text: Late opera actress, veteran TV actor honored at Golden Bell awards - Taiwan Wire Service
  September 26, 2020 September 27, 2020 web desk General Leave a comment
  Taipei, Late Taiwanese opera actress Chen Li-ju (陳麗如) and veteran actor Lin Cheng-hsiung (林正雄) were honored with special contribution awards Saturday at the 55th Golden Bell Awards, Taiwan's equivalent of the Emmy Awards.
  The prestigious award ceremony, which recognizes excellence in Taiwanese television, was held at the National Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei and attended by stars, celebrities and influential people in the country's television industry.
  Chen was posthumously honored with the special contribution award for lifelong contributions to Taiwanese opera that brought joy to audiences and inspired new generations of younger actors, according to Taiwan director and awards jury member Liang Hsiu-shen (梁修身).
  Chen's adopted son Chen Ming-liang (陳明良) accepted the award on her behalf.
  "Through this award everyone can see her passion for acting and opera. Her passion was lifelong, because she always gave her best effort for every opera she acted in and for every student she taught," he said.
  "I really miss you, mommy. I love you," he said.
  Chen, who passed away at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in March at the age of 79, was better known by her stage name Hsiao Feng Hsien (小鳳仙).
  Born in 1941, she started learning opera at the age of 14 and would go on to star in over 50 television opera shows and numerous live opera productions.
  Meanwhile, Lin, also known by his stage name Lin Yi-hsiung (林義雄), has over 50 years experience in the television industry after getting into television at the age of 30, and has starred in countless television series, Taiwanese operas, and movies.
  Though he is now 85 and has six stents in his arteries, Lin is still passionate about acting, according to Liang.
  "Many of my colleagues and peers have already left us and are now in heaven. I'm here today because of all those people who have helped me and cared for me, so now I share this prize with you all," Lin said on stage while accepting the award.
  The reason he is still acting is because he "can't stay away from audiences," Lin said.
  Most recently, Lin starred in the 2019 drama Yong-Jiu Grocery Store, which received seven nominations at this year's awards.
  The drama, based on a comic of the same name, focuses on the story of a successful real estate manager whose life takes an unexpected turn when he has to run the family grocery store after his grandfather (played by Lin) falls ill.
  A total of 190 entries were nominated from among 2,055 submissions to this year's Golden Bell program and vied for 39 awards, according to the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development under the Ministry of Culture.