Fifty-nine model citizens chosen as "Good People of Good Deeds" were honored at the Taipei City Hall. More than 2,000 people turned out to salute them.
Gen. Ho Yin-chin, chairman of the Strategy Advisory Committee of the Presidential Office, presided.
The movement was initiated by President Chiang Kai-shek in 1958. Model citizens are recommended by local governments, schools and military and civic organizations.
President Chiang hailed the movement as a spiritual weapon in attacking the Chinese Communist tyranny and misdeeds.
After the meeting, model citizens went to the Presidential Office to pay their respects to President Chiang. Presidential Secretary General Cheng Yin-fun received them.
Among the 59 were three foreigners: Bjarne Jissefoss (Norwegian), the Rev. Robert Ronald, S.J. (American) and the Rev. Ivo Stuyck (Belgian).
Acupuncture may help break the drug habit
Try acupuncture if you want to be cured of drug addiction quickly. It works for some people and is painless and inexpensive.
It took only nine days for a Briton to get rid of his addiction recently in Taipei. He received the traditional Chinese needle therapy coupled with electrical stimulation.
Peter Hugo Hedley, 26, was under detention on charges of heroin addiction and trafficking.
A heroin addict for 2½ years, he had been taking two grams of 97% pure heroin daily.
Hedley received acupuncture treatments from Allen Lau, executive director of the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China; Dr. Mark M.S. Hsu, a dentist turned-acupuncturist; and Miss Chen Hsing, a nurse and acupuncturist of the Tri-Service General Hospital.
The three have been giving free treatments to drug addicts in Taiwan since last October. The program was initiated and is financed by Dr. Lau.
Hedley was the fifth successful case to be handled by the team; the four others were Chinese addicts.
"Chinese usually are not heavy users, so it was easier for them to give up heroin," Dr. Lau said.
The Hedley case was different. Dr. Lau said: "He was a heavy user and had remained an addict until only a few hours before we started treating him. He had failed to get rid of the habit twice before by other means."
More than 1,000 deaf students of the Taipei Municipal School for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb are undergoing acupuncture therapy.
The program is conducted by the Tri-Service General Hospital under the sponsorship of the National Science Council of the Executive Yuan.
Direction is by Dr. Li Wei-kuo, director of the rehabilitation clinic at the Tri-Service General Hospital; Dr. Chang Ping, EENT specialist at the Veterans' General Hospital; and acupuncturists Tsao Cheng-chan and Tsai Chen-chiu.
Treatments lasting 15 minutes each are given at school. The patient's hearing is charted before and after each session. Needles are twirled at "apertures" on the hand and in the ear.
Printed on a blackboard in front of the patient are the sensations of acupuncture: tingling, numbness, swelling, pain or nothing. The patient expresses himself in sign language.
Any reaction indicates the patient's chi (vital energy) is being restored to equilibrium.
Should he feel nothing, the position of the needles will be changed. This is also the case if there is severe pain.
"Acupuncture may prove effective in cases of nerve deafness which surgery cannot correct," said Dr. Chang, "even though there remains doubt about the extent of cure."
Nerve deafness is rarely cured by Western medicine.
Chinese barbers were first in New World
The first record of Chinese immigration to America was in 1535, when a group of barbers went to Mexico. The second was in 1794 when 20 Chinese were taken to Canada.
Dr. Standford M. Lyman, an American sociologist and expert on overseas Chinese in the United States, said hundreds of Chinese went to America in 1950.
The California gold rush was on. Kwangtung and Fukien provinces had suffered from floods. Most of the immigrants were laborers.
Until 1910, Chinese immigrants were discriminated against. They had their own communities, which came to be known as "Chinatowns."
From 1910 to 1943 was a quiet period in Chinatowns, al though youths were restless because they thought they had no future.
Parents asked them to study technical skills in order to go back to China.
After World War II, the situation changed. Young people could not go back to China. But in the United States the Chinese were no longer discriminated against and found it easier to get work.
