A Burmese girl with congenital eye, ear and spine defects is to receive corrective surgery at Taichung’s China Medical University Hospital free of charge.
Taichung-based Pu Chen Group, one of the world’s largest footwear makers, has provided NT$3 million (US$97,491) toward the treatment of the 11-year-old, known as Siao-le (小勒), hospital deputy superintendent Yang Li-hui (楊麗慧) told a news conference in Taichung on Wednesday last week.
Born with Goldenhar syndrome — a genetic condition affecting about one in 50,000 births — Siao-le has a malformed spine and ear, a recessed jaw, impaired vision and sleep apnea, said Chen Hung-chi (陳宏基), head of the hospital’s International Medical Center.
An epidermoid cyst in her right eye has distorted the curvature of the cornea, causing astigmatism and amblyopia, he added.
Her right ear will require a hearing aid implant and reconstructive surgery, while the right side of her cheek and jaw, which are comparatively underdeveloped, will require corrective surgery in about three years, he said.
Chen said Siao-le’s spine does not need urgent surgery, but would require regular follow-ups to ensure that the scoliosis does not affect her internal organs.
The girl is to undergo several surgeries by a team of doctors and technicians from seven of the hospital’s departments, including a research center for applied 3D printing, he said.
The girl’s mother said Siao-le is grateful to be offered proper treatment, but impatient to return to school, adding that her daughter particularly misses swimming.
The Pu Chen Group’s factories in Myanmar have created 5,138 jobs and its philanthropic efforts focus on integrating corporate and medical resources to provide humanitarian relief, chairman Chan Lu-min (詹陸銘) said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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