A 9-meter-tall stainless steel tree sculpture honoring the devotion of exceptional immigrants was donated to the Council for Cultural Affairs Dec. 17, according to the CCA.
“Taiwan has benefited tremendously over the past century from the contribution of foreign missionaries, teachers, volunteers and medical workers,” Vice President Vincent C. Siew said at a ceremony witnessing the donation.
Created by artist and National Taiwan University of Arts professor Liu Po-chun, the tree was gifted by the Foundation of Taiwan Organizations of Philanthropic Education as part of the ROC centennial celebrations.
The sculpture bears around 1,000 names of foreign aid workers who have served the country for over 30 years. Among them are David Landsborough III, a British missionary in central Taiwan and the founder of Changhua Christian Hospital, William Campbell, a Scottish missionary who established Taiwan’s first school for the blind, and Gian Carlo Michelini, an Italian missionary who founded the Lan-yang Dancers, Taiwan’s prime preserver of Yilan’s folk dance traditions.
“The tree stands as a symbol of their far-reaching benevolence and a reminder for the Taiwanese people to be thankful at all times,” the vice president said.
In related news, a time capsule containing the good wishes of 30,000 primary school students around the country was buried on the same day in the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei. The capsule is scheduled to be unearthed in 20 years. (HZW)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw