World Vision Taiwan Names Hsu Sisters as Spokespersons

Christian relief organization World Vision Taiwan appointed yesterday Dee and Barbie Hsu as the charity’s new spokespersons for 2009.

Dee, nicknamed Hsiao S, is a local actress, singer and co-host of the popular television program Kanghsi Lai Le, aired on CTI TV network.

Barbie, also called Da S, is an actress as well, and a singer. She is most well known for her role in Taiwanese dramas, especially Meteor Garden, a Japanese manga adaption that propelled her to fame.

The starlet duo will be part of the landmark charity’s effort to raise awareness of the children’s rights for the upcoming year, especially in the context of the current economic downturn.

Citing statistics on the 24-hour “113” children’s and women’s protection hotline being managed by the charity (www.worldvision.org.tw) under the commission of the Ministry of Interior (MOI), Hank Du, World Vision Taiwan’s executive director, said that the charitable organization receives at least 250,000 phone calls requesting assistance or counseling annually, or nearly 700 phone calls per day on average. Every hour, the charity receives at least five phone calls related to domestic violence, the he said, noting that the number of such phone calls is on the rise.

“Some people still can’t acknowledge children’s basic human rights,” he said, adding that the current sluggish economy will further impacted the live of children in low-income families. In addition, World Vision’s fostering program has helped shield Taiwanese children from domestic violence and abuses, he pointed out.

Ahead of the Universal Children Day, slated for Nov. 20, Chien Hui-jiuan, director general of the Children’s Bureau under the MOI, invited the public in Taiwan to host children facing difficulties in their family.

The date marks the day on which the United Nations Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.

credit: China Post