The 4th Filial Piety Award Ceremony for the Essay Competition and Recognition of Three Generations Living Together
By FFWPU Taiwan
The 4th Filial Piety Conference was co-hosted by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, alongside 20 supporting organizations. It was held grandly at the Primasia Conference Hall in Taipei City, attracting 200 guests. The President and Vice President of Taiwan sent congratulatory messages, emphasizing society’s focus on the culture of filial piety. Distinguished attendees included former President of the Control Yuan, Chang Po-ya, former Minister of Civil Service, Chu Wu-hsien, and the Founding Chairman of the Chinese Association, Chang Ching-yu. Taipei City Councilors Hou Han-ting and Tseng Hsien-ying also attended to support the awards ceremony promoting filial piety.
The conference featured a national essay competition on filial piety, which received enthusiastic submissions from students across 13 counties and cities. Out of 150 participants, 36 were recognized for their outstanding work. Yang Yu-hsiang, a senior student from Taipei Municipal Special Education School, won the gold award in the special education category with a heartfelt short essay. Due to physical limitations that prevented him from reading his work aloud, his mother read the piece on his behalf at the event—a work completed with the aid of a keyboard. The heartfelt interaction between mother and son was deeply moving. Yeh Kuo-i from Penghu County secured the gold award in the junior high school category.
Additionally, the conference gave special recognition to nine families, with three or four generations living together, as nominated by village chiefs from the Taipei and New Taipei areas.
During the event, Taipei City Councilors Hou Han-ting and Tseng Hsien-ying emphasized the concept of “New Filial Piety—Hyojeong.” They noted that in modern society, intergenerational companionship and emotional connection are key to fostering family harmony and social stability. Councilor Hou candidly admitted that after entering politics, he spent less time with his mother and expressed concern over her still carrying a shopping basket up and down the five floors of their old apartment building. Councilor Tseng shared that he maintains their familial bond by making two daily phone calls to check on his mother, who lives in Changhua.
Chairman Min Tai-shi of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification stated, “Amid the increasingly serious issues of aging populations and declining birth rates, this year’s ‘Hyojeong’ New Filial Piety Movement emphasizes the warmth of companionship and emotional resonance.” He urged all sectors of society, including schools, families, communities, and charitable organizations, to collaborate in building a social network centered on filial piety and to promote the widespread adoption of this cultural value.
