Veteran actress and director Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉), three-time winner of the Best Actress Golden Horse Award, is to be the fourth torchbearer at the World Masters Games hosted in Taipei and New Taipei City from Saturday to the 30th of this month, the Games’ organizing committee said today in a news release.
The opening ceremony is to be held on Saturday at the Taipei Dome.
Chang said she hopes to spread the message that true happiness comes from a healthy body and mind.
Photo courtesy of the World Masters Games
The committee announced three torchbearers earlier this week.
They are baseball legend Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔), centenarian shuttler Lin Yu-mao (林友茂) and Olympic boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷).
Chang is an acclaimed actress, screenwriter, director, producer and singer who was a key figure in promoting Chinese-language cinema across Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Her international accolades include the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malaysia International Film Festival 2023 and the Asian Film Awards 2018.
In 2021, she won the 22nd National Award for Arts.
In her fifty-year career, Chang has worked on over 100 productions and attended prestigious international film awards from Berlin and London to Toronto and Busan.
Chang also promotes social causes and invests in education and public welfare initiatives.
In 1988, she established the Gosh Cultural & Education Foundation to foster youth talent and encourage young people to participate in creative industries.
Chang has been nominated as cultural torchbearer not only for her artistic legacy, but also for her positive attitude to exercise and maintaining a healthy mind and body, the Games’ committee said.
Exercise is incredibly important, especially when entering middle age, Chang said, adding that she maintains her personal physical and mental well-being through jogging, ba duan jin — a form of medical qigong — and arm exercises.
In related news, President William Lai (賴清德) is unable to attend the Games’ opening ceremony due to other political engagements, the Presidential Office said today.
Lai would, however, send a congratulatory message conveying his wish that the event runs smoothly and that the athletes representing Taiwan would achieve outstanding results, it said.
Additional reporting by Su Yang-yao
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