Film features Deaf Cast

A Taiwan film features a deaf cast including two deaf women in the lead roles. Chiang Wen-yi and Lin Ching-lan star in Use Your Heart to Listen for Happiness, which is based on real life experiences. One works in an office, where she must work harder than her hearing co-workers to succeed. Chiang Wen-yi plays the role of a woman who struggles to find the acceptance of her husband's parents. The other woman, played by Lin Ching-lan, is a dancer who finds her way to Taiwan’s first troupe for hearing-impaired dancers. Ching-lan has been deaf since birth, graduating with a degree in special education. Wen-yi has a post-graduate degree from the College of Management at Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan County. She now works at works at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s top contract chipmaker, when she's not acting. Use Your Heart to Listen for Happiness premiered last week. Read more about the movie in the Taipei Times.

Deaflympics Host

The man who ran Deaflympics this summer in Taiwan is moving up. Emile Sheng is set to become the new minister of the Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs. Sheng grabbed the attention of government officials with his success in hosting the games. He will also oversee the
major activities to mark the 100th founding anniversary of the Republic of China in 2011. Sheng holds a doctoral degree in political science from Northwestern University in Illinois.

Deaflympics Documentary

National Geographic plans to chronicle the 21st Summer Deaflympics taking place in Taipei, Taiwan during September of 2009. The Deaflympics documentary will premiere in 2010 at Gallaudet University.