Artist Liao Jui-chin (廖瑞金), who uses his feet to paint, on Friday told his long-term girlfriend that he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her. The couple are to get married next Sunday.
The 36-year-old artist, who fell ill with meningitis at the age of three and lost the use of his arms, met his fiancee, Wu Fu-yu (吳芙妤), a 29-year-old graduate of National Taiwan Normal University, eight years ago at a table tennis competition.
Despite his disability, Liao played excellent table tennis with his feet, which caught Wu’s attention. The two then started seeing each other, and said that they enjoyed skating, playing chess and playing sports together.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
It soon became clear that they were meant for each other, said Hung Chin-fang (洪錦芳), a teacher at the children’s home in Pingtung County where Liao grew up.
Hung said the first time she met Wu she watched the couple together and realized how precious their love was.
Part of that is their uncanny ability to communicate, Hung said. Though Liao can only make hard-to-understand sounds when he tries to verbalize his thoughts, Wu has no trouble understanding him.
Hung said she contacted Wu’s family in the hope that they would give the couple some freedom and allow Liao time to prove his sincerity.
Hung has known Liao since he was 12, when she met him at the orphanage where she works. She said he was an ill-tempered child, who fought and got into trouble as he sought to express his anger and frustration.
However, Hung taught him to use his feet to paint, play sports and even fix bicycles, and after they realized he had a talent for art, Hung arranged for the budding artist to receive painting lessons from Hsu Wen-de (許文德).
Thanks to those lessons, Liao had made a name for himself by the time he was 18 and was later accepted as a member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.
Although Liao could not read or write, he managed to make a living and was able to take care of his mentally challenged brother by selling postcards and art with the help of the association.
“Love is patient, love is kind,” Liao said, citing his favorite passage from the Bible as an expression of his gratitude to Hung, whom he sees not only as his teacher, but also as a mother to him and Wu.
He also thanked Wu, saying that she had never given up on him and thanking her for being his soulmate and closest friend.
Though his mind is now focused on getting married, Liao has not forgotten his roots.
He has just donated two of his paintings to the Chinese Childrenhome and Shelter Association to help raise funds for children in need.
He said that in the future he would share his experiences to help guide other disabled persons to overcome misfortune and find the light in life.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS