ADLINK Travel Journey: The Tibetan Plateau 1 describes nomadic experiences in detail. The Tibetan culture depicted in Volume 2 is drawn from a close observation based on the participants’ academic backgrounds and life experiences. This latest volume consists of short stories and proses completed by 17 students. They are about to share the time they spent on the Tibetan Plateau in 2019.

In Chinese, the name for the Tibetan Plateau is “qingzang gaoyuan”, and the character “zang” could also mean hidden. In ADLINK Travel Journey: The Tibetan Plateau 1 the culture of the Tibetan Plateau was refreshingly new and beautiful to us. This time, the mysterious hidden culture, traditions and our self-identity will be unveiled in ADLINK Travel Journey: The Tibetan Plateau 2.

Thirteen college students with different backgrounds and skills are on their way, to a twelve -day nomadic experience, looking for something that will touch their hearts and unlock their true potential.

This is the story of how one social work enthusiast, three inheritors of traditional performing arts, and four justice-loving members of law enforcement spent 17 memorable days on the Tibetan Plateau.

Illustrator:  Xiu-Lan Wang
Design:  Ding Ding Publisher
Illustration Provider:  Yuanren Studio
Introduction:Xiu-Lan Wang was born in Tangshan City, Hebei Province in 1935. She is the oldest of three sisters and one brother. Wang’s father passed away when she was a child, so she had to take on the responsibility of earning money for the family and selling fruits from a donkey-drawn cart. She experienced the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Great Chinese Famine. During the most difficult times, she had to eat tree bark.

Wang is 81 years old now, and still has excellent vision and hearing. In addition to her ability to mend clothing with a sewing machine, she enjoys drawing. She draws the beautiful flowers and trees she sees in her daily life, bit by bit, with primitive brush strokes. She has held on to her dream and kept doing what she enjoys: working towards being an amateur artist.

Wang’s works were chosen as the core visual design concept for AEF’s 2015 Notebook to inspire us all that it is never too late to follow your dreams.

Illustrator: Crazy Elly (Elly Liao)

With a BA in Visual Communication Design at National Yulin University of Science and Technology and an MA majoring in Illustration and Picture Books for Children at Birmingham City University, UK, Crazy Elly enjoys depicting unnoticeably subtle emotions in our daily life in the lovely characters that are illustrated using soft lines and warm colors. Her fun, light-hearted illustrations are full of stories and comfort.

Elly’s illustrations in this notebook are inspired by ADLINK Cross-Straight Summer Camp for Kids. Her illustrations are full of warm colors and tones, cute characters and short inspirational sentences that are sure to bring smiles. It is an illustrated notebook set up with no dates. AEF promotes involvement and recognition of employees of ADLINK Technology Inc., youths and students in charitable activities and services to best fulfill our mission and vision. As well, AEF provides emerging illustrators an opportunity to create and cooperate, and encouragestalented artists to develop their skills and achieve their potential.

Preface   Dazzling DPAG!  By Li-Hong Liu
She doesn’t have legs, so she dances on her knees, making people feel tenderly toward her. She doesn’t have hands, so she plays the piano with her wrist bones, making people feel astonished. She doesn’t have hands or legs, but she laughs so happily that it makes people without so much hardship feel ashamed to complain about their lives. She perfectly demonstrates beauty, goodness and truth with her life. Wei-Qi Guo is a smiling angel. She is in DPAG.

Three out of five people in his family suffer from a rare disease. At first he had to walk on tiptoe, and then each step he took became a struggle. It is only getting worse. Someday he will be paralyzed and bedridden, yet he still insists on living each day to the fullest. Xiang-Rong Liu is a brave wheelchair dancer. He is in DPAG.

She can’t hear the music, but her dance moves are mesmerizing. She can’t hear the melody, but she can finish any song she begins dancing to. She formed the very first dance group for the hearing impaired in Taiwan, and is determined to make it international. Jing-Lan Lin is a hearing impaired dancer with beauty on the inside and out. She is in DPAG.

She is like a well taken care of little princess from a wealthy family. She often sings happily. No one knew that this girl, who has been on a wheelchair since she was a child, went through a divorce and suffered from depression when she grew up. She persevered and overcame difficulties and is now reborn. Chun-Ye Wang is a wheelchair-bound singer with a healing voice. She is in DPAG.

