierrot: A beautiful gift for Chiayi Diocese
In 1954 Fr. Pierrot arrived in Taiwan to take up the
mission that he had volunteered for. He dedicated most
of his time to establishing and developing St. Josephs.
In this hospital we take care of the whole person,
mind, body and soul. Thats what we call holistic care.
But no matter how busy he was, he went to the hos-
pital day in and day out, rain or shine, visiting patients
in their rooms and saying prayers for them. He also de-
YRWHGKLPVHOIWRWKHFDUHRIWKHVWDDQGWKHLUIDPLOLHV
Over six decades, he helped countless families through
critical moments in their lives.
Some years ago, when the former head of accounting
at St. Josephs, Wu Junnan, was diagnosed with cancer,
Pierrots presence gave him tremendous comfort and
23


For decades Father Antoine Pierrot visited patients on a daily
basis. (courtesy of St. Josephs Hospital)

1962




94

196728

19561969

24 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

allowed him to experience serenity and Gods embrace
as he neared death. When he was hospitalized, Father
Pierrot was also ill and staying in the hospital, says
Wus wife, Chang Mei Jung, who works in the hospitals
SODQQLQJ RFH +H LQVLVWHG RQ YLVLWLQJ LQ KLV ZKHHO-
chair every day and encouraged us to remain positive.
After Wu Junnan succumbed to his illness, Pierrot
led the funeral mass for his old friend, despite being ill.
+HVKDUHGLQRXUMR\VDQGLQGLFXOWWLPHVKHZDVDO-
ways there to help us get through our sorrows, Chang
recalls, doing her best to hold back her tears.
Pierrot formerly spent a decade shouldering the
responsibility of collecting donations at churches all
around the United States. The majority of the funds
were used to expand St. Josephs, but they also brought
to the Chiayi Diocese a most beautiful giftthe Church
RI6W$XJXVWLQHFRPSOHWHGLQ3LHUURWHQOLVWHGWKH
help of Francisco Borboa, a painter of religious themes,
to design the avant-garde trapezoidal building, the
form of which is based on the image of a pair of praying
hands. Just like the church, Fr. Pierrot is also a beautiful
gift given by God to the Chiayi Diocese.
Godelieve Franssens: Appreciating lifes beauty
,QDWWKHDJHRI*RGHOLHYH)UDQVVHQVD%HOJLDQ
national, arrived in Taiwan to assume responsibilities as
DPLGZLIHDQGQXUVH'XULQJWKHEDE\ERRPRIWKHV
and 1980s, she personally assisted in the birth of a great
number of children. During that time, the greatest number
of deliveries recorded at St. Josephs was 400 newborns in
a single month. Bassinets that had been relegated to store-
rooms were pressed back into service but still more were
needed. Franssens hit on the idea of taking out drawers
and using them as bassinets, and as if by magic she also
PDQDJHGWRWIRXUEDELHVLQWRHDFKLQFXEDWRU
Now that she has officially retired, she continues to
work as a chaplain for the hospitals pastoral care de-
partment, bringing comfort to patients. In describing her
interactions with other people, she loves to use the words
really beautiful. There was one time that a girl had just
Ricky
Ricky (right) is Father Pierrots home care provider. Here he
accompanies Pierrot on a visit to the Church of St. Augustine.
25

Godelieve Franssens (right) with a jade vendor at a local market.

19701980

400

1
4

Godelieve Franssens was caring for a premature baby.
(courtesy of St. Josephs Hospital)

1980







12





10cc1cc2cc

26 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

died of cancer and her mother, who had raised her on
her own, was busy giving instructions to the people who
were washing and dressing her daughter, while at the
same time glaring angrily at the girls father, who had
abandoned them years before, Franssens recalls. The
father rushed to the hospital on learning that his daugh-
ter had died, but the mother wouldnt let him near her.
The father could only sit silently in a corner and
wait. Finally when they were about to put a hat on the
girls head, the mothers heart softened, and she let the
father come forward to do this one last thing for their
daughter. Isnt that a beautiful thing? Franssens says.
After witnessing so many births and deaths, the
PDMHVW\RIOLIHPDGHVWUXJJOHDQGVXHULQJSDOHLQVLJ-
nificance. Perhaps as a result, Franssens knows how
to appreciate the beauty of life. She walked with us
out through the front entrance of St. Josephs to stroll
through the market on Huweis Zhongzheng Street. Its
fantastic. I would never have thought that in my sev-
enties I would still be able to pop out during work and
visit the market, she says with joy.
Marguerite Billiet: Giving is its own reward
In the hospitals early days, the medical staff was
stretched thin, so Fr. Georges Massin appealed to the
church to recruit more doctors from abroad. Thus it was
that Marguerite Billiet, who would receive a Medical
'HGLFDWLRQ$ZDUG LQ  EHFDPH DIILOLDWHG ZLWK 6W
Josephs. Father Massin returned to Belgium about once
HYHU\YH\HDUV%LOOLHWH[SODLQV2QRQHWULSKHSDLGD
visit to my home. At the time I was still in medical school,
and I still needed to complete my training in pediatric
PHGLFLQH$IWHU EHFRPLQJ FHUWLHG LQ SHGLDWULFV DQG DU-
riving in Taiwan, I still had to learn Chinese. Father Mas-
VLQWKXVKDGWRZDLWIRUPHIRUYH\HDUV
In 1980, Billiet arrived in Taiwan and put her skills to
work, treating countless premature newborns and sick
children.
She is the only pediatrician in Taiwan who requires
patients to strip down for a detailed full-body examina-
tion, observes Soong Wei-tsuen, a former director of St.
Josephs. This is the result of Dr. Billiets rigorous pediatric
training in Belgium. Through a close examination of the
entire body, she is better able to arrive at a comprehensive
assessment of a patients condition. St. Josephs excels at
caring for premature infants, who are at high risk for infant
PRUWDOLW\,QWKHVHFDVHVWKHQXUVLQJVWDIHHGPLONWRWKH
children in tiny doses, starting from one to two cubic cen-
timeters and gradually increasing to 56 cc, to reduce the
risk of necrotizing enterocolitis caused by overeating. In
this way, premature infants slowly build their body weight
to normal levels and can be released from the hospital.
After mass, Godelieve Franssens tidies up the church.
27
5cc6cc

Marguerite Billiet cant suppress her joy when a young patients

condition improves.

Attending pediatrician Marguerite Billiet is uncompromising when
it comes to upholding treatment standards.












28 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


Over the years Father Antoine Pierrot has progressed from uncle to grandfather
in the St. Josephs family. (courtesy of St. Josephs Hospital)
Billiet, however, shies away from accepting praise for
her own contributions. You say that its extraordinary
for us to travel from abroad to practice here, she says.
I think what the nurses do is even more praiseworthy.
They come to the hospital and care for the children of
others while looking after their own children and family
members too. There is one nurse who has two kids but
always requests the night shift so that she can take care
of her sick mother-in-law in the daytime. How could
anyone say that these people are not really impressive?
I often feel that what we doctors and nurses give
pales in comparison to what we get back, Dr. Billiet
says. One patient that left a particularly deep impres-
sion was an impressive, intelligent and optimistic child
ZKR VXHUHG IURP PXVFXODU G\VWURSK\ 7KH GLVHDVH LV
incurable and causes the muscles in the entire body to
VORZO\ORVHVWUHQJWKXQWLOWKHSDWLHQWQDOO\LVXQDEOHWR
breathe. When the childs condition became critical, she
was placed in intensive care. Every time she saw me
she smiled. A few days later, she passed away, Billiet
says. She really understood how to live and to look
RQWKHEULJKWVLGH,QWKHPLGVWRIKHUVXHULQJVKHVWLOO
greeted others with smiles. What she gave me was in-
A cycle of health and hope
But in an era when medicine is pursuing perfor-
mance-driven management, how can St. Josephs
adopt new management paradigms yet still preserve
the compassion and ethos of a Catholic hospital?
Moreover, now that Yunlin has a good number of
large-scale hospitals, St. Josephs original mission of
making up the shortfall in what government and so-
ciety could provide in terms of local medical care is
no longer relevant.
In the past, they traveled all the way from Europe
to donate their services here, Soong Wei-tsuen says.
But now they are old. Surely the people of Taiwan
can shoulder this burden themselves and carry on St.
Josephs mission of caring for the people of Yunlin.
Just as the selfless contributions of Antoine Pier-
rot, Godelieve Franssens and Marguerite Billiet
transcending ethnicity, nationality and faithenabled
even more people to stand on their own two feet, per-
haps in the future these people will return the favor
by caring for others, and by doing so bring even more
health and hope into the world. 
(Sanya Huang/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
QLWHO\PRUHWKDQ,FRXOGJLYHKHU WUE\5REHUW*UHHQ

29
 Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

Dance

Fifty Years of Dance:

Father Michelini

1964
1974 F ather Gian Carlo Michelini came to Taiwan from
Italy in 1964, and founded the Lan Yang Dancers
in 1966. In 1974 he took his dancers on an interna-

WLRQDO WRXU RQ ZKLFK WKH\ EHFDPH WKH UVW SHUIRUP-

LQJ DUWV JURXS HYHU WR SHUIRUP IRU WKH 3RSH LQ WKH

9DWLFDQ+HZDVDOVRDQLPSRUWDQWFRQWULEXWRUWRWKH
founding of the Yilan International Childrens Folk-
ORUHDQG)RONJDPH)HVWLYDODQGKDVKHOSHGEULQJWKH
ZRUOGWR7DLZDQE\LQYLWLQJQXPHURXVLQWHUQDWLRQDO
SHUIRUPLQJDUWVFRPSDQLHVWRSHUIRUPKHUH

Good morning, Father! a group of children cho-

ruses, running over to Father Michelini. He greets the

students of Shengyin Kindergarten with pats on their

heads and gentle pinches of their soft cheeks. White-

haired, beer-bellied and raspy-voiced, Fr. Michelini still
speaks Mandarin with a heavy accent in spite of his
more than 50 years in Taiwan.

For love
Two months after I arrived in Taiwan, I realized
that I wanted to promote culture and the arts. I wanted

Determined to make a difference, Father Gian Carlo Michelini
set about cultivating Taiwans arts and culture. Having long since
established the Lan Yang Dancers, at more than 80 years of age he
now plans to set up an international childrens arts village in Yilan.

30 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

31


Father Michelini encourages children to study dance from an early
DJHWRLPSURYHWKHLUSRVWXUHDQGVHOIFRQGHQFHDQGWROHDUQWR
appreciate the beauty of the art form.

1970

1966

1974

Vicenza
5,00032

32 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

to do something that Taiwan needed and that other
people werent doing, recalls Michelini.
$ FKLOG RI EHDXWLIXO 5HQDLVVDQFHDYRUHG %RORJQD
Michelini excelled at music. The arts were fundamental
to his life, though he also loved psychology and foot-
ball. On arriving in Taiwan, he noted that Taiwanese
children had no respite from their schoolwork and no
energy for extracurricular activities. That was no kind
of life, says Fr. Michelini.
Instead of undertaking the service work typical for
a member of the Camillian order, Michelini founded
the Luodong Youth Catholic Recreation Center (now
the Lan Yang Youth Catholic Center) and the Lan Yang
Dancers in 1966. He uses these institutions to offer a
variety of classes in dance, Chinese traditional music,
taekwondo, the arts, and music, as well as to arrange
basketball, football, and volleyball tournaments.
The children studying dance with the Lan Yang
Dancers performed exceptionally well right from the
groups inception. Just two years after its founding, the
Lan Yang Dancers not only represented Yilan at the Tai-
wan Provincial Dance Competition, but won it.
Going international
From the beginning, Michelini was determined
to take the troupe abroad as a means of introducing
Taiwan to the world. I wanted to do something that
would have an impact, he recalls.
When the ROC lost its seat in the United Nations
and many of its formal diplomatic partners in the 1970s,
Michelini reckoned that Taiwan could win new friends
by introducing its culture to the rest of the world. He
EHJDQ VHHNLQJ QDQFLDO VXSSRUW IURP WKH JRYHUQPHQW
for performances abroad, but had no luck until 1974.
The Lan Yang Dancers made their international de-
but in Italy with a performance in the northern Italian
city of Vicenza. Unfortunately, with no advertising
to announce the show, only 32 people turned up at
the 5,000-seat venue. They nonetheless received high
marks for their performance, and invitations to per-
form poured in as word of their prowess spread.
/DQ <DQJV JUHDWHVW KRQRU RQ WKLV UVW WRXU ZDV DQ
invitation to perform for Pope Paul VI, which made
them the first performing arts company to perform
for a Pope in the Vatican. The troupes many tours in
the years since have been filled with both thrills and
mishaps. On one South American tour their agent
abandoned them, forcing them to rearrange everything
RQWKH\2QDQRWKHURFFDVLRQWKH\IRXQGWKHPVHOYHV
without visas or permission to perform as a show date
ORRPHG%XW0LFKHOLQLVD\V,GRQWIHDUKDUGVKLS7KLV
is what I want to do, and I want to keep on doing it.
It is Michelinis determination that keeps the Lan Yang
Dancers traveling and introducing Taiwans beauty to
the world. The company has performed on countless
stages in Taiwan and around the world over the last
50 years, delivering performances that have not only
The ribbon dance The Rainbow evokes the colors and dynamism
of the sky after a storm. The dance has been performed for the
Pope and on other international stages many times.
(courtesy of Lan Yang Dancers)
33


