Have you heard of the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe”? This group was established in 2005 by Liu Ming, the Troupe’s founder, and Taiwan’s first disabled person to win a Golden Bell Award for broadcasting the troupe.
This group comprises members with physical disabilities, visual impairments, hearing and speech impediments, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, and other rare conditions. Through dance, music, mime, and other performances, they showcase their talents and share their deeply moving life stories, which convey their philosophy of “Cherish Life — Overcome Adversity.”
In August 2023, it held the “Embrace Life with Dance and Song” performance at the Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Hualien County, Taiwan. This heartwarming and life-educating event was refreshing amid the summer heat.
The Cathay Charity Foundation supports the ‘Mixed Abilities Art Troupe’
The Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Center’s auditorium has state-of-the-art facilities and comfortable seating. Before the event’s performance, it was abuzz with activity. Volunteers from the Hualien branch of Cathay assisted with various arrangements and guided hundreds of spectators, including Cathay employees, family members, and clients, to their allocated seating.
After contracting polio at the age of 3, Liu Ming was left with severe curvature of the spine and was confined to a wheelchair. Both Ming and Li Shuzhen, an actress who won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Dull-Ice Flower at the age of 11, hosted the event program. The two interacted warmly and entertained the audience with humorous banter.
The epidemic has severely impacted the Troupe’s livelihood in the past three years. Liu Ming expressed special thanks to the long-term support of the Cathay Charity Foundation. Their support has enabled the Troupe to expand from its initial membership of four to five to over 40. Equally, Cathay enabled the Troupe to increase the number of performances from 10 plus per year to over a hundred. Despite the harsh challenges of the epidemic, the Troupe continued to stage its shows to showcase its talents and inspire others.
True happiness is bringing happiness to others
Liu Zhengyuan, Assistant Manager of the Eastern Taiwan Branch of Cathay Life Insurance, pointed out that the Cathay Charity Foundation has been engaged in various “Charitable Endeavors” for many years, always embracing its philosophy of “Taking from Society and Giving back to Society” and “True Happiness is Bringing Happiness to Others.”
The Cathay Charity Foundation has sponsored the Troupe for its 16th consecutive year. Since 2007, nearly 10 million yuan have been invested in sponsoring the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe” to perform at schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, and social welfare institutions. Promoting “life education” through personal experience, they seek to inspire the spirit of resilience, gratitude, reciprocity, and love.
Dancing with confidence and charm
The first performance was by two single-handed dancers and a young dancer who was only half the height of the other two. As the three came on stage, the younger dancer waved her amputated arm and danced on her knees. The trio danced confidently and gracefully to the rhythm of the music.
“Single-handed dancer” Wang Shujiao was 9 years old when her left hand was caught in a meat grinder at a market resulting in the loss of her five fingers. Overwhelmed by insecurity, self-pity, and shame, she spent 20 years hiding her left hand in her pocket and being unable to face a crowd. It wasn’t until she met her beloved that she bravely reached out her left hand to pursue happiness.
Since then, Wang Shujiao has worked very hard and perseveres, challenging herself constantly and showcasing her talents. After joining the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe,” she finally found the living spring of her life. Upon reflection, she stated: “I only lost five fingers, and I am capable of doing so many other things!”
“Limbless warrior” Guo Weiqi suffered a severe illness at the age of 7. She was pronounced a vegetable after eight days of being in a coma in the intensive care unit. Unexpectedly, she came out of the coma 14 days later, and to save her life, the doctors decided to amputate both hands and feet. From then on, day after day, year after year, she endured unspeakable pain.
Embarking on an arduous journey with her supportive family, Weiqi refused to be defeated by fate. She showed remarkable strength and optimism through her love of music and dance. This was displayed when Weiqi played the electronic keyboard with her severed limbs, performing a song of gratitude for the audience.
During Liu Ming’s introduction, he highlighted Weiqis’s triumph over “life’s three big challenges” that even ordinary people find difficult: cycling around the island in 18 days, swimming across Sun Moon Lake, and reaching the summit of Taiwan’s highest peak, Mount Yushan. Her strength depleted as she approached the last 200 meters before the summit; she thought she couldn’t go on. She bit onto her late grandpa’s picture, garnered all her strength, and pushed forward with all her might until she reached the top. Overcome with emotion, her tears flowed as she looked to the heavens and said to her grandpa: “Please rest assured; I finally did it!”
Weiqi is known as the “Smiling Angel” of the Troupe. The Troupe leader once asked her why she could always maintain a smile; she replied: “Only when I smile can I forget that I have lost both hands and feet.”
Longing to hear his child call him Dad
Next, Liu Ming asked everyone to give their heartiest applause. “Applauding for others is applauding for oneself,” Ming said, welcoming visually impaired warrior Shen Yanlin to the stage. Unable to see the surroundings due to his visual impairment, Yanlin relies on hearing the enthusiastic applause to visualize the size of his audience. Shen Yanlin has made a career in music. He first performed a flute solo, then performed a fantastic feat using the flute to accompany the beatbox and produce sounds to mimic instruments such as a trumpet, drums, and more.
The next performer was Chen Lianqiao, who suffered from a hearing and speech impediment resulting from a high fever he experienced as a young child. Before Lianqiao came on stage, Ming taught everyone how to applaud and say thank you for using sign language. Lianqiao is a Taiwanese sign language authority, a skilled photographer, and the host of the public television program Listening Eye. He has won two Golden Bell Awards for television. With rich body movements and expressions, he played multiple characters in the amusing mime “Dream Lover” for the audience.
In his silent world, unable to hear or speak, Ming asked Lianqiao how he communicates with the world. Lianqiao said he communicates with everyone through the on-stage sign translator through body language. Liu Ming asked: “If you could hear the sound, what would you like to hear?” He replied in sign language: “I most want to hear my child call me ‘Dad.'” A simple and unattainable wish. How poignant is that!
On what I have and what I lost
Graceful and charming in appearance, Tsai Peifu has a crystalline and melodious voice. She exudes the demeanor of a famous singer. Since junior high school and due to her family circumstances, Peifu has participated in numerous singing competitions, winning awards repeatedly. She sang songs like Flowing Years and Chasing that captivated the audience. Her physical disability is rather inconspicuous unless you observe.
Peifu is the “Three-fingered Songstress.” Born with severe finger atrophy, she has three fingers on her left hand and no fingers or joints on her right hand. Before the age of one, she underwent three surgeries to have four fingers and a thumb carved out to enable her to facilitate her daily activities.
Ming asked: “If you were given a choice between having ten intact fingers or a good singing voice, which would you choose?” Unexpectedly, she said: “I would choose a good singing voice. I have always wished to have normal hands, but that’s impossible. I don’t focus on what I’ve lost, only on what I have, cherishing everything I have in the present.”
In mid-June, Peifu lost her voice due to a ruptured blood vessel in her vocal cord. The doctor said the only treatment was to let her throat rest. This is her first singing performance after her vocal cord injury. The troupe leader thoughtfully arranged for her to have a duet partner for the latter part of Chasing. Lin Yuwen, a Cathay employee responsible for transporting troupe members, volunteered to go on stage. Singing with her rich soprano voice, Yuwen became the unexpected “star” of the show.
After watching the performance, Ming asked her what she thought; Yuwen shared emotionally: “I suddenly felt like crying! I want to tell my mother, sitting in the audience, thank you for giving me good hands and feet. I must cherish them. If the ‘Mixed Abilities Art Troupe’ members can work so hard, what excuse do I have not to work hard?”
Never give up
Yes. Just like the troupe leader continuously imparted positive energy to the audience during the event — “every life is unique and indispensable,” “a beautiful rainbow appears only after experiencing storms,” “it’s not about how big the obstacle is, but how strong the determination is,” “good hands do good deeds, good feet walk good paths”…
The “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe” members do not relinquish their dreams because of physical disabilities. They conquered various obstacles, inspiring countless viewers with their superb talents and deeply moving life stories, finding an outlet for their unique lives. Prevailing over challenges, they traveled and performed abroad multiple times, embracing the world and broadening their horizons, with footprints extending as far as Canada. “Never giving up creates miracles.” It’s truly awe-inspiring!
On the other hand, the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe” would certainly not survive without the Cathay Charity Foundation and numerous Cathay employees who provide their full support and solid backing.
A conscientious Enterprise knows its responsibility lies not only in profit, but also in social welfare. So the concept of “assistance” extends beyond one-way support, as witnessed through the performances by the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe,” which consolidates the unity among Cathay employees, fosters optimistic mindsets, and unearths inner potentials, ultimately enhancing work performance. This altruistic reciprocity from businesses elevates their standing and uplifts society.
Adversity is the makeup artist of life, and whether the outcome is beautiful or disastrous depends on individual attitudes and choices. Seeing each member of the “Mixed Abilities Art Troupe” master their different obstacles, strive to excel, and refuse to bow to fate, I wonder what excuses those without disabilities have to give up on themselves.
Translated by Katy Liu and edited by Maria
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