A former convict in Chiayi City has been using his talent for art to make a name for himself as a rock sculptor and reintegrate into society.
Wu Chung-yi (吳忠益) has a checkered past, as he used to clash with the law and served four prison sentences.
After leaving prison the last time, Wu decided to turn over a new leaf and leave his past behind, but he was uncertain of his future until he got acquainted with a local 7-Eleven convenience store manager, Kao Chi-jung (高基榮), who he said became a good friend and gave him a new direction in life.
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
“About four years ago I started seeing Wu coming in regularly to buy coffee. He would sit quietly by himself, drinking his coffee in a seat in the corner,” Kao recalled.
Kao said he approached Wu to find out more about him, and learned that Wu had a criminal past and had just left prison.
Wu told him that he spent most of his time doing rock carvings at home and that he was especially good at sculpting monkeys.
When the two men became friends, Kao encouraged Wu to break out of the traditional mold with his artwork. He also helped to advertise and promote Wu’s carvings on the Internet.
As Wu refined his skills and produced more interesting artistic creations, he began to gain recognition and went on to win a number of awards in competitions organized by the Chiayi City Government in recent years. He has also passed the qualification test to obtain a street performer license.
His most recent project was an ambitious one. It was a collaboration with two renowned rock sculptors, Tsai Chin-tung (蔡錦同) and Wang Chien-tsung (王建宗), to produce a large rock carving for display at Chiayi’s Chuei Yang Elementary School.
With support from Kao, Wu said he was able to focus his creative energy and so came up with the concept of “customized stone monkeys.”
When he completed the first set, it was presented to Kao as a token of appreciation.
For this item, two seemingly playful monkeys are sitting together on top of the number “7.” Wu said the carved monkeys symbolize welcoming in good fortune and prosperity, while the number “7” symbolizes Kau’s workplace.
This piece of art has attracted the attention of a large number of Chiayi residents. The owner of a nearby carwash business also took a fancy to it and has requested a customized “carwash stone monkeys” carving, Wu said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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