1989

1992


The Lan Yang Dancers have performed for Pope Paul VI (upper
UNESCO photo), for Pope John Paul II (lower photo) and also for Pope
Benedict XVI. (courtesy of Lan Yang Dancers)
CIOFF

1994CIOFF

1991
1996
200 Vaganova2005


1999

34 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

shown the world a bit of Taiwanese culture, but also
served as an extraordinary kind of cultural diplomacy.
Bringing the world to Taiwan
Michelini has used culture and the arts to make
friends around the world, employing every technique,
network and channel he could to raise his troupes in-
WHUQDWLRQDO SUROH DQG QG LW RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR SHUIRUP
abroad. The Lan Yang Dancers outstanding international
performances even prompted the International Council
of Organizations of Folklore Festivals (CIOFF), a group
DOLDWHGZLWK81(6&2WRLQYLWH0LFKHOLQLWRDWWHQGLWV
annual conference as an observer. In fact, the hard work
and support of Michelini and others helped pave the
way for Taiwan to become a formal member of CIOFF in

1994. Michelini has continued to promote exchanges and Students at the Shengyin Kindergarten receive New Years red
envelopes from Father Grandpa (Father Michelini).
the development of Taiwans folk arts during his tenure
as secretary-general of CIOFF Chinese Taipei.
In 1996, the Yilan County Government incorporated audiences to international-caliber performances, but also
Michelinis proposal for a childrens arts and games fes- provided local troupes with the opportunity for interna-
tival into its celebration of the 200th anniversary of the tional exchanges. The festival itself was an unprecedented
arrival in Yilan of a party of Han Chinese pioneers, by success, and has since become one of Taiwans premier
hosting the first Yilan International Childrens Folklore celebrations of international arts, one that nearly everyone
and Folkgame Festival. Michelinis long experience with in Taiwan has attended at least once. When you examine
international arts festivals also came in handy, enabling Michelinis success in creating such impactful events,
him to invite outstanding troupes from around the world you cant help but admire his dedication and vision.
to perform. These groups not only exposed Taiwanese Michelini took advantage of the 1991 breakup of the

After spurring the creation
of the Yilan International
Childrens Folklore and
Folkgames Festival, Father
Michelini helped it grow into
one of Taiwans best-known
international arts festivals
by inviting artists from
around the world to perform.
(courtesy of Yilan County
Cultural Affairs Bureau)

35


Father Michelini built the Catholic Centers family garden with his
own hands, and welcomes everyone to enjoy it.




201450
201410


9~18















36 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

6RYLHW 8QLRQ WR H[SORUH (DVWHUQ (XURSH LQ VHDUFK RI
EDOOHWGDQFHUV+HFDPHEDFNZLWKWKH9DJDQRYD%DOOHW
Academys training system and in 2005 established the
/DQ<DQJ %DOOHW D WURXSH WKDW PDUULHV WKH VWUHQJWKV RI
Western dance with Taiwanese cultural content.
In fact, the Lan Yang Dancers have been incorporat-
ing Taiwanese elements into their work for years with
pieces and programs such as 1999s Princess Kavalan, a
retelling in dance of the myth of Guishan Island and the
Lanyang Plain, and Qianggu, a dance brimming with
imagery from Yilan.
Building a future
The Lan Yang Youth Catholic Center consists of two
connected concrete buildings housing the center, the
dance companies, and the kindergarten on roughly six
KHFWDUHVDORQJ/XRGRQJV%HLFKHQJ5RDG7KHVLWHDOVR
includes open fields. I like Nature and dislike con-
crete, explains Michelini, who has created a family
garden by planting trees from all over the world. The
land is also home to a variety of animals, including
VWUXWWLQJSHDFRFNVOHDSLQJVTXLUUHOVRFNVRIFKLFNHQV
and ducks, croaking frogs and migratory birds that visit
every year. I once had a nocturnal sika deer inspect the
evening dance classes with me, jokes Michelini.
Members of the Lan Yang Ballet enhance the Yilan landscape
and introduce ballet into local lives by performing at scenic spots
around the county. (courtesy of Lan Yang Dancers)
Asked whether he is a romantic, Michelini demurs,
saying thats not the sort of thing one can judge for
RQHVHOI%XWDVZHZDONWKURXJKWKHJDUGHQVKHTXLHWO\
urges the two peacocks leading us around the garden to
fan their tail feathers for us to admire.
Its a revealing moment that hints at a whimsical if
not necessarily romantic side of Michelinis character.
Having already founded a professional dance com-
pany that enables local dancers to preserve the joy-
ful dances of their hometowns, in 2014 Fr. Michelini
resolved to move on to the next stage of Lan Yangs
cultural blueprint by establishing an international chil-
drens art village in Yilan. The planned arts village will
include a professional performance space, multipurpose
classrooms, and living spaces, and will draw on Lan
Yangs deep experience with arts exchanges. Michelini
aims to make the venue one of Taiwans key dance cen-
ters by enabling international artists to remain here for
longer periods of time.
Father Michelini has always felt that Taiwan needs
to look outward and make friends with the world. With
WKDWLQPLQGKHVD\V/DQ<DQJKDVDFOHDURULHQWDWLRQ
one that only it can follow. We still have much more to
give to Taiwan, and will continue to march ahead so
long as we receive support. Michelini is still working to
realize his dreams in Taiwan, and hopes that the public
will continue to endorse and support his endeavors.
&DWK\7HQJSKRWRVE\-LPP\/LQ
tr. by Scott Williams)
37
 Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

38 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Education

Telling It in the Mountains:

The Bethlehem Mission Society

2008

1953

F or 60 years now, the Swiss priests of the Bethlehem

Mission Society have lived in poor communities in
the mountains of Taitung. They have witnessed the areas
hardships and deprivations, while providing education
and relief to the poor, and saving souls.
Today, their exotic faces are gradually disappearing
from the Taitung countryside, but the contributions they
have made to Taiwanese society will never be forgotten.

Photographer Nicholas Fans The Chapel of Kung-Tung: An

Education Legend in the Coastal Range of Taiwan and Men for All
Seasons: The Swiss on the East Coast tell the story of the Swiss

39


Brother Augustin Bchel (left) and Fathers Gottfried Vonwyl
(center) and Josef Eugster (right) of the Bethlehem Mission
Society made the long journey to Taiwan when they were just
young men. More than 50 years have passed since then.

1953

78Josef Eugster
19581974


1970

40 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


priests behind the Bethlehem Mission Society in Taiwan.
Without these books, the story of these Catholic fathers,
who crossed the seas to distant Taiwan in 1953 and de-
voted their lives to improving life in the mountains of
Taitung, might have been lost.
For 60 years, the headquarters of the Bethlehem Mis-
sion in Taiwan has been located inconspicuously in the
city of Taitung, next to St. Marys hospital. A chapel and
classrooms can be found inside a building whose archi-
tectural style recalls Le Corbusier. Here is also where the
priests and monks used to live back in the day.
A yellowed picture in the parlor features a photograph
of young priests at the headquarters of the Roman Catho-
lic Bethlehem Mission Society in Switzerland. They would
all end up serving as missionaries in locations such as Af-
rica, Central and South America, and mainland China.
Building schools, helping the poor, saving souls
In 1953, a large group of the societys missionaries
relocated to Taiwan from northeast China, settling in Tai-
tung. The governments ability to provide healthcare and
social care in the area was very limited, so the mission
The wooden pews and ceiling of the Bethlehem Mission Societys
chapel were made by the students of St. Josephs Kung-Tung
Technical Senior High School, who became well known for their
craftsmanship.
stepped up. Taitungs St. Marys Hospital and the Train-
ing Center East, as well as several local nursing homes,
were founded by the mission. Among them, St. Josephs
Kung-Tung Technical Senior High School, which was
established by the Taiwan missions founder, Father Ja-
kob Hilber, is the most familiar to people these days.
Not long after Fr. Hilber arrived in Taitung, he de-
cided to establish the high school, which was modeled
on German vocational high schools. From 1958 to 1974,
the school employed more than 20 foreign instructors
from Germany, Switzerland and Austria to teach wood-
working skills. The wood furniture the school produced
was well regarded both in Taiwan and overseas. During
its heyday, its beds could be found in hospitals through-
out Taiwan.
And today, the heavy exterior wooden doors at the
PLVVLRQ KHDGTXDUWHUV WKH ZRRGHQ VFUHHQV GHQLQJ LQ-
terior spaces, and the pews in the missions chapel were
all created by the schools students. Exquisitely crafted
with lustrous wood, the furniture and wooden doors
bear witness to the marvelous workmanship of that era.
1965
In remote areas of Taitung, the Bethlehem Mission has built
schools and hospitals, working to educate peoples minds and
save their bodies and souls. The photo shows the Training
Center East, which was established in 1965. (courtesy of the
Bethlehem Mission Society in Taiwan)
41
6
4
















136
Long based at the Church of St. Nicolaus at Xiaoma in Taitungs
Chenggong, Father Alfred Gigerearned the title Father of Orchid
Island for his many contributions to life on the island. (courtesy
of the Bethlehem Mission Society in Taiwan)

42 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



A scene of one of Bethlehems fathers doing
missionary work in Taitung back in the day. (courtesy
of the Bethlehem Mission Society in Taiwan)

Pain shows youre alive!

Before the Bethlehem Mission Society made a name
for itself in Taiwan, its big-eared priest Father Josef
Eugster, whose name in Taiwan is synonymous with
UHH[RORJ\IRRWPDVVDJHEHFDPHZLGHO\NQRZQWR7DL-
wans public.
Now aged 78, Fr. Eugster is the youngest member of
the mission.
He arrived in Taiwan in 1970, and his parish now
spans from Changbin all the way south to Yongfu.
Every Sunday, he rises at 6 a.m. and begins a day of
traveling: First he delivers a sermon at the church in
Yongfu. Then he scurries to the church in Changguang
EHIRUH QDOO\ KHDGLQJ IRU &KDQJELQ WR GHOLYHU KLV ODVW
mass of the day. Although he ends up spending more
than two hours all told delivering mass in three sepa-
rate places, Eugster doesnt show even the faintest hint
of fatigue.
Perhaps his faith is sustaining him, or perhaps his
health has been bolstered by the foot massage therapy
he developed to treat his rheumatoid arthritis while
training as a young priest in Hsinchu.
Eugster learned the technique from an old German
medical book. Though its pages were yellowed and its
FRYHUEHDWXSWKHERRNZKRVHWKHUDSLHVKHUVWXVHGWR
treat himself, became a treasured conduit for establish-
ing deeper links to the community. He has spent several
decades widely disseminating this method of therapeu-
tic foot massage.
Mastering the foot massage technique requires 136
hours of rigorous training. From focusing simply on
treating people, he has moved to teaching the technique
to rural residents, thereby providing a vocation with
which they can make ends meet.
Those coming to study under him have changed
from Aborigines initially to Southeast-Asian immigrant
brides living in Taitung today.
These new immigrants account for most of his

current 20 students. Swiss, Germans and Africans also
number among them. Normally, Bethlehems fathers are scattered in various rural
townships attending to their duties, but every Monday they gather
Nevertheless, Eugster reveals that when he arrived to share their thoughts, chat and eat together.

43


1963




81


50Amis

8


15





47

Father Josef Eugster of the Bethlehem Mission Society in Taiwan
has developed his own regimen of foot therapy, which he often
demonstrates and teaches to immigrants in his neighborhood.

44 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

with this skill, many locals didnt appreciate it, and he
UVW SURYLGHG WKH WKHUDS\ WR SHRSOH IURP HOVHZKHUH LQ
Taiwan or even foreign travelers. A temples neighbors
take the deities for granted, says Eugster, quoting a
Taiwanese idiom. Its travelers from afar who show it
the proper respect. The missions secretary Lin Sufei
notes: The father has better Mandarin than the locals,
and better Taiwanese than the Taiwanese. Likewise, he
speaks Amis better than the Amis!
In fact, mastering the three languages took a lot of
hard work. Along the way, he often played the fool and
elicited much laughter, such when confusing the Tai-
wanese word for butt with the word for countryside.
But he had the courage not to be bothered by losing
face. When he walked through the neighborhood, he
would say hello and chat with those he encountered. As
suspicious looks gave way to smiles, he knew that his
Taiwanese was improving.
As a child, Eugster aspired to become a teacher or
doctor. But he ended up fulfilling his dreams on the
other side of the world. The big boss gave me a mis-
sion! He has been in Taiwan for 47 years now, and
whenever anybody mentions him, they put the empha-
sis on his foot massage therapy. But Eugster always
reminds them: In fact, my calling is to be a priest. Re-
H[RORJ\LVMXVWDZD\RIJHWWLQJWKHPHVVDJHRXWDQG
of meeting people.
Eugsters foot massage therapy both rehabilitates
peoples bodies and soothes their minds. Whenever he
hears people crying in pain like babies, Eugster laughs
and responds with a line he never tires of: If you feel
pain, that means youre still alive!
A gardener restores Taiwan
Unlike Eugster and other priests who went deep into
remote areas, Brother Augustin Bchel, ever since arriv-
ing in Taitung in 1963, has spent his time at the mission
headquarters, handling payrolls and other administra-
WLYHDDLUV
Apart from his administrative duties at the mission,
Bchel, who was born on a farm in Switzerland, also
shows great love for Taiwans nature. He has planted
trees in front of the missions campus on Hangzhou
Street and black persimmons in the parking lot, as well
DVRZHUVDQGWUHHVLQVLGHWKHFDPSXV
The fruits and vegetables on Eugsters dining table all come from
his own garden. He leads a tranquil, happy life.
45
 1953

In 1953 these young Swiss priests bravely overcame many
obstacles to go deep into the remotest regions of Taitung,
spreading the good word and saving lives, body and soul.
(courtesy of the Bethlehem Mission Society inTaiwan)

Brother Augustin Bchel of the Bethlehem Mission Society, who
arrived in Taiwan more than 50 years ago, walks through a secret
garden in the mountains behind Chulu. He has a deep love for
WKHLVODQGVRUD

5





50 64


46 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 His love for Taiwan exceeds even that of most Tai-
ZDQHVH DQG KH RIWHQ SOXFNV ZLOGRZHUV DORQJ VWUHHWV
and alleys. When he arrives at friends homes, they
RIWHQ FRPH RXW WR ZDUPO\ JUHHW KLP RQO\ WR QG KLP
ORVW LQ WKRXJKW DGPLULQJ WKHLU RZHU JDUGHQV :KHQ
hes out on a hike, his strict conservationist side comes
out as he considers the balance of the forest ecosystem.
Sometimes, when no one else is watching, he stealthily
sows a few seeds. Years later, hell return to silently
HQMR\WKHRXULVKLQJJURZQWUHHV,I,KDGQWEHFRPHD
monk, I think I would have been a gardener!
Now in his eighties, when he takes a pleasure drive
up into the mountains behind Chulu, he displays not
WKH VOLJKWHVW KHVLWDWLRQ DV KH FRQGHQWO\ QDYLJDWHV WKH
winding roads sharp curves. The 50-minute trip is to
a small house in the mountains, where a friend has
invited him to help in the garden, knowing Bchels
fondness for horticulture.
As far as Bchel, who loves hiking, is concerned, the
wild mountains spread before him are not only his fa-
vorite place to visit, they have also been a springboard
for meeting many people. His friends all know that this
monk who spends his days busy with the administra-
tion of the mission has an deep, enduring love for the
natural environment of Taiwan. Consequently, he has
become a member of the Taiwan Environmental Pro-
tection Association and has even organized a climbing
The Bethlehem Mission Society is celebrating its 60th anniversary
of bringing the light of hope to the remotest corners of Taiwan.
club, becoming Taiwans first foreign-national wilder-
ness guide. He has hiked throughout Taiwans Central
and Coastal mountain ranges.
)URP WKH PRPHQW KH UVW ODQGHG LQ 7DLZDQ %FKHO
hasnt let himself long for home. Once you start on
\RXU MRXUQH\ GRQW ORRN EDFN KH VD\V ,W LVQW FOHDU
whether he is drawing inspiration from the Bible or from
his own experiences as a young man arriving in the re-
mote mountains of Taitung 54 years ago.
From its peak of over 30 members, the Bethlehem Mis-
VLRQ 6RFLHW\ LQ 7DLZDQ QRZ FRQVLVWV RI RQO\ YH SULHVWV
and one monk. The strapping young fathers and brothers
of that black-and-white photo have become wise elders.
Yet the passage of time has not reduced the deter-
mination of those priests, who overcame all manner of
OLQJXLVWLFGLFXOWLHVDVWKH\PRYHGGHHSLQWR7DLWXQJV
mountains. In the parlor of the mission there is a map of
7DLWXQJKDQGGUDZQIURPDSURMHFWHGVOLGH,WVDWWLQJ
representation of the missions 64 years of serving every
remote community in the county. 
(Liu Yingfeng/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
47
 Bringing Love Across the Seas:
Foreign Missionaries in Taiwan

Art

Enriching Lives in Qingquan:

Father Martinson

A s you approach the Atayal indigenous village
of Qing quan in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu
County, you see a little church nestled in verdant

hills, its gray walls decorated with stained-glass

windows. Against a cloudy sky, the Holy Cross

Catholic Church is conspicuous yet reserved. Its

historical ambiance seems to make time stand still,
conveying a sense of serenity. For Father Barry
40 Martinson, the keeper of this church, and the vil-
lage of Qingquan, 40 serene years have passed as if
1946 in the blink of an eye.

8
Martinson was born in California in 1946. When he

was eight years old his father passed away, leaving his

mother to raise him and his two brothers on her own.

His mother s determination and tolerance ensured
that Martinson grew up in a loving environment. And
it was his mother s love and her hope for her sons
happiness that sustained Barry and his elder brother
Jerry through their studies at the seminary. After grad-
uation, both brothers were sent by the Jesuits to serve

in Taiwan.

Martinson paints, sculpts, and creates stained-glass windows to
inspire everyone with vitality and joy.

48 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

49
1976

Decorated with indigenous cultural elements arranged around a
cross, the church is not just a local center of belief but is also a
temple to art and culture.

Outside the church, Martinson has put up a statue of an angel in
memory of his mother Lilys love and tolerance, and her support
for his calling to dedicate his life to service in Taiwan.

50 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 A church and a temple to art
Martinson, who loved to draw and paint from an
early age, used to gaze up at the stained-glass windows
instead of listening to the sermon when he attended
mass as a child. Perhaps this experience formed his idea
of what a church should be. When he was assigned to
the Atayal Aboriginal community of Qingquan in the
western foothills of Taiwans Central Mountain Range
in 1976, he arrived to find the church walls mottled
with age, seemingly lifeless. Determined to use his ar-
tistic skill and his aesthetic sensibility to add some color
to the building, he set himself to making stained-glass
windows to ornament the walls with both natural beau-
ties and stories from the Bible.
One image of Jesus praying is Martinsons favorite.
He pieced shades of red glass together into Jesuss robe,
which glows when sunlight spills through the natural
grain of the glass, especially at dusk. This is for Martin-
son the happiest time of day, and the most beautiful. 40

Besides the stained glass, the altar too displays
Martinson is dedicated to making Qingquan, his
Martinsons artistry. On the floor, he alternated strips home for 40 years, even more beautiful.
of blue and yellow tile into what he describes as water
IURPDPRXQWDLQVSULQJRZLQJGRZQLQWRDULYHU7KLV
mountain spring symbolizes the origin of life, and the

ZDWHUWKHHQHUJ\WKDWVHHPVWRRZDURXQGWKHVSDFHRI The beauties of the stained-glass windows are to be
the church, charging it with vitality. appreciated under different light from different angles.

51


12





199820

15
1985

15 In front of the mosaic he spent 15 years making, Martinson
playfully imitates the stance of the Atayal archer, demonstrating a
2000 spirit of perseverance.

52 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


week to teach English. Seeing the innocent smiles on the
Not just a Catholic father but also like a parent to the people of
Qingquan, Martinson lives to see the villagers thrive.
To honor the indigenous villagers, Martinson painted
the wall inside the entrance with a mural composed
of Atayal imagery arranged around a Christian cross.
Without words or language, Martinson has painted his
love for the village of Qingquan and its inhabitants.
In addition to putting the church in order, Martin-
son has done a series of mosaics on the wall beside the
EDVNHWEDOOFRXUWRXWVLGH$IWHUORQJUHHFWLRQKHVHWWOHG
on the story of David and Goliath for his first theme.
Alongside other Bible stories, he also rendered an Ata-
yal myth: once there were two suns that rose and set in
alternation, until an archer shot down the second sun to
separate day from night. The mural vividly expresses
Martinson leads groups to repair walls and beautify them with
LQGLJHQRXVLPDJHU\OOLQJWKHRQFHGHFUHSLWYLOODJHZLWKFKDUPLQJ
scenes.
the archers beauty and power as he looses his arrow,
HQFRXUDJLQJSHRSOHQHYHUWRJLYHXSLQWKHIDFHRIGL-
culty, to persevere no matter what. With his hard work
and dedication, it took Martinson 15 years, from 1985 to
2000, to complete this group of murals that symbolize
strength, hope, freedom, and courage.
Building a fortress
Before Martinsons arrival, children who were born
in remote villages in the mountains had to go down into
Zhudong to go to school. In many households, both
SDUHQWV OHIW WKH YLOODJH WR QG ZRUN LQ WKH FLW\ OHDYLQJ
Grandma and Grandpa to take care of the kids. Many
such children were denied the opportunity to get an
education. Martinson could not bear it. In 1998, he con-
verted an abandoned church 20 minutes drive from his
own into the Sacred Heart Kindergarten, serving all the
villages in the area.
Though resources are limited, the kindergarten is
funded by the government through indigenous assis-
tance programs. Thus there are no tuition fees, just a cou-
ple of hundred NT dollars a month for transportation.
This is quite a light burden for families to bear compared
with the NT$10,000-plus they would have to pay at a
private kindergarten in the city. Martinson has not only
founded this kindergarten, but also goes there once a
faces of the children gives him the greatest satisfaction.
Martinson believes in practicing what he preaches.
In addition to founding the kindergarten, he also settled
the debt of a local credit cooperative which had been
dysfunctional for many years and turned the building
into the Taoshan Youth Cultural Center. He applied to
the Ministry of Education for funds for a simple library
and for an instructor to teach computer skills. In this
way, Martinson hopes to narrow the educational gap be-
tween urban and rural areas. Establishing the center was
not smooth going: when the government withdrew the
right to use the property, Martinson had to go down to
the city more than once to try to sort things out. To him,
the important thing is not who owns or manages the
property, but that Atayal children and youth can have a
space to study and develop their potential.
53



Martinson intends to keep watching over the church and the
village in the future.

54 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Like a parent to the people of Qingquan
In addition to building a kindergarten for young chil-
dren and a cultural center for youth, Martinson has built
a guesthouse for travelers, the Fountain of Youth Hostel,
hoping to create job opportunities for local residents so
DVWRVWHPWKHRXWRZRIODERU0DUWLQVRQGRHVZKDWKH
can in ways large and small in the village, never afraid
to get his hands dirty. He is not just a Catholic father,
but also like a parent to the people of Qingquan. He of-
fers blessings at weddings and births. He cares for and
provides support to poor families. Martinson even helps
ex-convicts to repair their houses and rebuild their lives,
encouraging them to make a fresh start.
To Martinson, the whole village of Qingquan is home.
He concerns himself not just with the church, which
KH EHDXWLHV ZLWK DUW DQG JDUGHQLQJ EXW DOVR ZLWK WKH
environment in which the villagers live. To improve this
environment, he donated all the stained-glass artwork
he made over two years for auction. With the funds the
auction raised, he led teams to repair walls and paint
LPDJHVZLWKDQLQGLJHQRXVRU%LEOLFDOVLJQLFDQFH9LVLW-
ing Qingquan now is like walking into a painting.
0DUWLQVRQUHSDLUVDQGEHDXWLHVHYHU\FRUQHURIWKH
Through Martinsons efforts, the Sacred Heart Kindergarten
improves indigenous childrens access to education.
village, including the stone walls along inclines. He
raises funds and applies for assistance without thought
of personal gain, and always contributes his own time
and energy. He also gets involved in discussions for
government-directed projects. His dedication to aesthet-
icsmatching color, balancing line, and harmonizing
LPDJHU\PLJKWOHDGVRPHWRWKLQNKLPWRRQLFN\EXW
to him Qingquan is home, and making the village as
good as it can possibly be is his unshirkable responsibil-
LW\:KHQKHUVWFDPHWR4LQJTXDQLWZDVWKHVLQFHUH
lively villagers who warmed his lonely expatriate heart
and gave him a sense of belonging. Martinson has spent
most of his life serving them in return, and will con-
tinue to love and watch over the residents, enriching
peoples daily lives with art so that everyone can dis-
cover the beauty of earthly existence. 
(Chen Chun-fang/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
tr. by Darryl Sterk)
55


56 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



13

A B C

CBS

57


O N

O l i v e r B o y d- B a r r e t t

Bernard Pivot

A p o s t r o p h e s

58 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



P h o t o s h o p

59


c h r o n i c p a r o nyc h i a

60 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



acute paronychia

61
OLD RESIDENCES

62 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



Bloodied Artist, Warrior of Life

Chen Cheng-pos Former
Residence and Museum

A casual passerby of the bustling shop at the

intersection of Lan jing Street and Guo
hua Street in Chiayi City might lift his head and
see a sign proclaiming the site to be the former
residence of Chen Chengpo. Although he was
acclaimed as the father of Taiwanese modernism,
Chens untimely death in his prime led him to be
forgotten by many. That has changed, however,
as in the past decade or so his paintings have
auctioned for everrising prices and there has
been a cultural shift towards appreciating Tai
wanese artists.

63


70
With the passing of time, Chen Cheng-pos former residence has
become an ice shop named We Taiwanese Folks Ice Dessert,
but some of the artists representative works are still displayed
within.

