While legislators are known for their politics, many pursue hobbies that have led to interesting collections.
Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers shared the stories behind their collections with the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) recently.
DPP Legislator Lu Sun-ling (呂孫綾), who at 30 is currently the nation’s youngest lawmaker, often spends her free time assembling miniature models of famous landmarks, comic-book characters and military items.
Photo: Huang Hsin-po, Taipei Times
Her hobby not only helps her relax and improves her organizational skills, but serves to remind her that not to omit a single component when tackling any endeavor, she said.
The current favorite from her collection is a model of the CM-32 armored vehicle — commonly known as the “Clouded Leopard.”
“When I first started [in politics], people doubted my ability to succeed in a harsh male-dominated political environment, but I have always felt that as a younger woman I can offer a unique perspective,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Hsu Shu-hua’s office
Her first move as lawmaker was to suggest that the Ministry of National Defense’s Youth Daily News promote sales of the Clouded Leopard model as a way of helping it engage with the public, she said.
The model has proven popular, which she took as confirmation of her ability to succeed in politics, and why she likes it so much, she said.
Her DPP colleague, Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬), has been called “the legislature’s biggest nerd” due to his fascination with US comic book characters and Japanese anime.
Photo: Huang Hsin-po, Taipei Times
One of Cheng’s hobbies is drawing anime-inspired sketches, and his office at the legislature is filled with collectibles from anime films and series, including toys from the popular Gundam series and a robot form of Sanrio’s Hello Kitty character.
Cheng also has models based on Spiderman and Harley Quinn — characters from DC Comics.
“Actually, I am afraid I would be in trouble with my wife if she knew I bought so much, so I keep them at the office,” Cheng said.
As a child, he loved Japanese manga, but could not afford to buy them and so could only read them on occasion by renting issues from comic book shops, he said.
After he began working, he used his salary to start his own collection of manga and collectibles, he said.
His favorite items are from Mazinger Z anime series, as well as its spin-offs, Cheng said.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) likes to collecting Smurf figurines and other collectibles from Belgian comic franchise.
Hsu, who has more than 600 figurines in her collection, began collecting 10 years ago when she saw Smurfs collectibles at a shop in Taichung’s Fengjia Commercial District (逢甲商圈).
The figurines brought back childhood memories of watching The Smurfs, she said.
She has since traveled to Belgium, where she bought more figurines, Hsu said.
KMT Legislator John Wu’s (吳志揚) collection reflects his passion for sports, which is really no surprise as he also serves as Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner.
He said the item that was hardest to acquire is a baseball signed by pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民), who played for teams in Taiwan as well as in Major League Baseball.
He flew to the east coast of the US in 2015 to visit Wang, who had been keeping a low profile after sustaining an injury, only to discover that the player had left for Seattle after being signed by the Mariners, Wu said.
He immediately boarded another plane for Seattle and was eventually able to meet Wang and get a signed ball, the lawmaker said.
Among his other favorite items are a basketball that looks like a baseball, which was used by Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin (林書豪) during an NBA Central Division game in 2016, as well as dirt from the Hsinchu CKS Baseball Stadium, collected before it was demolished last year, he said.
However, a signed glove and ball from legendary baseball player Sadaharu Oh (王貞治) are his most prized possessions, Wu said.
“I had to go through a number of channels to get these items,” he said.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) prides himself on his collection of patrol caps from military bases around the nation and abroad.
However, the caps are less of a collection and more of a reminder of his base visits, he said.
The most memorable cap is one that he got when he visited Republic of China Air Force pilots training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, he said.
“I was drinking and chatting with [members of] the US’ 21st Fighter Squadron in 40 degree Celsius temperatures in the middle of the desert,” Wang said, adding that he helped get a karaoke machine for the base at the squadron’s request.
He once flew to Itu Abu Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) to visit military personnel stationed there, he said.
He was able to help negotiate permission last year for family members of the personnel stationed on the island to visit them during the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the relatives were able to stay overnight in the barracks there, Wang said.
Looking at the hats makes him think of the brave young officers guarding their posts, Wang said.
“Every hat represents emotions and responsibility,” he said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS