Ms. Joyce Chiou
Chairperson, Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion
General and Artistic Director, National Taichung Theater
Passionate and willful, that is how many people remember Mr. Hsu.
As I can remember, the three most memorable interactions I had with Mr. Hsu happened at the first sitar concert of Ravi Shankar in Taiwan in 1979, the first tour of the Cross-Strait Peace Symphony Orchestra in 2009 and the election of the chairperson of the Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion (FACP) in 2022. I must admit that it was challenging to work with him at first due to his strong personality; however, they all turned out to be valuable experiences and learnings in my life. Throughout the process, we experienced upsets, conflicts, and ultimately resulted in wonderful resolutions. It was typical for Mr. Hsu to willfully come up with ideas and convince me with his immense passion and love for art, ethnicity and Taiwan. Sometimes, I did want to argue but his commitment always left me speechless. Looking back, I could see how much he trusted me in handling those situations.
When organizing the tour for the Cross-Strait Peace Symphony Orchestra and participating in the broad meeting of FACP, I often had to be Mr. Hsu’s peacemaker. Whenever he engaged in an intense discussion in the meetings, I had to defuse the tension after he left the tables. However, no matter how chaotic it got, once the event was over, he could always gather up everyone to enjoy a great feast - we all knew that he was fighting for greater goods instead of personal gain. After every event, we thought no one would like to join Mr. Hsu’s next project, but we were wrong, Mr. Hsu could always start something new and persuade people to join him.
Once again, huge gratitude for Mr. Hsu’s trust. I took up the last task he entrusted and reinvigorate the brand of FACP, ensuring that the 45-year history continues to be the engine for promoting Asian culture and arts. In memory of Mr. Hsu,“Pitch for New Aspects” will become a platform to nurture young Asian art creators rooted in tradition while bringing in new perspectives.