1895 19291933

1933


228-12




1927

1926

1937

64 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Hopes of becoming Taiwans Van Gogh
Born in 1895, the year the First Sino-Japanese War
ended and Taiwan was ceded to Japan, it seems as if
Chen Cheng-pos life was destined to be circumscribed
by the major conflicts of the era.
Although his father was a scholar who had passed
the local-level imperial exams, Chens mother had to
peddle peanut oil on the streets because his father died
shortly after his birth. Chen Cheng-po entered the Tai-
wan Governor-Generals National Language School.
During college, he became a student of famed Japanese
watercolorist Kinichiro Ishikawa, and with his teachers
encouragement eventually went on to enroll at Tokyo
Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts).
In 1926 his painting Outside Chiayi Street was cho-
sen for the 7th Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition
(the Teiten) in Japan, making him the first Taiwanese
painter to have an oil painting exhibited at the Teiten.
From there, his star began to rise.
Sketches of home
Chen Cheng-po moved to Shanghai and taught at
Xinhua Art College and Changming Art School from
1929 to 1933. He was chosen as one of 12 artists to rep-
resent the Republic of China at the Chicago Worlds
Fair in 1933. After he returned to Taiwan the same year,
most of his works were of the scenery of his hometown
and portrayed both the local culture of Chiayi and his
deep love for his home.
The Chiayi City 228 Commemorative Cultural Foun-
dation established the Chen Cheng-Po & 228 Cultural
Museum at 228-12 Guohua Street, near Chens former
residence. Many of his paintings are displayed there,
featuring scenes of Chiayi streets, parks, and temple
plazas.
Chen Cheng-po painted Summer Street Scene in 1927.
In this painting, he uses space to separate the Chiayi
street scene into three half-circular or circular sections,
each an independent vignette. The sunbaked streets
of the small southern town come to life on the canvas.
One can almost feel the shade thrown by the trees and
the inexpressible anxiety of a hot summer afternoon.
Chiayi Park (1), painted in 1937, is one of Chens larger
pieces, standing 162 centimeters tall. Red-crowned
cranes and white geese frolic in the shade of a magnif-
icent flame tree, creating an idyllic scene straight from
the artists deepest longings.
65
162

Chen often painted in Chiayis Zhongzheng Park. One can almost
imagine him standing by his easel under a flame tree, brush in
hand, setting life to paper. (photo by Hsu Ching-ho)

165 58
58
1935

1946
1947

2007


1934



58

66 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Tamsui sunset
Chen Cheng-po truly hit his stride after he returned
to Taiwan. He would wander, his easel on his back,
painting whenever and wherever inspiration struck.
Nine reproductions of Chens paintings are on dis-
play in Chiayis Zhongzheng Park in front of the Chen
Cheng-Po & 228 Cultural Museum. The replicas are
showcased in metal frames set on metal easels. The
most famous of these works is Sunset in Tamsui, painted
in 1935, depicting Hokkien-style houses clustered to-
gether beside the Danshui River. It gives the viewer a
sense of immersion within the scene.
The Tam sui series, including Tam sui and Tam sui gua, and Yu shan (Mt. Jade). The reproductions also
Middle School, are iconic examples of Chens style of each bear a plaque with a brief introduction of the piece
painting. In 2007, Sunset in Tamsui set a record for the and an audio guide. These 58 displays form the Chen
highest price paid for an oil painting by a Taiwanese Cheng-po Art Trail.
painter at a Hong Kong auction. Walking into history
The works in Zhongzheng Park also include Chiayi Warm-hearted and generous, Chen Cheng-po was
Street Scene, painted in 1934. The perspective of this elected to the Chiayi City Council in 1946. When the
painting is lowered to eye level, allowing the viewer a February 28 Incident occurred in 1947, because he
point of view similar to what a person would see if they spoke Mandarin he was chosen as part of a locally or-
were to stand on a street in Chiayi. ganized February 28 Incident Settlement Committee.
Fifty-eight of these Chen Cheng-po easels are The committee was called upon to mediate between
placed throughout Chiayi City, showcasing two main Kuo min tang forces and civilians when there was a
focal points: the eponymous Chiayi series, the easels standoff at Chiayis Shuishang Airfield. People urged
placed where Chen originally painted the works, and Chen not to go, saying it was too dangerous, but he in-
the Taiwan series, with pictures of Tamsui, Mt. Ba- sisted. However, at the airfield the group was seized by

58

Replications of
Chens works are
displayed in Chiayi
Citys cultural center
and in front of the
Central Fountain
(above), with 58 in
total throughout the
city. Chens style
illustrates a deep
love of his hometown
and the local culture.

67



The Chen Cheng-po & 228 Cultural Museum showcases Chen
Cheng-pos life and his works in chronological order. Acclaimed
as the father of Taiwanese modernism, his achievements are fully
displayed within. (photo below by Hsu Ching-ho)

70249

1983

1927


70 l

68 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

the military. Later, bound with wire, they were taken to family, who were in the business of making candied
Chiayi Train Station and summarily executed. yams. The next generation changed to selling flavored ice
Xu Yong sen, who runs the ice shop out of Chen instead, and has been doing so for the last 20-odd years.
Cheng-pos former residence, says that he used to hear Often, customers will see the sign saying that the place
his grandmother speak of the artist: Mr. Chen was such is Chen Cheng-pos former residence and they will ask
a kind man. Not only was he passionate about his duties about what sort of person the artist used to be.
as a city councilman, but he would also sometimes come After finishing our ice and taking leave of Chens resi-
over to mediate when I argued with your grandfather. dence, walking along the busy street we can see one of his
Such a good man, yet his life ended in such tragedy. easels displayed beside a nearby temple courtyard. Temple
Xu adds, His family even had to risk their lives to of Wenling Sea Goddess (Matsu) was painted in 1927. Al-
bring his corpse home. Chens heartbroken family put though he is long gone, one can still almost see the artists
his cold body on a door panel and took a picture, proof solitary figure walking through the bustling marketplace
that he had died an unjust death. His bullet-torn shirt, with a smile on his lips and his easel on his back, continu-
which hangs in the museum, is like a white flag flutter- ing on his journey to paint throughout Taiwan. l
ing over Taiwan, calling his soul home. (Kuo Hanchen/photos by Chuang Kungju/
The changing fortunes of Chens former residence tr. by Katje Chen and Darryl Sterk)
Seven decades later, Chen Cheng-pos for-
mer residence at 249 Lanjing Street has become
an ice shop named We Taiwanese Folks Ice
Dessert. At this ice shop, one can see how
bustling excitement and serenity co-exist.
Serenity, because the ice shop doesnt open
until past noon, and in those hours before it
opens for business, one can almost imagine
how it was back in the days when Chen was
in residence, quietly working at his art. Xu
Yongsen remembers that when he was young,
he could see how the first floor was filled with
Chens paintings. Hed always wanted to go
in and take a closer look, but never had the
chance.
The other aspect, that of bustling excite-
ment, is because the ice shop sells flavored ices
in summer and hot grass jelly and rice dump-
ling soup in winter. Hence the shop is very
popular and often has a line out the door.
Xu Yongsen says that he rents the storefront
from Chen Cheng-pos family. Chens family
moved away after the February 28th Incident.
In 1983, they started renting the place to Xus

Standing before Chens former residence or following

a tour guide, one can imagine the artists elegance
while at work and be moved by the spirit of art.
(photo by Hsu Ching-ho)

69
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOCUS

70 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



Halal: The Key to Muslim Markets

W hen it comes to business opportunities in the

Muslim world, Taiwan is making its pres-
ence felt. Taiwan has been actively courting Muslim
tourists by creating a hospitable environment and

finding new ways to welcome Muslim visitors, and

1,000101
Taiwanese enterprises have long since established
export routes to Muslim markets. For example, over
16 four decades ago Herdsman Enterprises began mar-
2050 keting beauty products in Southeast Asia. Their
28 much-coveted pearl creams have already been sold in
such numbers that if stacked vertically they would
GIER2020 exceed the height of 1000 Taipei 101 skyscrapers.

3.5
Statistics indicate that the global Muslim population
exceeds 1.6 billion, accounting for about a quarter of the
worlds population, and that by 2050 it will approach 2.8
billion. According to the latest estimate from the Global
Islamic Economic Report (GIER), Muslim-related economic
output is expected to reach US$3.5 trillion by 2020, sup-
ported by rapid population growth, a growing middle class,
higher levels of education and higher disposable incomes.
Catering to Muslim tastes

Islamic law determines the patterns of daily life for

Muslims. According to the Quran pork is unclean, and

certain other foods are proscribed from the daily diet of

Malaysia is the sole ASEAN member to have Islam as its official believers, such as the blood of animals, animals not slaugh-
religion. Pictured here is the pink-domed Putra Mosque in
Putrajaya, which is built of rose-tinted granite. tered in the name of Allah, and alcohol.

71







Muslim Friendly Restaurant




201115

Islam requires adherence to a strict dietary code. Aside from

banning pork and the blood of animals, meat must be prepared in
accordance with religious guidelines.

5


201320




2016

Abdullah Mahmud
5
DIY
Abdullah
13 Mahmud




MariaRaifaMaria

72 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 In the past Muslims largely consumed foods originat-
ing in the vicinity of their homes. In todays globalized
world of speedier transportation, however, food preser-
vation techniques have improved and processed foods
are ubiquitous. As a result halal certification was adopted
to avoid consumers inadvertently transgressing Islamic
dietary restrictions. Various countries, seeing favorable
business opportunities, have been vying to make inroads
into the enormous halal market.
A Muslim-friendly environment
Taiwan has been investing in Muslim tourism for less
than five years, says Eric Lin, director of the International
Affairs Division of the ROC Tourism Bureau. Seeing the
potential for growth, the Tourism Bureau has been pro-
moting a Muslim-friendly tourism environment. Taiwans
13 national parks led the way by providing prayer rooms
and installing hand showers in toilets. Islamic prayer
rooms have since been installed at important transporta-
tion hubs, including Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei
Railway Station, the Taichung High Speed Rail Station,
and the freeway rest stop at Qingshui in Taichung.
Creating a Muslim-friendly environment relies heavily
on the cooperation of the private sector. The Tourism Bu-
reau thus held information sessions and arranged subsi-
dies to stir interest among service enterprises. But because
Taiwan is not a Muslim country, many businesspeople
believe that halal certification is difficult to obtain.
In order to dispel this notion, the Tourism Bureau
and the Chinese Muslim Association are cooperating in
securing halal certification and the designation Muslim
Friendly Restaurant for restaurant operators. The first is
reserved for restaurants run by Muslims, and the second is
for those run by non-Muslims, but the criteria are the same.
They are granted only after a thorough inspection proves
that a restaurant meets certain specifications on food ori-
gin, methods of preparation, specific utensils, and segre-
gated preparation areas, and accords with the proscription
against displaying portraits.
Up to 2011 only 15 restaurants had obtained certification.
But today Muslim-friendly restaurants number more than
Tony Wu (center, wearing a suit) leads a Malaysian media group
on a tour of Taiwan. (courtesy of Tony Wu)
73


Herdsman Enterprises has been using Malay models and the

Malay language in its advertising campaigns to gain the confidence
of Malay consumers. (courtesy of Herdsman Enterprises)

The products of Herdsman Enterprises are sold in more than 30

countries worldwide. Caleb Tang believes that localization is the
key to success in the global marketplace.

Instagram MITMalaysia in Taiwan

MITMade in Taiwan

BEANNE


BB

201130
201647


M a s t e r C a r d
2 0 1 5
GMTI
102016
7





1974

1974

74 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

100. Taiwans food culture has expanded into the world
of halal cooking, from the five-star Silks Palace at the Na-
tional Palace Museum and one of the restaurants at Tai-
peis Grand Hotel to less-expensive neighborhood restau-
rants like Huangs Halal Beef Noodles or the Kunming
Islamic Restaurant, and the trend is still picking up steam.
Hospitality with heart
Aside from creating a Muslim-friendly environment,
it is essential for Taiwan to capitalize on its reputation
for hospitality. Tony Wu, director of the Kuala Lumpur
Office of the Taiwan Visitors Association, is brimming
with ideas on just how to introduce Taiwan to Muslim
visitors. In 2013, for example, Wu arranged for 20 Muslim
orphans from impoverished families to visit Taiwan. Wu
says he got the idea from the Quran, which calls on Mus-
lims to look after widows and orphans. He hoped to use
the experience to build a positive impression of Taiwans
willingness to look after the disadvantaged. It was a suc-
cessful example of national diplomacy, and the children
were later interviewed by Malaysias TV9, marking the
first time that Taiwans tourism efforts were broadcast to
a predominantly Muslim audience.
In 2016 Wu visited Abdullah Mahmud, a Malaysian
religious leader, and learned that Muslim tourists were
particularly interested in nature and herbal products and
placed great emphasis on family life. This made him real-
ize that Taiwan could market current tourism trends such
as leisure farms, theme parks, and hands-on activities.
Wu also organized a press tour of Taiwan to promote
the islands tourism efforts to the Malaysian media.
Among those taking part were the Malaysian celebrity
Maria and the famous radio host Raifa. During their
tour Maria, who is followed by more than 700,000 fans
on Instagram, shared video clips of her experiences sam-
pling Taiwanese delicacies, soaking in a hot spring and
visiting the National Palace Museum, using the power
of social media to promote Taiwan as a fun destination.
Wu is overflowing with good ideas. On recent trips
to Eastern Malaysia, I discovered that people there
Taiwan has been working hard to create a Muslim-friendly
environment. Pictured here is a Muslim-friendly guestroom at
Taipeis Check Inn, which features an arrow pointing toward
Mecca, a prayer rug, and a hand shower in the bathroom.
75

L O G O



JAKIM,
Jabatan Kamajuan Islam Malaysia


J A K I M



2011 S A S O,
Saudi Arabian Standards OrganizationSASO
LARD
489

Taiwans own long-established Muslim population lives
mainly in Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung. Pictured
here are worshipers praying at the Taipei Grand Mosque. Ready to GO l

