A Taiwanese tattoo artist defeated hundreds of contestants from more than 50 nations to win 24 titles, including 10 champion trophies, at the second annual Houston Tattoo Arts Convention in Texas earlier this month.
Taoyuan Tattoo Trade Union chairman Fran Ho (何釩), who has been a tattoo artist for more than 30 years, on Sunday said that he has liked drawing since he was a child and became obsessed with tattoos when he became a teenager, so he chose to become a tattoo artist immediately after he graduated from school.
Ho’s sophisticated tattoo techniques and use of bold colors have made him famous in Taiwan and he began participating in international tattoo art events seven or eight years ago, achieving outstanding results in more than a dozen nations.
Photo courtesy of Fran Ho
A colorful and magnificent piece called “Dancing Dragon and Phoenix,” which spans the arms, filling the front and back of the trunk, and reaches the thighs of a woman surnamed Hsu (許), helped Ho win first prize in the “Large Color” category in Houston this year.
Ho lost contact with Hsu when the design was only half finished. When she finally got back in touch after several months to have the tattoo completed, he learned that she had cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy.
Hsu said that the phoenix bathing in fire on her back and the dragon head on her chest symbolize rebirth and courage, reminding her to live with hope in her heart, Ho quoted Hsu as saying.
“Tattooing is a complicated and delicate art, narrating life experiences and dreams,” Ho said, adding that every detail of a tattoo affects the outcome, such as the composition, the stroke lengths and the pain tolerance of the client.
Ho vowed to continue refining his skills and observe the world carefully to achieve even better results.
EXPANDING OPTIONS: The government is to start a shuttle service connecting the Port of Suao to the Port of Hualien, while airlines are to add more flights to the region A magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck off Hualien County yesterday morning has left railway and highway services in eastern Taiwan paralyzed, and it would take considerable time to restore them, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said. Most railway and road traffic in the region has come to a standstill, and repairing the damage could be challenging due to ongoing aftershocks, Wang told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative hearing. Some steps have already been taken to help people travel up and down the east coast, which is dominated by mountains and is essentially connected to northern Taiwan by
Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) yesterday apologized to the public on behalf of his son, who is being investigated for allegedly soliciting prostitutes, but pledged to stay in his post after the president declined to approve his resignation over the matter last week. “I am sorry that my son’s behavior has caused problems for everyone involved,” Chiu told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. Chiu said his apology is particularly for the National Security Bureau where his son works, due to the time and money the bureau is spending in investigating the allegations. He had talked with his son, told him
MAJOR MOVEMENT: The earthquake measured 6+ in Hualien County, the highest rating since the 7-tier scale was introduced in 2020, the CWA said People should prepare for a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake striking near the east coast after the nation was yesterday morning jolted by a magnitude 7.2 quake, a seismologist said. Yesterday’s temblor, with the epicenter off Hualien County, was the largest since the nation was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 quake on Sept. 21, 1999, also known as the 921 Earthquake. So far, yesterday’s earthquake and more than 100 aftershocks had led to multiple deaths and injuries, as well as housing and infrastructure damage. Hualien County reported the severest destruction due to its proximity to the epicenter. Ma Kuo-fong (馬國鳳), a research fellow
WARNING: The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association told people visiting Japan not to buy products containing red yeast rice after it was linked to kidney problems Taiwanese were the biggest spenders among foreign visitors to Japan last year, edging out visitors from China for the top spot, Japan Tourism Agency figures showed. Taiwanese spent about ¥783.5 billion (US$5.16 billion) in Japan over the year, up 42 percent from 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Spending soared despite the total number of visitors from Taiwan falling 10.4 percent from 2019, Japan Tourism Agency figures showed. The increase in spending might have been because of the devaluation of the Japanese yen, which last year was worth 20 to 25 percent less against the New Taiwan dollar than