Nearly half a century had passed since the founding of Far Eastern Memorial Foundation. In recent years, the foundation has been sponsoring a multitude of arts and cultural events and organizations, including Far Eastern International Forum for Architecture, children’s vision care campaigns, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, Rhong-Shing Chorus, Asian Cultural Council and the Little Yellow Cap campaign for promoting vulnerable individual protection services (VIPS). The foundation also funded Confucius-Mencius Society of the R.O.C., publishing Confucius-Mencius Monthly and editing Confucius-Mencius Journal. Such support has provided ample resources for more arts and cultural organizations to flourish and release the infinite power of art. The investments made by the foundation over the last four years had reached nearly NT$140 million, and the 2024 highlights are as follows:

A Musical Gathering, the Christmas Chairty Performance by School Wind Bands From Taipei City and New Taipei City

In 2024, the Far Eastern Memorial Foundation hosted a charity performance of the wind bands from elementary and middle schools in Taipei City and New Taipei City. The 13 participating schools were Bei Da Elementary School, New Taipei City Shulin Elementary School, Wu Hua Elementary School, Guang-Fu Elementary School, Taipei Municipal Ming Chuan Elementary School, New Taipei City Sinpu Elementary School, Zhong-Yi Elementary School, Fu-Ying Junior High School, New Taipei Municipal Ming Der High School, Taipei Municipal Jinhua Junior High School, New Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Junior High School, Jinou Girls High School and New Taipei Municipal Hsin Tien Senior High School. The ensemble formed by nearly 500 students performed world-renowned masterpieces. While the unprecedented gathering added to the joyful Christmas atmosphere, it was also a feast for the music lovers that inspired more young students to study music.

 

 

2024 Far Eastern Architectural Design Award–Rediscovering the Splendor of Ancient Temples in Wanhua 

The first Historic Tour Month debuted in August 2022 with enthusiastic turnouts. The program returned in 2024 with eight tours scheduled for September, all of which were fully booked shortly after the registration began. Nearly 400 participants attended the 2024 tours, which took visitors to the historic Manka, present-day Wanhua District in Taipei. With Professor Chien-Lang Lee, Professor Emeritus Tsung-Hsien Chou, Professor Ching-Chih Lee and expert Charles Lin leading the way, the participants enjoyed the history, architecture and culture of Manka as they strolled through the historic streets, visiting the century-old monuments, Bangka Qingshui Temple and Longshan Temple, as the experts narrated tales of the ancient Taiwanese architecture, the famed artisans and the marvel of their fine craftsmanship.

 

Far Eastern Architectural Design Award–Historic Tour / Deciphering the Roof Design of Ancient Temples in Manka (Chinese)

The Wedding Banquet, a New Musical

The Far Eastern Memorial Foundation sponsored the world premiere of The Wedding Banquet, a musical co-produced with the top U.S. Broadway team with a total of 10 performances. This musical is an adaptation of director Ang Lee’s internationally renowned movie, The Wedding Banquet, which won the 30th Golden Horse Award for Best Picture and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The opportunity to collaborate with the Broadway production team on a large-scale musical performance has elevated the competitiveness of the storytelling, performance arts talent and the cultural industry in Taiwan at the international level.

Footage from the musical, The Wedding Banquet (Chinese)

Million Elementary Students: World Citizen Competencies Education Plan

Million Elementary Students: World Citizen Competencies Education Plan is a collaborative initiative from the ESG World Citizens & Digital Governance Foundation (ESGWD Foundation), National Chengchi University Digital Empowerment and SSD Alliance for ESG Business Transformation, and the Far Eastern Memorial Foundation is one of the major sponsors. The education plan collaborates with eight elementary schools and has reached a total of 49 class groups with more than 1,000 students. Among the programs offered is Random Acts of Kindness Card, which fulfills eight of the UNSDGs. Each day, students may randomly draw one card, which shows the act of kindness to be completed. The act of kindness may take place at home or school with the intent to spread kindness within the classroom and family. A seed teacher workshop is also underway, training 32 teachers to cultivate kindness within students using diverse teaching materials and activities. Additional plans are in the pipeline to develop the world citizen of kindness lesson plans and integrate them into the school curriculum.

 

 

After completing the act of kindness each day, students may write down their actions, feelings and thoughts in the Kindness Handbook, which guides them to experience and reflect on ways of treating the people, matters and subjects around them with more empathy, respect and kindness.

Source: ESGWD Foundation

 
Random Acts of Kindness Program at Taipei Municipal Jingmei Elementary School (Chinese)
 Random Acts of Kindness Program at the Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of National Chengchi University (Chinese)