76 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

shared many similarities with Taiwans Aborigines, quite
possibly because they are both Austronesian peoples. Tai-
wans Aboriginal culture could be another appealing as-
pect for us to highlight in our efforts to encourage tourist
visits from Malaysia, he says with enthusiasm.
In the past five years, Malaysian tourist visits to Tai-
wan increased by more than 50%, from 300,000 in 2011 to
470,000 in 2016.
In the 2015 MasterCardCrescentRating Global Muslim
Travel Index, Taiwan ranked tenth among non-member
countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation in
terms of meeting the needs of Muslim travelers, and in
2016 the island jumped three places to number seven. Next
year we will move even higher up the rankings, Wu says
with confidence.
Learning to sell locally
Selling Taiwanese merchandise into Muslim markets re-
quires similar diligence. Herdsman Enterprises began culti-
vating the Southeast-Asian market as early as 1974. Second-
generation executive Caleb Tang describes his family
background: his parents both came from Malaysia to study
in Taiwan. They liked it so much that after graduation they
decided to settle down and go into the export business.
The name for Herdsman Enterprises BEANNE cos-
metic line comes from the Malay word for wife and is
intended to represent a husbands devotion to his wife.
Their most famous product is a pearl cream nicknamed
Grandmas BB cream. Used both as a skin whitener and
as a foundation, it has been a leading brand in Southeast
Asia for more than four decades.
Herdsman Enterprises products are sold in more than
30 countries around the word. It is one of the few Taiwan-
ese brands sold in Middle-Eastern markets, including
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Dubai, where Herdsmans
years of cultivating local markets has found some success.
Caleb Tang believes that the key to approaching different
customers and different markets is localization. In Ma-
laysia, for example, Herdsman has focused its marketing
efforts on Malays, who make up 60% of the population.
Working with a local agent that has been marketing
cosmetics for more than two decades, it has established
a distribution channel to sell its products through local
shops, which are the direct contact points with customers.
The company has also been using Malay models and the
Malay language in its advertising campaigns to help local
consumers more easily identify with their products.
The pros and cons of halal certification
Since entering the Malaysian market in 1974, Herds-
man Enterprises has accumulated 40 years of experience.
At present halal certification in Malaysia is a marketing
issue, not a legal issue, observes Caleb Tang.
Malaysia is the sole member of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations that proclaims Islam as its offi-
cial religion, and it lists the development of Islamic enter-
prises among its key industrial priorities. The Department
of Islamic Development Malaysia (abbreviated to JAKIM
in Malay) is a government-led initiative that issues halal
certification, which carries considerable weight in the
Islamic world. Yet there is still a lack of international con-
sensus on halal certification standards.
Applying for halal certification is highly beneficial for
businesses, but complying with JAKIMs halal production
standards can be costly, requiring not only that the raw
materials meet halal requirements but also that the entire
production line is used only for halal products.
The Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association
was established in 2011 to provide halal certification, and is
recognized by the official certification agencies in Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Singapore. Tasha Hsiao, director of the Tai-
wan Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur, notes that after obtain-
ing halal certification some companies simply put the halal
logo on their products but do not design packaging with
the Malay consumer in mind, thus alienating customers.
Caleb Tang says it is quite possible that one day certi-
fication will become a regulatory issue. So at present the
most important strategy is to try to gain a foothold in the
market. If further legal restrictions are imposed in the fu-
ture, businesses with considerable market share will find
it easier to navigate the regulatory process. For example,
Herdsman Enterprises was already well established the
Middle-Eastern markets when Saudi Arabia introduced
a requirement for all imported products to be certified by
the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization. To protect its
position in the local market, Herdsman naturally applied
for the necessary certification.
Taiwan has already made comprehensive preparations
for doing business with Muslim countries, from creating
a welcoming environment to adapting to different tastes.
It is optimistic and ready to go! l
(Cathy Teng/photos by Jimmy Lin/tr. by Robert Green)
77
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOCUS

Chinese Education in Malaysia:
The Taiwan Connection

1950
S ince the 1950s, going to Taiwan for university has
been a popular choice for ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.
Often, the only overseas Chinese that Taiwanese college

students meet are from Malaysia. And in the Overseas

Youth Vocational Training School program, sponsored
2016 by the Overseas Community Affairs Council, students
16,051 from Malaysia always outnumber those of other na-
tions. According to the Ministry of Education, the 16,051
Malaysian students in Taiwan in 2016 comprised 54% of
all students from the ten ASEAN nations. Taiwan enjoys
a greater level of educational exchange with Malaysia
than with any other Southeast-Asian nation.


Chinese are the second largest ethnic group in Malay-
sia. Hailing from coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian,
their ancestors sailed across the South China Sea to take

advantage of the regions abundant resources, and they
put down roots.
Centuries of tradition
Very early on, Chinese in Malaysia created simple
schools attached to ancestral temples, and from these

beginnings Chinese education grew and flourished for

many years. Later, oppressive British colonial rule would
1957Malaya
engender a sense of crisis in the community, spurring an
increase in the number of private Chinese schools to more
1956 than 1400 by the start of World War II. In 1957 Malaysia
gained independence from Britain thanks in no small part
to the efforts of its ethnic Chinese. But the Razak Report of

78 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



The traditional Chinese-language education

found in Malaysia has allowed Chinese culture
to continue to flourish there. (photo by Chuang
Kung-ju)

79


To help Chinese Malaysians acquire skills, the Overseas
Youth Vocational Training School program, sponsored by
the Overseas Community Affairs Council, holds classes at
schools around Taiwan on subjects such as cosmetology,
hair styling, hospitality management, and agriculture.
1950




1,298








10%

1908
40
26

80 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

1956, although recognizing the legality of schools offering
instruction in any of three languages (Malaysian, Chinese
or Tamil), established Malaysian (Standard Malay) as the But back then, once the Malaysian students had fin-
national language and the language of instruction in state ished their studies in Taiwan, their degrees werent recog-
schools. Consequently, Chinese Malaysians began a long nized by the Malaysian government when they returned,
campaign for the right to a Chinese-language education. so they often ended up as teachers in the independent
After more than half a century of protests, debate and school system. On the one hand, these Taiwan-educated
evolving policy, there are now more than 1298 elementary teachers bolstered the professionalism of the education
schools with instruction in Chinese that receive govern- system, and on the other hand they shared their experi-
ment assistance. ences of studying in Taiwan with their students, which
Students who attend Chinese elementary schools then led more of their students to make the same choice.
select from three options for secondary education: national Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan have wit-
secondary schools, national type secondary schools nessed first hand Taiwans social development. Peng
and independent schools. Both the national secondary Choong Leng studied in Taiwan from 1986 to 1990, in
schools, which feature instruction in Malaysian, and the those heady days when Taiwan repealed martial law
national type secondary schools, which instruct with and lifted prohibitions as social movements blossomed.
a combination of Malaysian and Chinese, are five-year More than 20 years later Anson Soh, now Malaysia sales
institutions. Only about 10% of students from Chinese director for Tagtoo, witnessed the Sunflower Movement
elementary schools enter independent secondary schools. of 2014, a political movement of the new era. Whatever
These private schools, which do not receive government their generation, when these alumni of Taiwans colleges
assistance, are six-year institutions with Chinese-language make plans to travel to Taiwan, they speak of returning
instruction, much like the six years of secondary education to Taiwan not going to Taiwan. Taiwan has become a
in Taiwan. Consequently, many students go to college or second home for many of them.
university in Taiwan after graduating from them. Platform for educational exchange
Taiwan-bound for college Upon returning to Malaysia, these students have
Apart from the compatibility of the education systems, become a powerful force. In 1974, they formed the
there are historical reasons that explain why so many
Malaysian students who attend independent Chinese-
language secondary schools choose to go to college in
Peng Choong Leng, president of the Federation of Alumni
Taiwan, says James Chang, head of the Taipei Economic Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia, explains that his
group serves as an important platform for facilitating educational
and Cultural Office in Malaysia. Early on, graduates of exchange between Taiwan and Malaysia.
independent Chinese secondary schools faced ethnic quo-
tas when applying to college. When unable to attend local
colleges and universities, they looked abroad. In the 1950s,
at the height of the Cold War, the United States hoped
to encourage warm relations between ethnic Chinese in
Southeast Asia and Free China (the ROC on Taiwan)
by assisting Southeast-Asian Chinese to study in Taiwan.
Taiwan possessed high-quality colleges and universities
charging lower tuition than schools in the United States
and Europe, so it attracted quite a few ethnic Chinese
from Malaysia. Once the American grants ended, Taiwan
launched its own Overseas Chinese Education Policy.
Consequently, Chinese-Malaysian students have continued
to come to Taiwan for over half a century. More than 70,000
Malaysians have attended college or university in Taiwan.

81


1986~1990

2014

Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universi-
ties, Malaysia (FAATUM). Apart from its social functions,
1974 the federation has actively lobbied the Malaysian gov-
ernment to recognize Taiwan degrees. It worked toward
that goal for two decades before 1996, when the Malay-
sian government finally recognized eight medical, seven
dental and three pharmacy programs in Taiwan. In 2012

Taiwan and Malaysia mutually agreed to recognize each

others post-secondary degrees. Peng says, Now those

You are asking for the moon.
of us who have studied in Taiwan have another goal: We
1996 hope the government will allow holders of these degrees
873 to enter public service.
2012 Located in Petaling Jaya, a satellite city of Kuala Lum-
pur, the federation has for more than 40 years been a

launching pad for countless Chinese Malaysians to realize

their dreams of studying in Taiwan. Serving as a Taiwan

educational platform in Malaysia, its main mission is ed-

ucation counseling. Every year it holds regularly sched-
uled higher education fairs, traveling to various locations
in Malaysia with the assistance of its 40 member associa-
tions (14 district associations and 26 school associations)
4014 to recruit students interested in studying in Taiwan.

82 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 ()
(left) The message boards at Tunku Abdul Rahman University
bear witness to Malaysias tremendous cultural diversity.

Actively moving in an international direction, UTAR hosts large
numbers of foreign exchange students every year.

Tunku Abdul Rahman University has been at the forefront of

Chinese-language education in Malaysia. (courtesy of UTAR)

83
26

20166

2002

8411 Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan constitute important allies
of the ROC, and educational exchanges between the two nations
1996 help to realize Taiwans New Southbound Policy by facilitating
people-based exchange with the nations of Southeast Asia.

2001

50

1950




2009 l

84 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


In June of 2016 the federation and related institutions
held a recruitment expo and launched a program to
cultivate teaching resources for independent Chinese
schools in association with Taiwan colleges and uni-
versities, as well as a program supporting innovative
research to be carried out by colleges and universities
in cooperation with industry. The goal is to foster new
types and models of cooperation.
University exchanges
In addition to maintaining the traditions of Chinese
education, scholars in Malaysia are working to foster
their own Chinese discourse, and these efforts have led
to growing exchanges between Taiwan and Malaysia.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) has been at
the forefront of Chinese-language education in Malaysia
since it opened in 2002. At first it had only eight depart-
ments, with 411 students.
Today it has 110 departments with more than 26,000
students. It has Malaysias largest Chinese department,
with more than 400 undergraduates and graduates
combined, and it has established an Institute of Chinese
Studies. As Malaysias leading Chinese university, more
than 90% of its students are ethnic Chinese. It is our
mission to pass down Chinese cultural knowledge
work that all the more important now that Chinese is an
international language, says Dato Chuah Hean Teik,
the universitys president. Whats more, we hope to re-
cord the history of Chinese in Southeast Asia, including
the historical background and reasons why they came,
as well as the contributions they have made locally.
The New Village Community Project is especially
noteworthy. It refers to the new villages for Chinese
Malaysians that were established in the 1950s. To pre-
vent ethnic Chinese from establishing ties to communist
guerrillas, the British colonial administration declared
a state of emergency and resettled massive numbers
of them into new villages, restricting their freedom of
movement for more than a decade.
To gather information about this period, the univer-
sitys New Village Community Project was launched in
2009, issuing requests to conduct fieldwork in these vil-
lages. The work attracted interest from academic insti-
tutions in nearby nations such as Singapore, Japan and
Korea, who sent researchers to participate. With its deep
ties to Malaysia, Taiwan also made its mark. Participants
came from National Tsing Hua University, National
Taiwan University, and Feng Chia University. We have
also engaged in joint research on Hokkien communities
in Malaysia with National Quemoy University, National
Cheng Kung University and Xiamen University, and we
have conducted research with National Chiao Tung Uni-
versity into Hakka culture, says Chuah.
Actively moving in an international direction, UTAR
has formed sister-school relationships with more than
40 schools in Taiwan, in addition to promoting student
exchanges and joint degree programs.
Fifty years ago, Taiwan became a place where many
Malaysians would go to pursue their educational
dreams, and those educational journeys have never
ceased. Malaysia is the Southeast-Asian nation where
Taiwan has most successfully implemented its ex-
changes of people under the New Southbound Policy.
But TaiwanMalaysia exchanges should not be mea-
sured by rising numbers alone, and their importance
should not be limited to discussions of the New South-
bound Policy, says Peng Choong Leng. The fruits of
TaiwanMalaysia educational exchange are demon-
strations of the true power of the Republic of Chinas
foreign relations. That assessment should serve as a
footnote to this historical era. l
(Cathy Teng/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Jonathan Barnard)
85
SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOCUS

Bookshops are an essential
venue of cultural transmission
for Malaysias Chinese-speaking
population.