It takes him 30 seconds to finish saying a sentence and an hour to put on a pair of socks. He practices singing for two hours a day and maybe only learns one sentence. By the time he completes a song, he is already covered in sweat. Zhi-Xian Cheng is a singer that has cerebral palsy. He is in DPAG.

They are all in DPAG – the Disabled Performing Arts Group. What is DPAG? Life Stories of DPAG Members Vol. 2 is about the extraordinary life stories of 15 members from DPAG, a group of disabled performers with different forms of disabilities

The Disabled Performing Arts Group (DPAG) consists of a group of performers with different types of disabilities, including arm amputees, leg amputees, wheelchair users with rare diseases, the hearing impaired and the visually impaired. Despite their physical deficiencies, DPAG members are extremely talented. Singing and dancing are among their many talents, in addition to their proficiency with various musical instruments. DPAG is the first ensemble of performers with disabilities in Taiwan, and has performed and toured extensively throughout Taiwan and abroad. Their touching and amazing performances have brought joy and tears to many audiences.
 

AEF was honored to invite Hui-Zhen Yang, a Producer from Da Ai Television, to be the Executive Producer of the documentary of DPAG. The inconvenience caused by each member’s physical barriers is depicted realistically by Yang. The members’ determination to find a way through or around the obstacles with their perseverance, as well as their artistic achievement in playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and miming, are captured in the film. With the distribution of this documentary, DPAG will be known to more people and their inspiring message will reach more hearts.
 

Mo’s Unspeakable Secrets is a book that centers around Wei-Pon Mo, a rehabus driver and a volunteer for the Disabled Performing Arts Group (DPAG). Mo came to Taiwan for work when he was young, married a Taiwanese woman and settled down in Taiwan. Mo’s daughter has suffered from severe cerebral palsy caused by milk choking for more than 20 years. His wife endured partial paralysis for unknown reasons for 10 years until she passed away.

Let go of the past and move forward to your future.

And Mo did it! All these years, instead of limiting himself and descending into the emotional swamp of self-pity, Mo stepped forward. He put himself in others’ shoes, utilizing his strengths and specialties to provide services to people with disabilities. His life has moved forward. He might have encountered obstacles and stumbled along the way, but he still works hard for people who love him. His perseverance has moved many.
 

Reflection of Zhao-An Hu on how he takes the responsibility of taking care of his daughter who suffers from severe cerebral palsy
Yu-Ti Hu, who looks like she is about 100cm tall, spends most of her time lying or sitting in a stroller. She is as thin as a stick. She can’t stand up; even sitting down is a struggle. She can’t talk. She can only make cooing sounds and communicates through eye contact. One would be surprised to find out that she is already 11 years old.

Zhao-An Hu is this little girl’s father. When Yu-Ti was born, it was his first time being a father. He merely had a brief moment of joy, followed by taking an ambulance to a hospital with his newborn daughter at his side. A nuchal cord and meconium aspiration syndrome occurred during the delivery and caused severe cerebral palsy.

In the families of children with disabilities, most of the fathers are usually less involved and tend to choose to avoid from their responsibilities. But Zhao-An Hu bravely assumed the role of supportive father and husband.

Life had been a smooth ride for him. Hu grew up in Magong, Penghu. He was a high academic achiever and maintained high moral character in school. He was admitted to the Department of Veterinary Medicine in National Taiwan University. In the small fishing village where he came from, it was something worth setting off firecrackers and celebrating at the time. Then he married a beautiful woman whom he had been in love with for seven years. He worked hard and became a District Manager of an insurance company. It was not until his child was born that he started to have a taste of bitterness of life.

Since then, he has volunteered in social welfare organizations and shared his experience with parents of disabled children. He and the other parents support each other and encourage each other. Moreover, he fundraised for The First Social Welfare Foundation. He read about a child who also came from Penghu and was hospitalized with cancer in National Taiwan University Hospital. He initiated a fundraising event in his company, hoping to decrease the financial burden of this low income family.

It is because of the Hu’s miraculous life story, the ADLINK Education Foundation (AEF) published Miraculous Journey of Yuti: A Story about a Family’s Experience with Severe Cerebral Palsy. AEF wishes to provide support and advice to the families of children with physical and/or mental disabilities. It is not a curse, nor the end of the world. It is possible to live a happy life with a special child like this.