Huang Yu-siang (黃裕翔) was born with a gift and a devastating disability. He has a huge talent for music, but he is blind. His story has become a movie that has captivated audiences nationwide.
The film, Touch of the Light (逆光飛翔), marks a double triumph for the 25-year-old. First he overcame overwhelming odds by becoming a successful pianist in real life. Then he beat the odds once more by playing himself on the big screen.
“I was surprised by the warm reactions at home and abroad. Many people told me they were encouraged by the film to persist in their dreams,” Huang said in an interview.
Photo: AFP
His musical gift was discovered at the age of two when he could play on the piano songs he had heard only once. He went on to win many competitions and became the first blind person in Taiwan to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music, majoring in piano.
His story was made into a short film in 2008 by Taiwanese director Chang Jung-chi (張榮吉), which attracted the attention of acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai (王家衛), who encouraged Chang to develop it into a full-length feature.
It has become the top-grossing movie in Taiwan since its September release, winning over fans including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who praised its “subtle character portrayals” on his Facebook page.
The film has also been welcomed by civil groups that hope it will sharpen the focus on the plight of the nation’s blind.
While attitudes toward those with disabilities have improved in recent years, support groups and charities say society still has some way to go when it comes to equality.
Although facilities for the physically impaired can be impressive — wheelchair ramps abound in cities — the fact remains that blind people face drastically limited opportunities.
“The visually impaired are a minority among the minorities, as employers are more willing to hire the physically or hearing-impaired,” said Chiang Pei-fen, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Foundation for the Blind.
“Most visually impaired people are still limited to working as masseurs or in telemarketing, and even though general workplace acceptance is improving, there is still a big gap between the number of job seekers and employers willing to hire them,” Chiang said.
Despite his gift, Huang himself has suffered discrimination. He said he was mocked by fellow students at school and was rejected by a junior-high school music program because he could not see the scores.
The real shock came when Huang left home to attend university, where he struggled to cope, with some classmates reluctant to accommodate him.
“It was a difficult time adjusting to a new environment, but I came to realize that I could not always sit back and wait for other people to come to me. I had to take the initiative to make friends,” he said.
His adjustment process and the friendships he eventually developed form the bulk of the plot in Touch of the Light.
The experience has transformed Huang from a “shy, introverted” boy who dared not respond to people greeting him, he said, to a celebrity musician and actor who mingles with fans and has traveled abroad to promote his work.
“Acting makes me feel more confident and I have become more outgoing and more active, reaching out to other people,” said Huang, who is now a household name and often approached in the street by fans.
Even though the movie is based on Huang’s experiences, Chang stressed that it is really about “pursuing dreams and breaking stereotypes.”
“In the movie the character’s friends are not overly protective and do no treat him like an ‘endangered species’ as I want to break the sentimental pitying or worrying for the blind or other minority groups,” Chang said.
Huang has been nominated for the Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker category that encompassed actors, directors and other aspects of filmaking at this month’s Golden Horse Film awards, regarded as the Chinese-language Academy Awards. Chang is vying for best new director.
However, the jury is still out on whether the film’s success will translate into greater acceptance of the blind.
“It draws attention to the challenges visually impaired people face, but it remains to be seen how much can be translated into actual support for them,” Chiang said.
SPEEDING ELETRIC VEHICLES: Available without license requirements, the low-cost vehicles, especially if illicitly modified, can often reach a dangerous speed The government should crack down on illegal electric bicycles and scooters, the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation said on Friday, citing research on the potentially dangerous speed of the vehicles. Electric bicycles and lightweight electric scooters have gained popularity as they do not require registration and riders do not need licenses, the foundation said, adding that as many as 40 percent of them can reach speeds exceeding the legal limit of 25kph for non-licensed two-wheelers. Some consumers also purchased legal electric vehicles and modified them to reach higher speeds, it said. “If the government does not step up efforts to confiscate these
DIPLOMATIC MOVES: Beijing is reportedly pressing the state after reports of forming links with Taiwan, while the ministry is also planning to reopen its office in Guam soon A representative office is set to open in Somaliland at the end of this month, at the earliest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid reports that Beijing is sending a diplomatic delegation to the east African country. The ministry on July 1 announced that Taiwan and Somaliland would establish representative offices, following a report by the Somaliland Chronicle Web site. It said at the time that the two nations did not plan to establish formal ties. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has instructed close confidants to explore the possibility of “mutual recognition between Taiwan and Somaliland,” the Somaliland Chronicle reported
A Belgian man who tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan last week is likely to have contracted the disease in Taipei in late June, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday reported that the man, who is in his 20s, came to Taiwan for work on May 3 and tested positive on Wednesday last week as he was about to depart. The man in March reported loss of taste and smell, the center said, adding that he worked in Changhua County, but visited Taipei several times,
NEW ERA: Taiwan, which has controlled its virus outbreak, now faces the challenge of safely resuming economic exchanges with other nations, Chang Shan-chwen said People should not focus entirely on having zero new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, but neglect overall control over the disease situation, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said yesterday. Chang made the remark at a forum in Taipei discussing the steps Taiwan should take in the post-pandemic era, organized by the Chinese-language magazine Global Views Monthly. Chang, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), and Stanford University’s Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention director C. Jason Wang (王智弘) each made a presentation, followed by a panel discussion with Chang, Wang and Buddhist Tzu
RSS