86 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



Film, Entertainment, Culture:

Taking Taiwans Soft Power South

T aiwan and Malaysia enjoy close linguistic ties
that have supported continuous bilateral cul-
tural exchanges. The Malaysian ethnic Chinese com-

munitys use of various varieties of spoken Chinese

and of Chinese characters means that we view the

world through similar frames.
12
21 Every December, a group of more than 300 young
Chinese Malaysians visits Taiwan for a 21-day tour of
the island. Although many of these students are visiting
15~18 Taiwan for the first time, most have already learned
a great deal about our island and culture through the

mass media.

Members of the study group, who range in age from

15 to 18 years old, chatter enthusiastically among them-
S selves about books by Giddens Ko, films such as You
201416 Are the Apple of My Eye and At Cafe 6, shows like Kangsi
Coming, TV hosts such as Kevin Tsai, Dee Hsu, and Woo
Gwa, and their love of the music of Jay Chou, A-mei,
and Jolin Tsai.

Having grown up learning about Taiwan through

television, the kids now have the opportunity to experi-

ence the real thing for themselves.
Cultural connections
In contrast to this younger generation of Chinese
Malaysians, who acquired their first impressions of Tai-
wan through movies and television, those born in the

87



These children in a corner
of a bookstore focus on
their reading, immersing
themselves in imaginary
worlds.

80

198489

2016

2014
Peter Su 2016

19
3105
1





201611
68 90

88 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

1960s and 1970s got theirs from the works of Taiwanese
authors.
Malaysias long tradition of Chinese-language educa- released in Taiwan by Chinese-language pop stars
tion has helped the country maintain a large population not only circulate throughout Greater China, but also
of people who read Chinese. By whetting the literary within Malaysias own large ethnic Chinese community.
appetites of Chinese Malaysians, this educational tradi- Taiwan also serves as an important market for Malay-
tion has also turned bookshops into essential mediums sian Mandopop singers who hope to take their talents
of cultural transmission. abroad, one in which they have to compete.
Well known throughout Singapore, Malaysia, and Which Mandopop stars come from Malaysia? Eric
Hong Kong, the Popular Book Company opened its Moo is an early example, but Taiwanese record compa-
first Malaysian bookstore in 1984. It has since grown nies have been scouting Southeast Asia for new talent
into Malaysias largest bookstore chain, with 89 outlets since the 1990s, and their finds have included the likes
across the country. Executive director Lim Lee Ngoh of Fish Leong, Penny Tai, Michael Wong, Victor Wong,
has been working in book publishing for more than 30 Nicholas Teo, and Ah Niu (Tan Kheng Seong).
years, and shares her perspective as she leads us around TV programs have provided still more opportuni-
one of her stores. Taiwan accounts for the bulk of our ties for exchanges between singers from Taiwan and
Chinese-language books, followed by mainland China, Malaysia.
and then locally published books, explains Lim. Malaysian singer Athena Beh appeared on the
She points to shelves lined with books by Taiwanese
household names, ranging from Chang Man Chuans
The Sea is Blue and San Maos collected works to titles
When you read a book, you come to know the author.
by Neal Wu, Giddens Ko, Mark (Mark Lee), Deng Hui-
wen, and Juzi (Cao Xiaoru). Theres even a poster on
the wall promoting a Malaysian lecture by Peter Su, the
social media phenom who wrote On the Road to Dreams.
It feels just like a bookstore in Taiwan!
Populars efforts to promote reading include recom-
mending 19 new books (ten from Taiwan) every month
and airfreighting them to Malaysia, which ensures that
Malaysian readers have access to the hottest new Chi-
nese-language titles.
Popular also organizes the Malaysian publishing in-
dustrys annual BookFest, which attracted 680,000 visi-
tors to its 11th iteration in 2016.
Taiwanese publishers have participated as a group
for many years. In fact, the Ministry of Culture brought
more than 300 publishers to the Taiwan pavilion for the
2016 expo. The MOC also invited authors Wu Mingyi,
Tsai Shi-ping, and Chuang Tzu-i, as well as illustrator
Chen Yingfan, to deliver lectures and participate in ex-
changes aimed at helping ignite TaiwaneseMalaysian
cultural fires.
Musical exchanges
Taiwan is a trendsetter in the Chinese-language en-
tertainment field. You can hear Taiwanese pop music
just about everywhere you find ethnic Chinese. Albums

89


2015

PK90

90

mamak
Taiwanese TV show One Million Star three times and re-
ceived such high marks for her performance, in a song

duel, of I Admit It, originally by the 1990s Taiwanese
duo Youke Li Lin, that her record company had her record
a new version of it for one of her albums. The recording by
a relative youngster rejuvenated an old standard and cre-
ated memories that can be shared across the generations.
Astro
Malaysian songwriters have also penned many a
2007Astro
Taiwanese Mandopop song, including hits such as Jovi

Thengs Cant Help Falling in Love, as well as Ah

Nius Look over Here, Girl and Waves Like Flowers
(performed by Richie Ren). Ah Nius use of distinctively
F4 Malaysian elements, such as Mamak stalls and multiple
languages, in his songs has also helped bring greater di-

versity to Mandopop.
Television exchanges

TaiwaneseMalaysian exchanges extend well beyond

25
music. Turn on a TV at 3 p.m. in Malaysia and youll find
long-running programs set in rural Taiwan that have a
large Malaysian fan base. Theyre so popular that Ma-
laysias Astro television service even created a station
devoted exclusively to them in 2007.

90 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



Taiwanese and Malaysian TV and film professionals are
undertaking exchanges in multiple areas, creating opportunities
for cooperation and mutually beneficial ventures. (courtesy of
Enjoy TV Corp.)

M R. R i g h t


(left) Yoko Chous My Mr. Right was the first Malaysian film to be
made in coproduction between Malaysia, Taiwan and mainland
China, establishing a template for future collaboration on
Chinese-language films. (courtesy of Enjoy TV Corp.)

21

These members of a Taiwan study tour traveled the island for 21

days, learning about folk arts through experience-oriented classes.

(right) Taiwan and Malaysias extensive musical exchanges include

Malaysian singer Athenas three appearances on the Taiwanese
TV show One Million Star. (courtesy of Enjoy TV Corp.)

91
 2015K L C T FA
MTFF
12

642


3.74.3
20122015
MR. Right 2018





KLCTFA



2010
l

60%20%

Crowds pack Malaysias annual BookFest. (courtesy of Popular
Book Co.)

92 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


restrictions used to discourage Chinese Malaysians
Drop into any Popular bookstore and youre sure to find the
works of Taiwanese authors on the shelves.
The Taiwanese idol show Meteor Garden has also
been a huge hit, tearing through Malaysia like a whirl-
wind and turning not just ethnic Chinese but also na-
tive Malays into fans of the Taiwanese boy band F4.
Interestingly, the driving force behind the spread
of Taiwanese TV shows on Malaysian TV has been a
Taiwanese woman named Yoko Chou. Married to a
Malaysian man, Chou also happens to be the CEO of
Enjoy TV Holdings.
Chou has continued to pursue her TV career in Ma-
laysia, using her extensive connections and experience
to bring Taiwanese and Malaysian resources to bear
on producing TV programs. She has also worked with
mainland Chinas Jiangsu Broadcasting and Malaysian
television networks to shoot a variety of programs.
My role is to be something of a platform, to bring Tai-
wanese talent to Malaysia and mainland China, and to
spur cooperation by enabling that talent to be seen.
Chou branched out into film in 2012, and in 2015
released My Mr. Right, a film that features Taiwanese
actors Tou Chung-hua and Lin Mei-hsiu, as well as
Malaysian and mainland Chinese cast members. As
the Malaysian film industrys first trilateral venture,
it established a template that the rest of the industry
can follow to make Chinese-language films.
Taiwans experience has been proving important
to the development of the Malaysian film industry.
Chous husband Dato Sam Yap, president of the Kuala
Lumpur Chinese TV & Film Association (KLCTFA),
admits: Malaysias film industry has developed more
slowly than its other entertainment industries.
Ah Niu filmed Ice Kacang Puppy Love in 2010.
During a subsequent interview with Taiwanese
variety-show matriarch Chang Hsiao-yen, he men-
tioned that Malaysian films with more than 60% of
their dialog in Chinese were considered foreign films
and subject to a 20% entertainment tax. The reporting
of this news prompted the Malaysian government to
amend the law, which in turn began the development
of Chinese-language film in Malaysia. Such policy
from going into film production, and contributed to
the sector s relatively late development. The indus-
trys next hurdle is overcoming its resultant lack of
film professionals.
In 2015, the KLCTFA and the Taipei Economic and
Cultural Office in Malaysia jointly organized the Ma-
laysia and Taiwan Film Festival and the Golden But-
terfly Awards, inviting Taiwanese and Malaysian di-
rectors, writers, producers, and actors to attend forums
and take part in exchanges. Sam Yap, who chaired the
organizing committee, says: It was a good beginning.
I hope to see more cooperation and exchange between
Taiwan and Malaysia in the future.
TV is an incredibly important form of entertain-
ment in Malaysia, where the average urban house-
hold watches 3.7 hours per day and the average rural
household watches 4.3 hours per day. With the Malay-
sian government planning to move all of the countrys
state-owned TV stations to digital broadcasting by
2018, and with Enjoy TV Holdings having won the li-
cense to operate a block of the broadcasting spectrum
and been authorized to devote it entirely to Mandarin
programming, Chou and Yap believe that the time is
right for Malaysia and Taiwan to deepen their cooper-
ation and that such cooperation will benefit the profes-
sionals, capital, and talent on both sides.
Malaysians regularly listen to Taiwanese pop music,
watch Taiwanese TV, and even occasionally read the
books of Taiwan authors. Taiwan and Malaysias many
years of close cultural exchanges have incorporated
Taiwanese elements into Malaysian lives. Moving
forward, cultural soft power will undoubtedly play an
important role in our deepening ties to one another. l
(Cathy Teng/photos by Jimmy Lin/
tr. by Scott Williams)
93
RESTORING OLD BULDINGS

A Collectors Vision:
Kuo Su-jen Brings Art into
Old City Streets

1996


60


Kuos art
collecting
began with the
acquisition of
a Sakyamuni
Buddha by
Liao Hongbiao.
(courtesy of
Kuo Su-jen)

94 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 S ince returning from the United States
in 1996 and buying her first collectible
artwork (a figure of Sakyamuni Buddha by
Liao Hongbiao), Kuo Su-jen, who will be
60 next year, has continued to expand her
art collection and has worked to restore
historic residences, combining architec-
tural aesthetics with art promotion to
infuse beauty into the daily lives of ever
more people. Interweaving old and new in
this way, she is opening a new chapter for
urban aesthetics in Taipei.

Kuo Su-jen, chairwoman of the Rich Development

Company, is pictured at Gallery Life Seeding, which
is located in the renovated former residence of a
physician to Chinas last emperor.

95


1996

3

2013
2016

The view from the second story of Gallery Life Seeding. In the
past, the rear door led out directly toward the Danshui River.
200




201612




12

210

20152

96 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


A peek into an exhibit of Taiwanese and Japanese artistic
household utensils, suitable for everyday use.
In 1996, property developer Kuo Su-jen, a passionate
lover of the arts and chairwoman of the Rich Develop-
ment Company, set up the Kuo Mu Sheng Foundation
and invited her father to invest in the venture. The fol-
lowing year, Kuo established the foundations art center,
and in recent years she has helped to restore a succession
of old buildings: Taipei Story House; the galleries Bloom
and Gallery Life Seeding, located on Dihua Street; old
National Taiwan University dorms on Wenzhou Street,
which are tentatively slated to open at the end of the
year; and the former residence of the philosopher Thom
H. Fang on Guling Street, which is still being renovated.
Gallery Life Seeding:
From doctors digs to exhibition space
Ask Kuo about her collection and she can describe
the items at great length. But if you ask her how she se-
lects artworks, her answer is surprisingly simple: I just
follow my tastes. Her collection, which is barely con-
tained within three spacious rooms, is stored in a series
of brocaded boxes.
Liu Wen-liang, Kuos husband and the current CEO
of the Kuo Mu Sheng Foundation, explains why they
opened Gallery Life Seeding: She was dying to have
her own art promotion space, he says.
The gallery, which opened in December 2016 and is
located in a row of old shops, was once the residence of
Shih Chi-yao traveled to Japan to master difficult techniques and
succeed in infusing innovative ceramics with glazes made from
Hualien jadeite.
Huang Zizheng, sometime physician to Puyi, the last
emperor of China. Repurposed into a living arts space
by Kuo, the gallery is separated into three different
partsone selling artistic craft items, another selling
coffee beans hand-roasted in earthenware, and finally a
teahouse cum art gallery, which from time to time hosts
exhibits by Taiwanese artists.
In December last year, the gallery invited flower-
arranging masters to practice their art in the earthenware
jars and vases of potter Shih Chi-yao, enlivening the
somewhat staid exhibition space in keeping with Kuos
let art enter life aesthetic principle. Kuo raised a blue
teacup and showed how cracks spread over the surface
when it came into contact with water. When water of dif-
ferent temperatures was poured into the vessel, the orig-
inal solid blue surface splintered into layers of crackling
in various shades, giving life to the once-lifeless object.
97


10
Visitors enjoy photographing Blooms long balcony, which
stretches the length of ten storefronts.

20155
1913

19982015





Ismet Erikan
9

kilim
The Kuo Mu Sheng Foundations affiliated art center has won
several Arts & Business Awards from the Ministry of Culture for
its advancement of arts and culture.

98 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Bloom:
A riverside art salon
Kuo grew anxious during the three years it took for
Gallery Life Seeding to secure a permit from the Taipei
City Government. One day she walked further along
Dihua Street and up to the second floor of a building
there, and looking around her she could see the poten-
tial to create a large space stretching across ten shops.
Kuo brimmed with excitement, and in February 2015
Bloom was born.
At Bloom, Kuo sells works by young artists, allow-
ing the spirit of youth to infuse the space and enabling
young artists to make a living by selling their own
works.
Our resources arent unlimited and we cant buy
the priciest artworks, but we have some means and
can collect artwork we like and so allow young artists
to keep creating, Liu Wen-liang says. If we find just
one great artist among 10,000, its worth it. Even if they
dont all become great artists, spaces like Bloom allow
art to enter more peoples lives. In this way, wont the
arts be elevated over time?
Since Blooms opening the year before last, we have
received an endless stream of exhibition proposals from
young artists, and the exhibition schedule was quickly
booked, Kuo says.
So, why do young artists like to exhibit at Bloom?
To show your work in a museum or exhibition space,
you need to have established a reputation, Kuo says,
and galleries require artworks to fetch a certain price.
While Bloom has no such restrictions, young artists
have found sales to be rather good, and gradually trust
has been built between artists and the gallery. But just
what are Blooms criteria for selecting art? Purely what
we like, Kuo says. Really, its just that simple.
Taipei Story House:
An arts classroom
Built in 1913 and located in Yuanshan on the south
bank of the Keelung River, the Taipei Story House re-
verted to Taipei City Government management in 2015
and its operation was then offered for public bidding.
My brothers friend was looking for a place to display
European porcelain and wanted to use the foundations
name to apply for a permit to establish an exhibition
space in the Taipei Story House, Kuo says. It seemed
better to apply ourselves, however, than to have some-
one else apply in our name.
Around that time Ismet Erikan, representative at the
Turkish Trade Office in Taipei, got wind that Kuo had
won the management rights for the Taipei Story House
and they jointly organized a special exhibition last
September: The Soul of Hands: Kilims and Ceramics
These artistic household items exhibited at Bloom come from
many countries and were collected by Kuo Su-jen.
99


Precious Victorian-
era majolica tiles from
Britain on display at
the Taipei Story House.

2015
In 2015 Kuo Su-jen took over the management of the Taipei
Story House, a historic landmark.

100 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


The Soul of Hands, a special exhibit of handicrafts
from Turkey, featured kilim woven carpets, which
are closely tied to the countrys image.
from Turkey. Aside from the kilim woven carpets and
ceramic arts, both very typical of Turkey, the exhibition
also featured a Turkish ceramicist who demonstrated
his art, lectures on Turkish culture and a Turkish bazaar.
The exhibition proved highly popular.
We expect ourselves to operate to museum stan-
dards, says Wang Ya Ting, chief of Taipei Story Houses
Exhibition Department. An important part of that is
not to ignore the teaching of aesthetics. For example,
when they planned the Story of Majolica event, they
prepared a kit for decorating majolica tiles that would
allow people to better understand the process of creat-
ing precious Victorian-style majolica through first-hand
experience.
Peoples lives cannot be separated from material
things. Kuo Su-jen feels that if people could choose they
would naturally prefer to use objects possessing artistic
beauty. In the case of kilims and ceramics, people do
not use woven carpets just to keep warm or pottery just
to serve food and beverages. The artistry, colors and de-
signs used in their manufacture are a microcosm of the
life and culture of Turkey.
Tangible materials sustain the intangible past and
serve as an extension of memory and a cultural medium.
Perhaps they also embody our aspirations for the future.
Thom H. Fangs residence and the
university dorms of Wenzhou Street
Dadaocheng is zoned as a commercial district, where
The Turkish exhibition displayed painted tiles featuring the tree of
life, an ancient cross-cultural symbol that represents the universe
and eternal life.
urban planning rules permit a high floor area ratio
the ratio of a buildings floor area to the land that it oc-
cupies. When old low-rise buildings are renovated, the
surplus portion of their theoretical maximum floor area,
plus an additional bonus amount, can be sold off and
allocated to new buildings on other sites. This transfer
mechanism provides an incentive for restoring historic
buildingsone that Gallery Life Seeding also benefited
from. Kuos involvement in renovations of old build-
ings in Dadaocheng began as a happy accident. She was
looking to purchase surplus floor area to transfer to a
new construction project, and in the process she discov-
ered the beauty of the old buildings.
More recently, during a construction project on He-
ping West Road, Kuo noticed an old building to the rear
of the site, facing Guling Street, that had fallen into dis-
repair. She was told that this was the former residence
of Thom H. Fang. Only later did she learn that he was
not just a philosopher but also a kind of teacher for the
nation. It is said that the late president Chiang Kai-shek
101




55






7ROT





MihoMiho
2,000



17

l

Kuo Su-jen combines
architecture, art and culture in
her quest to restore and enliven
old buildings. Pictured here is an
old National Taiwan University
dormitory building on Wenzhou
Street before renovation.
(courtesy of Kuo Su-jen)

102 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


When I look upon
artworks and
appreciate their
beauty, I forget all my
troubles, Kuo Su-jen
says.
often visited him. Kuo, who has taken an interest in
Buddhism in recent years, also found great resonance in
Fangs self-directed Buddhist studies. She became ever
more determined to restore his former residence, and
she checks on the progress monthly.
The project brought Kuo into frequent contact with
National Taiwan University, which holds the property
rights for the Fang residence, and in this way she dis-
covered that a number of old dormitory buildings along
Wen zhou Street and He ping East Road were desper-
ately in need of repair and rejuvenation. She was partic-
ularly attracted to seven pine trees, resplendent in their
emerald-green foliage, that grow near the old buildings.
She secured rights to manage the restoration through
the governments rehabilitate-operate-transfer program.
The site is tentatively slated to open at the end of the
year, and Kuos current plans envisage its hosting a
museum for Theravada Buddhist arts and lectures on
Buddhism and Buddhist thought.
Spaces that tell stories:
A duet between buildings and art
Restoring and preserving old buildings in addition to
continuing to promote the arts takes significant invest-
ment capital. This prompted Kuos 17-year-old daughter
to ask with concern: Mom, wont you end up going
broke?
Theres no point in having too much money, Kuo re-
plied. I love to do it, and Im willing to do it, so I do it.
In her daily operations Kuo runs a tight ship, adapt-
ing as needs demand based on daily financial reports
and allocating resources in a flexible manner. She set up
a separate room at Bloom, for example, to sell handi-
crafts from various countries, including the Turkish
carpets and traditional handpainted ceramics that
proved popular at the Taipei Story Houses The Soul
of Hands exhibition, thereby increasing the gallerys
revenues.
Kuo has never explained exactly what it is that she
sees in the art that has captured her attention and in-
terest for the past few decades. When I look upon
artworks and appreciate their beauty, I forget all my
troubles, she says simply.
So, just what would Kuo do if she could do abso-
lutely anything? If I could, I would like to build a mu-
seum like the Miho Museum in Koka, Japan, in Yang-
mingshan, she says. Perhaps in that kind of vast, geo-
metrically ordered space, Kuos art collection could be
freed from its protective cases and at last be displayed
for the entire world to enjoy. Just as in the old buildings
that she renovates and revitalizes, it is not only the re-
pair of the physical space, but also the infusion of an
artistic sensibility that restores to their former glory the
history and stories that had been buried and forgotten
amid the decay and desolation. l
(Sanya Huang/photos by Chuang Kung-ju/
tr. by Robert Green)
103
ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

Paintings
Knight Errant:
Chen Yang Chun

P ainter Chen Yang Chun creates

charming watercolor images of
rural and urban Taiwan that practi-
cally leap from the paper. His unique
Taiwanese watercolor style, which
b l e n d s We s t e r n w a t e rc o l o r a n d
Chinese brush-painting techniques,
has introduced the international art
world to lovely Taiwanese land-
scapes and graceful Eastern beau-
ties, presenting Taiwan to global au-
diences and reconnecting Taiwanese
living abroad with their homeland.

104 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04



Chen Yang Chun has devoted his

life to painting in watercolors. He
has vowed to spread enlightenment
through the arts, and his international
exhibitions have helped introduce
Taiwanese watercolors to a global
audience. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

105
 2007
Sugarcane Harvest in Taiwan, 2007

1946
7

3





14

2015
Visiting Jiufen by Night, 2015

106 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Born in Beigang, Yunlin County, in 1946, Chen Yang
Chun began studying calligraphy with a teacher at the 2006
A Mazu Procession in Beigang, 2006
age of seven. Talented and diligent,
he won innumerable calligraphy and
painting prizes while in elementary
and middle school.
As a 14-year-old, he used to pass
by a framing shop on his way to
school. The framer, Wang Jialiang, no-
ticed that the boy would often tarry
to appreciate the lovely paintings
inside, and asked if he was interested
in learning to paint. Wang went on
to introduce Chen to the rich world
of watercolors, planting the notion of
becoming a professional painter in his
young mind.
Mixing East and West
Chen resolved to become a painter,
and spent his years as a student in the industrial art
1012014
department of the National Academy of Arts (now the Sunset-Tinted Clouds Above Taipei 101, 2014

107





































Chen likes to burn some agarwood incense when painting to
create a Chan Buddhist atmosphere and free his mind.
(photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

50

427

108 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


Chen Yang Chun has blended Western watercolor and
Chinese brush-painting techniques into a lovely Taiwanese
watercolor style that magically captures the beauty of a
scene. (photos by Chuang Kung-ju)
National Taiwan University of Arts) auditing courses in
the fine arts department on top of his coursework for his
own major. He gained confidence from the instruction
and support he received from painters there such as Fu
Juanfu and Ren Bowu, and often spent time outside of
the classroom prowling used book stalls for books of
watercolor prints. He studied these paintings repeatedly,
enjoying both the scenes depicted and the techniques
used to create them. Through constant study and prac-
tice, Chen gradually developed his own unique Tai-
wanese watercolor style that drew on the techniques of
Chinese brush painting and Western watercolor.
Chen painted delightful scenes of Yun lin streets,
Tam sui sunsets, and historic Spanish cities, incorpo-
rating Chinese techniques such as leaving parts of the
sea and sky unpainted. He creates a sense of quiet and
harmony in these works by not cluttering his scenes of
boats sailing on a lake or of birds or clouds in the sky
with excess objects. Nourished by childhood memories
of mountains and forests, and of the warm relations be-
tween people trading in the cattle market, his brightly
colored works are also imbued with an earthy rural
warmth.
Chen enjoys sketching local cultures and conditions,
and his eye for personal detail has made his paintings
of beautiful women especially beloved by collectors. He
says that when he works on a painting of a woman, he
first notes his models best side, then looks for aspects
of her face and carriage that are unique to her. Chen
always captures his models grace and the vibrancy of
their expressions whether they are standing or reclin-
ing, smiling or gazing intently. I paint them so prettily
that everyone says Ive made them look even more like
themselves, he says with a grin.
109





1999

70
Chens paintings of
Taiwanese scenes
have earned him a
reputation as a cultural
ambassador by helping
foster connections
among members of
Taiwanese communities
overseas and with ROC
representative offices,
and raising Taiwans
international profile. This
1999 photograph shows
Chen (left) in Scotland at
his 70th solo exhibition.

40

1970

10185
20052008
Chen Yang Chun has painted beautiful scenes of every place he has
visited while traveling the world exhibiting his work. Shown above are
Fall in Istanbul (2005) and In Love with London Bridge (2008).

110 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 Religious images tend to have an air
of solemnity and distance, but Chen
chooses to depict Guan yin, Mazu,
Bodhidarma and the monk Jigong in a
more peaceful, compassionate, and even
amiable light. When asked, he says that
while he does draw on his memories
of other Buddhist images, he also fre-
quently seeks out models with features
that correspond to his own ideas about
Buddhist figures, dresses them up in the
appropriate attire, and then paints them.