After 1968, a new wave of U.S. immigrants came from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Their English and working skills could not compete with those of American citizens and they found it hard to get jobs.
Research accents theory plus practice
The Academia Sinica places equal emphasis on theory and its application, Dr. Chien Shih-liang, president of the nation's highest research organ, said.
Dr. Chien reported on the work of Academia Sinica to the Education Committee of the Legislative Yuan.
He cited a study at the Institute of Physics on typhoons and earthquakes.
At the Institute of Economics, research fellows are often consulted when the government draws up economic plans. They are working on a study of inflation in Taiwan.
The Institute of Modern History is engaged in a study of the modernization of China.
The Institute of Chemistry, whose work has always been practical, is studying medical plants in Taiwan.
Dr. Chien said the Academia Sinica would welcome academicians who have been to the China mainland to visit Taiwan. "We can count on academicians for unbiased judgment. A visit to the China mainland doesn't mean the visitor approves of the Communist regime and its system," Dr. Chien said.
Women are still improving their lot
Women today strive to raise their position and improve their profession in order to serve their country better, said Mrs. Helen Hsien-ching Yeh Li, president of Zonta Club of Taipei I. She spoke at a meeting to celebrate the 1975 International Women's Year and commemorate the death of Miss Amelia Earhart, a top-ranking air pioneer and Zontian, 40 years ago.
The meeting was jointly sponsored by Zonta Clubs of Taipei I and II, Zonta Club of Taipei County, YMCA, and the Business and Professional Women's Club Taipei I.
Mrs. Beatrice Tang, first vice president of Zonta Club Taipei I, introduced the life of Amelia Earhart. She said Miss Earhart was a woman of courage, culture and charm, and long a beloved member of first the Boston Zonta Club and later the New York City Club. She disappeared during an attempt to circle the globe by air.
In 1938, Zonta established annual fellowships in the aeronautical sciences as a memorial to Miss Earhart. Awards have been made to students from many countries; more than 10 Chinese women have received the honor.
Mrs. Emily Miao, president of the Business and Professional Women's Club Taipei I, said objectives of International Women's Year are:
- 1. Promotion of equality between men and women in law and practice.
- 2. Recognition and appreciation of women's contributions to social development.
- 3. Strengthening of women's contributions to international friendship, cooperation and world peace.
According to studies conducted by labor organizations and the Business and Professional Women's Club in the U.S., women are still concentrated in low paid jobs. There is inequality in career advancement.
Women should help women and integrate their efforts to win justice and peace, she said.
Literature needs more translators
Why is modern Chinese literature not widely read in Western countries when China possesses one of the richest literatures in the world?
To Mrs. Nancy Chang Ing, who is regarded as Taiwan's foremost translator, the reason is simple: "There just aren't enough translations."
She said "there are many translations of T'ang poetry and the old classics, but not enough of modern writings. Western scholars of Chinese are more impressed with past works."
Translation isn't easy or certain
Mrs. Ing attended the 39th Congress of International P.E.N. in Jerusalem.
An executive board member of the Taipei Chinese P.E.N. Center and editor of the PEN Quarterly, Mrs. Ing discussed a recent challenge Chinese writers faced in the International P.E.N. The ROC was one of the original members of the organization (it joined in 1924) but in 1973 its membership was challenged at the executive board meeting in Sweden.
"UNESCO has been under recent political pressure regarding our representation since it subsidizes International P.E.N.," she said. "However, P.E.N. is a non-political organization and we have had strong support from the other members."
Mrs. Ing, who was invited to participate in the Harvard International Seminar directed by Henry A. Kissinger in 1966 in recognition of her achievements as a translator, began translating Chinese works "through circumstances."
Although she has a bachelor's degree in English literature from West China Union University, she had never considered translation. It was only after receiving many questions from her Western friends about modern Chinese literature that she decided to make some contemporary works available to Westerners in English.
She translated her first volume of short stories, "New Voices," in 1961. This was followed two years later by "Green Seaweed and Salted Eggs," stories by Lin Hai-yin, one of the best known Chinese writers of today. A third volume, "The Ivory Balls and Other Stories," appeared in 1970.
