A Taiwanese theater group composed of former abuse victims are to present their life stories on stage in Hong Kong this month to inspire girls who have had similar experiences, the Garden of Hope Foundation said at a press conference on Monday.
The foundation supervises the all-female group, called Girls, which consists of six members aged between 14 and 17 who suffered domestic violence, sexual abuse or childhood neglect. The show in Hong Kong will be the group’s debut performance abroad.
The group is to stage a 40-minute play comprising six monologues in which each member narrates their life story, said Yang Chin-hui, director of the Garden of Hope Foundation’s Kaohsiung Service Center.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Taipei Times
A video clip preview of the play was presented at the press conference.
In one of the monologues shown in the clip, the narrator asks why adults are so scary as she recounts how she and her sister were physically abused by their parents and brother. The other performers then gather around the narrator and speak for her.
“Acting helps the girls find their voices,” Yang said. “Many of them now feel more at ease with themselves and can express what they do and do not want.”
Moreover, the drama therapy helps the girls form close friendships and improve their interpersonal skills, Yang added.
“I was shy and afraid to speak up before, but now I have the courage to speak my mind,” said A-tsai, one of the members of the group.
The 15-year-old, who grew up in a single-parent family and was often neglected, said she hoped that she could inspire abuse victims in Hong Kong to pursue their dreams.
She said her dream is to become a hairdresser like her mother.
The troupe is to perform at Hong Kong’s Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women, Home Care for Girls and Caritas Pui Tak Centre from yesterday until Thursday.
Now in its fourth year, the Greater Kaohsiung-based group aims to encourage abuse victims to express themselves verbally and physically, to tell their stories through drama and to become good listeners, Yang said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all