2006
How Lovely to Dream, 2006
2010
Helping Mortals Across the Sea of Suffering, 2010

Quitting the nine-to-five to paint

Chen worked for an advertising agency
after graduating from art school, but after
four years found himself unable to repress
any longer his desire to make art. At the age
of 27 he left his job to devote his full atten-
tion to painting.
Chen admits to having been uncertain
about his decision. Fortunately, he received
financial support from a friend, who
provided him with a monthly stipend of
NT$10,000 for one year in an era when mid-
dle-school teachers earned just NT$2,000 per
month. With this support, Chen was able to
put aside worldly concerns and throw him-
self wholeheartedly into painting. His work
eventually caught the eye of collectors, and
exhibitions in the Philippines, Hong Kong,
and Japan spread his reputation abroad.
Nowadays, he even has 40 watercolors in
the permanent collection of the Higashi-
hiroshima City Art Museum in Japan.
Cultural ambassador
Chen has held over 200 exhibitions since
his first solo show in 1970. Taking place
in countries as diverse as the US, the UK,
Singapore, South Africa and Jordan, these
exhibitions, which now regularly include
paintings of Taipei 101 and Kaohsiungs 85

111



2007




























l

Located next to Zhinan Temple in Taipeis
Muzha area, the Chen Yang Chun
Art Gallery exhibits art and offers free
painting classes to children to further
Chens vision of spreading enlightenment
through art. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)

112 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


Sky Tower, have introduced the world to Taiwans rural
and urban scenery. Chens Taiwanese subject matter also
stirs the memories of Taiwans overseas communities,
helping foster connections among community members
and with ROC representative offices overseas, and earn-
ing Chen a reputation as a cultural ambassador.
Officials at Zhinan Temple invited people to create sculptures based
on Chens brilliant paintings of cattle. Viewed from the Maokong
Gondola, they look remarkably lifelike. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)
2014
Zhinan Temple, Palace Above the Clouds, 2014
Chens lifelong passion for watercolor has made
painting almost a religion for him. He believes that
the arts can temper peoples natures, and has made it
his lifes goal to spread enlightenment through the
arts. Recognizing the spiritual solace and tranquility
that the arts can bring to those of us living in societies
focused on efficiency and profit, Chen established the
Continental Watercolor Art Hwa-yang Award in 2007
in hopes of introducing watercolors to a broader audi-
ence and providing encouragement to watercolorists.
In addition to painting and exhibiting, Chen is now
planning the construction of his own art gallery to
share his personal art collection and his own paintings.
He also harbors another even bigger goal: creating
hundreds of small, private galleries around Taiwan
by having corporations adopt idle public spaces and
use them to display artists work. He is convinced that
if everyone works together to protect the beauty of
Taiwan, we can make our island an internationally re-
nowned cultural destination. While his goal may seem
ambitious, Chen has long been a dreamer, one who has
successfully used his talent with a brush to paint his
own beautiful world. l
(Chen Chun-fang/
photos courtesy of Chen Yang Chun/
tr. by Scott Williams)
113
CRAFT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Island Sisters, Sister Islands:
A Taiwanese Jewelry Firm Helps
in Pacific Island Diplomacy








Luperla Jewelry Company
CEO Victoria Lu (left), and
her sister Flora (right), who
is curator of the Lucoral
Museum in Hawaii, visited
the Solomon Islands to
share their 50 years of
experience in the oceanic
crafts industry. (courtesy of
the ROC Embassy to the
Solomon Islands)

T he Solomon Islands, located far away in the South Pacific, have emerald seas, blue
skies, intense sun, and buffeting salt-laden winds. They remind the Lu sisters
Victoria, CEO of Taiwans Luperla Jewelry Company, and Flora, curator of the Lucoral
Museum in Hawaiiof their own home, the Penghu Islands in Taiwan.
The use of marine resources to create unique artisanal works has not only made
Luperla internationally famous, it also laid the groundwork for the Lu sisters to travel
to the Republic of the Solomon Islands to offer a workshop in marine handicrafts,
entitled Ocean Creation, that constituted a voyage into trans-Pacific diplomacy.


20167
3



H o n. 7
Manasseh Sogavare

Flora Lu is the main artist in the family. On a visit to
3 the Marshall Islands, she created lovely jewelry by
applying her skills to the discarded glass bottles that
litter the beaches there.

116 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

 The seeds of the journey by Victoria Lu, CEO of the
Taiwan-based Luperla Jewelry Company, and her sister
Flora, curator of the Lucoral Museum in Hawaii, to the
distant Solomon Islandsa journey of more than ten
hourswere planted during an official diplomatic visit
in July of 2016.
Maritime diplomacy like a pearl necklace
At that time, the Solomon Islands prime minister, the
Honorable Manasseh Sogavare, had accepted an invita-
tion to come to Taiwan, and during his excursion made a
special visit to Luperla. Likewise born in an island nation,
he was deeply impressed by the exquisite craftsmanship
of the internationally renowned pieces of jewelry that he
saw. His thoughts turned to them often even after going
back home, and through the ROC Ministry of Foreign
Affairs he extended an invitation to Luperla to hold a
workshop in the Solomon Islands, in order to share the
companys decades of experiences with local residents.
Victoria Lu, generous and enthusiastic by nature,
immediately accepted without a second thought, and to-
gether she and her sister, who lives in the US, headed off
to the Solomons. Victoria, a confident speaker, handled
the classroom lectures, while Flora, the dexterous and
creative one, personally demonstrated shellcraft tech-
niques to students at the workshop.
Because there is little in the way of processing equip-
ment in the Solomons, despite the countrys abundance
of marine resources it produces few manufactured jew-
Pictured here, Flora Lu instructs students on how to process
shells into jewelry. (courtesy of Luperla)
elry items or accessories. The 40-plus students at the
workshop, selected from across the country, included
many local artists, with tremendous talent and aesthetic
sensibility. All they really needed was the right equip-
ment to produce high-quality creations of their own on
a commercial scale.
Therefore, on this trip the Lu sisters not only offered
instruction, they also brought four processing machines.
Shells that once required endless hours of hand polish-
ing can now be polished on a machine and immediately
made glossy and beautiful. And with power drills, the
simple act of driving a hole into a shell, which previ-
ously required a great deal of working and chipping, is
now much simpler.
On this visit, besides sharing their knowhow, the two
sisters also encouraged the students to give free play to
their own creativity. Over the three-day course, the stu-
dents and instructors bonded, and the former were al-
ways quick to drop the phrase: Im a friend of Taiwan.
Interestingly, this was by no means the first case of
handcrafted transoceanic diplomacy by the Lu sisters.
After three days in the Solomons, Flora headed off
to the nearby Republic of the Marshall Islands to take
part in a conference on weaving at the Marshall Islands
117
 1963 1986
1992


1961

89
8




Hilda Cathay Heine

Residents of the Solomon
Islands have few opportunities
to come in contact with
processing machines. In this
photo, a student works on a
seashell using a bench drill that
Victoria Lu brought from Taiwan.
(courtesy of Luperla)

118 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04

campus of the University of the South Pacific, where
she shared her experience in the culture of handicrafts.
This was her seventh trip to the Marshalls. She first
went there more than a decade ago at the invitation of
the USP and the ROC Embassy to the Marshall Islands.
Each time she goes to the Marshalls, Lu cannot help
but sigh when she sees that the local people dont under-
stand how to utilize their abundant marine resources.
She selflessly shares her artisanal skills, and has even
come up with clever ideas to convert discarded glass
cola bottleswhich are an environmental eyesore all
over the islandsinto beautiful jewelry and accessories.
Children of the sea, sharing their art
Journeys to the Marshalls and the Solomons naturally
led to thoughts of Lus own island childhood, in Tai-
wans Penghu County.
The Lu perla Jewelry Company was founded on
Penghu. Long before the 1963 opening of its well-known
Taipei base, the Wish Paradise Corporation on Nanjing
East Road, the Lu clan had already been through amaz-
ing highs and lows. Lu Qingshui, the primogenitor, was
one of Penghus most successful fishing-industry entre-
preneurs, and at his peak owned tens of fishing boats.
However, the entire family fortune was destroyed in
1961 due to a typhoon. Lu Qingshui, always ready to
lend a hand to others, had stood surety for loans to other
fishermen, and after the typhoon he ended up respon-
sible for a mountain of debt. The whole family, left with
no alternative, moved to the tiny town of Shili (also on
Penghu) where they started a small-scale fish trading
business, and turned their sights to the future and a re-
vival of their fortunes.
Seeing the familys pathetic state, a neighbor who had
learned shellcraft techniques in Japan selflessly taught
these skills to them. Flora, the seventh child, recalls the
many hours she spent at home with her brothers and sis-
ters polishing Penghu shells by hand and drilling holes in
them to make brooches, which they then sent to their elder
sister, who was studying in Taipei. She in turn sold them
to a jewelry wholesaler on Zhonghua Road in Ximending.
Coming to the Marshalls or the Solomons and teach-
ing everything to local people starting from zero, trans-
forming disregarded shells into jewelry, is not only about
sharing skills, its also about sharing an idea, a vision,
says Flora.
In turn, as she herself understands, the giver can also
get unexpected returns by selfless sharing.
Take for example the story of the
founding of the Lu coral
Museum.
In 1986 Lu-
perla de-
cided to expand overseas, and after open-
ing one branch in New York, estab-
lished another in Hawaii. In or-
der to secure a firm footing
in the Aloha State, the
company purchased
land and constructed
a headquarters build-
ing. After it was
completed there were
a lot of materials left
over, and a friend suggested to Flora
that she donate the extra shells to local
primary schools for use in nature classes.
One grateful teacher responded to Lus over-
ture by suggesting that she open the company venue to
the public for educational purposes. And thus in 1992
the space that had originally been destined as a show-
room for customers was transformed into a museum,
providing a valued resource for visitors to learn about
minerals like crystal and coral.
In the two decades and more since its opening,
the small Lucoral Museum, with only a few hundred
square meters of floor space, has welcomed over 10,000
students per year. Each month more than 1000 students
get a hands-on taste of jewelry making and get to know
all sorts of precious stones and minerals.
Cultivating human resources
Bringing the story back to Taiwan and looking retro-
spectively at the development of our jewelry industry,
Luperla has not only successfully branched out into the
world market, it has had an important seat at the table
in the development of marine handicrafts in Taiwan.
Todays Luperla headquarters is located just one street
away from Nanjing East Roads Lane 86, once known as
Coral Lane. Besides a first-floor salesroom, the eight-
story HQ also hosts a coral museum and an activity hall.
The basement, rarely opened to the public, houses
a collection of coral art works accumulated over more
than five decades, dating back to the Lu sisters fathers
119


Victoria Lu has spared

no effort in cultivating
a new generation of
talent for her industry.
Works by Luperla
student interns are
proudly displayed
at the companys
headquarters building
in Taipei.

generation. Coral of various shades and hues, which

came to life in the ocean, has been transformed by the

skillful hands of artists into vivid statues of the Buddhist

deity Guanyin, dragons and phoenixes, and much more.

On the fifth and sixth floors, meanwhile, not only will

3 you encounter invited artists and scholars delivering
seminars, you will find a working space in which con-
sumers can experience first-hand how to make jewelry. It
was Victoria Lu who came up with the idea of combining
shopping with a DIY experience.
Victoria also was a founding member of the Taiwan

Good Design Association, of which she is now honor-

2016
ary chairman, and in 2016 she received an achievement
award at the Taiwan Cultural and Creative Awards. She
has made tireless efforts to promote the training and
2015 advancement of a new generation of designers. In 2015
Luperla went a step further, opening its doors for the
first time to student interns. Through an introduction
from Huang Shih-yen, a professor in the Department of

Industrial Design at Huafan University, a dozen or so in-

dustrial design undergrads from Huafan and Chung Hua

University used what they learned in school to transform

materials provided by Luperla into beautiful works of art.
2 Like the oceans tides, the fortunes of the Lu family
18 have risen and fallen and risen again. Today, Luperla is
a world-renowned jewelry brand, and, just as the ocean
burnishes shells on a beach into things of lustrous beauty,
the siblings of the Lu clan have, through ceaseless refine-

ment, added great luster to the marine arts industry in

Taiwan. l
(Liu Yingfeng/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/
l tr. by Max Barker)

120 Taiwan Panorama 2017/04


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Bound Volumes of Back Issues (postage not included)
Period Price Quantity Ordered Period Price Quantity Ordered
2000 1-6 US$20 2008 1-6 US$20
2000 7-12 US$20 2008 7-12 US$20
2001 1-6 US$20 2009 1-6 US$20
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Book Series (including postage)

US$7
Title Edition Price Quantity Ordered
Paperback US$11 Postage Rates (Per Copy): US$7
(including surface mail postage and handling fee)
Chinese Sayings Told in Pictures

Paperback US$11
Taiwans Extraordinary Plants and Animals

Paperback US$11
Chinese Forms Subscribers will receive a 15% discount
(please furnish your subscriptions computer No.)
Paperback US$11
When West Meets East: International Sinology and Sinologists

Paperback US$12
Trademarks of the Chinese (I)

Paperback US$12
Trademarks of the Chinese (II)

Paperback US$13
Animals and the Chinese Hardback US$15

Paperback US$11
Taiwans Indigenous Culture (I)
Total (including postage)
Hardback US$13
Paperback US$11
Taiwans Indigenous Culture (II) Hardback US$13

Paperback US$11
Taiwans Indigenous Culture (III) Hardback US$13

Paperback US$11
Stories of Chinese Herbal Medicine
Paperback US$10
US$6
A New Age for Wildlife Conservation in Taiwan Hardback US$12 The prices listed at left include surface
mail postage and handling fee. For airmail,
Paperback US$13 please add US$6 per volume.
Embrace Taiwan 100 Images of Contemporary Taiwan

2
Paperback US$13
Taiwan Revealed 100 Images of Contemporary Taiwan (2)
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Paperback US$13 in an envelope and mail to
Hold that Note!Stories from Taiwans Stage

Paperback US$13
Call of the WildTaiwans Natural World

Paperback US$16
Shindigs and Solemnity in Taiwan
Paperback US$16 8-398
Days of Being Wild: Youth Culture in Taiwan

Paperback US$12 Taiwan Panorama Magazine
A Taste of Taiwan
P.O. Box 8-398, Taipei 10099, Taiwan,
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