The paintings of Chen Meng-ling (
"You can easily tell how kind and generous he is by looking at the way he applies shading, as well as the choice of colors in every painting," said Chao Chang-ping (
Chen's exhibition offered the public a chance to explore 60 of his oil paintings.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CONTROL YUAN
"Every one of his paintings could be called a masterpiece. We hail him as our undisputed class leader in the painting club," Chao said, referring to the Sunny Day Painting Association (
"Having been part of the art world for years and years, Chen is more experienced in painting than any of us," Chao said.
In the face of his colleague's compliments, Chen just said that he was fervently fond of painting.
"I have been painting for more than 40 years. Although I have been a teacher and a politician, my first passion has always been painting," he said.
"Despite our heavy political duties, we get together every Friday night and people rarely miss the class. The instructor sows the seeds of art among the club's members not only by teaching them techniques, but also by broadening our horizons," Chen said.
The 70-year-old ombudsman was a high school principal early in his career, after which he was elected Taichung County commissioner for two terms. He was subsequently appointed as head of the Civil Affairs Commission of the Taiwan Provincial Government, and has acted as vice minister for the interior.
Chen became a member of the Second Control Yuan in 1993, and vice president of the Third Control Yuan six years later.
He made his debut with oil paintings in 2000 in a joint exhibition by the Fu-Tsai Painting Association. He took part in the association's exhibition for second time in 2002.
Chen has said that "art is the stimulus of the human spirit. It can purify our heart and keep society in harmony."
"A work of art combines talent, effort, patience, thought and vigor. This is what I believe and the ultimate goal that I have always pursued. Painting is a release for me and brings joy to my soul," he said.
Liu Chung-fu (
"I have been coming to the Control Yuan to exchange painting experiences with the members for almost five years. In this time Chen, with his art background, has devoted himself to creating his own style," Liu said.
Chen also attends painting classes with another master, Chen Shi-lian (
When he was commissioner of Taichung County, Chen planted a seed that has since grown up and blossomed -- the Taichung County Cultural Center, said current Taichung County Commissioner Huang Jong-sheng (
He works with a variety of subjects, ranging from nature, still life and historic sites to the countryside, Huang said.
Chen likes to use scenery from his hometown as the background of his paintings, Huang said, especially the scenery of the Tachia River and the Shihgang dam waterfall after the 9-21 earthquake.
Although he has perfectly portrayed the grandeur of the river and the waterfall, the former county commissioner cannot hide his feelings about the devastation of his home town, Huang said.
Chen has also immortalized landscapes in Canada, the Diamond Mountain in Hawaii, Glacier National Park in the US, Mount Fuji and scenes from the Mediterranean.
At Chen's exhibition, Huang said the scenery is just as beautiful as his political style, which is "clean as water and as bright as a mirror." The beautiful scenery reflects the artist's soft heart and simple character, he said.
"What he sees, hears and thinks is always full of happiness and hope," Huang said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai