Lee Hsiao-ping (李孝屏) has surprised many by teaching at Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung despite being totally blind. Lee has been rated the best teacher in his department, and was named one of this year's Ten Outstanding Young Persons.
The 36-year-old Lee is a full-time lecturer in the university's information management science department. He started to lose his eyesight when he was in college. Shortly after he began graduate school he had to drop out because of his failing eyesight.
He said he found it painful and desperate to be living in the dark at first. He did not leave his home for almost three years, until his family "tricked" him into going to the Institute for the Blind of Taiwan to learn how to care of himself.
PHOTO: SU MENG-CHUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
He later entered the doctoral program in computer science at National Tsing Hua University, and Chung Shan Medical University recruited him about a year ago.
Because of his blindness, he faces more difficulties in teaching.
"I always use transparencies to teach," he said. "It may take others three seconds to do a graphic, but it may take me three hours."
A three-hour class requires 100 transparencies, so it takes him three or four days to prepare for each class. He also has to memorize the sequence and content of transparencies. He said that this is the only way for him to teach.
Lee was very emotional when he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons. He said that he had heard about the award many years ago but felt that he would never qualify.
"I cannot believe that I made it," he said, calling the award the greatest honor of his rocky life.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
RSS