The daughter of a Chinese father and an American mother, Mrs. Ing is fluent in both Chinese and English but says her Chinese is "not up to par" and that she would not dare to write serious literary works in Chinese.
To be a good translator, she said, "You must really have a feel for and like the work you are translating." She tries to read much of the work of an author before trying to translate him.
This is not always possible. "Sometimes I will come across a story in a Chinese newspaper that I like so much I translate it without knowing anything about the writer," she said.
Taiwan needs a dance theater
After preview of a dance performance at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, choreographer Liu Feng-hsueh thumped the PVC mat taped to the wooden stage to see if it was still adhered.
"What we need is a dance theater in Taiwan," she said.
"But we must take advantage of and experiment with whatever is available," she said.
Nearly every year for the last 25 years, Prof. Liu has added something new in the field of Chinese and modern dance.
"My endeavor is to convey meaning through symbolism contained in the structure of the dance, or simply through emotion discharged in movement," she said.
Other choreographers prefer the narrative pantomime of Chinese opera; she reaches into the archives of more abstract Chinese court dances and shadow-boxing for inspiration.
One of her favorites is "The Arrow-Pitching Game." Arrow-pitching originated in the Chou dynasty (1122-221 B.C.) at the time of the Warring States and remained popular through the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911). The winner was decided by the number of arrows shot into a distant pot.
The action conveys the "graceful, dignified and virtuous" qualities of Chinese women. Dancers are dressed as ancient Chinese maidens with long flowing sleeves. These "water sleeves" are used not only to express feminine characteristics but also to indicate the flight of the arrow.
The music was composed after the dance had been conceived. "Dance music should be selected in accord with the choreography and not the other way around," she said. "Background music is like a subtle vibration of the dancer's emotions. It should not be allowed to dominate dance action.
"The talent for dancing should be cultivated and encouraged at an early age."
Kuo shoots under par to win golf title
Taiwan's Kuo Chi-hsiung, champion of the 1974 Asian golf circuit, sailed in with three-under par 285 to win the PGA Open at Tamsui. 'He had rounds of 72, 73, 69 and 71.
Hsieh Min-nan, individual winner in the 1972 World Cup at Melbourne, placed second with 291 (71-71-75-74).
"Whenever the skies get sunny and the winds mild, it's always time for Chi-hsiung to win and me to lose," said Hsieh, who had led the tourney through the first two rounds of wind and rain.
Chen Chien-chen, who scored 294, was three strokes behind the runner-up.
At 295 for the fourth place was Hsu Sheng-san, followed by Lu Liang-huan and Hsieh Yung-yo at 296.
Fumio Tanaka was the only Japanese pro to card a four-day total below 300. He tied with three Chinese pros at 299 for seventh place.
The four-day tourney over the 6,693-yard course of the Taipei Golf and Country Club in the small fishing town of Tamsui carried a total prize of US$12,310 with US$2,500 going to the winner.
Catholics plan marital affairs court
A marriage court will be established in Taiwan to supervise the marital affairs of Catholics.
The decision was reached at a meeting of Catholic bishops. Archbishop Kuo Jo-shih was elected the presiding judge.
There are more than a dozen rules governing the marriage of Catholics. Marriages in violation of these rules are judged invalid.
A Catholic is not allowed to marry a non-Catholic without approval of the church.
Catholicism was introduced into Taiwan in 1626 by Spanish priests. The Dutch occupation of the island put an end to their work.
The Roman Catholic Church was re-established in 1859. There were some 300,000 Catholics as of 1975.
The Taipei Archdiocese which includes Taipei, Keelung and Ilan has 50,000 Catholics, 300 priests and 400 nuns.
The archdiocese has a dozen schools, nine hospitals, a sanitarium for polio-stricken children, a home for handicapped children, an old folks home, two nurseries, 10 student dormitories and many other establishments.
Catholic Fu Jen University is in Taipei.