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Young leukemia victim bicycles his way around Taiwan

A Taichung County elementary school student who has been battling leukemia for seven years completed a nine-day, 1,085-km round-the-island bicycle trip, returning home yesterday to a hero's welcome.

Sung Yu-chun (宋宇濬), who lives in Fengyuan (豐原), has dreamed of making a bike tour around Taiwan ever since he was diagnosed with cancer as a kindergartner, said his father, Sung Chih-wen (宋志文), who accompanied his son on the trip.

The father said that when he realized Yu-chun was not just talking about the idea but really preparing for it with a training program, he decided to "help his son realize his dream."

The pair set off for Tainan on June 24. Then they biked to Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Ilan, Keelung and Hsinchu before returning home.

"I think this is the best gift I can give my son for his elementary school graduation," the elder Sung said.

Deputy Taichung County Commissioner Chang Chuang-hsi (張壯熙) and several community leaders met the Sungs in a town near Fengyuan and biked back home with them.

In a city hall ceremonyl, Feng-yuan Mayor Chang Ching-fen (張靜分) presented Sung Yu-chun with a plaque declaring that he was "a proud son of Fengyuan."
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