 | |  |  | | | | Resilience and Love from Two Fathers | ◎Written by Naru
◎Translation by by Lin Yu-ciao
◎Photo by Naru
◎Photos courtesy of Dad Wei, Dad Miao |
Same-sex couple Wei Wei and Miao Miao can now proudly say they are a family of three. The Kaohsiung couple is the first same-sex couple in Asia to have adopted a child that is not a blood relative.
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Wei Wei and Miao Miao have known each other since university and have been in a long-distance relationship for almost twenty years. They had always dreamed of having children and raising a family together.
In 2016, Wei Wei and Miao Miao applied for adoption at the Child Welfare League Foundation（兒福聯盟）. In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to pass same-sex marriage. However, it did not allow same-sex couples to adopt at that time. Since Wei Wei and Miao Miao were in a spousal relationship, only one could legally register Rou Rou as their adopted daughter.
In 2020, Miao Miao and Wei Wei sought assistance and advocacy from Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association（台灣同志諮詢熱線協會）, Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy（台灣同志家庭權益促進會）, and Taiwan Equality Campaign（台灣彩虹平權大平台協會）to have the laws rectified. Finally, in early 2022, Taiwan Kaohsiung Juvenile and Family Court（臺灣高雄少年及家事法院）approved Miao Miao's adoption application, officially making him Rou Rou's legal father.
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Miao Miao said, "When I got parental rights, I distributed Han Pastries in the school where I taught. I had colleagues from different departments calling to congratulate me. The warmth and support I received from family and friends in Kaohsiung made us feel greater acceptance towards same-sex families."
Miao Miao and Wei Wei enjoy participating in family activities with their daughter. They go to indoor parent-child play centers and enjoy swimming at sports centers. They also enjoy participating in events at the Love River Bay and strolling along Caogong Canal （曹公圳）. Sometimes they go to Cijin Island, where they enjoy the scenery and spend time on the beach.
"I believe the nature of our family is the bond that ties us together. We always put our family first; our home is where we find companionship," says Wei Wei. Wei Wei and Miao Miao's family transcends blood relations with love. They have created a home and are now raising a family.
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Information
FB：Dad Wei and Dad Miao's daily family life
FB：圍爸喵爸的親子日常 | | Read more Love Kaohsiung articles | | TOP |  | | | | | | Dad Su's Toy Hospital & Kaohsiung Repair Café | ◎Written by Wang Ting-yun
◎Translation by Lin Yu-ciao
◎Photo by Carter, Zeng Sin-yao
◎Photos courtesy of Dad Su's Toy Hospital, Kaohsiung Repair Café |
People sometimes find throwing away beloved toys and broken household appliances difficult because they are connected with priceless memories. Therefore, they can bring them to Dad Su's Toy Hospital（蘇爸玩具醫院）and Kaohsiung Repair Café（小家電診所）that restore small home appliances. When customers happily come to pick up their repaired treasures, the repairers are filled with an immense sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
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Dad Su's Toy Hospital
After "accidentally" mending one of his grandson's broken toys, a retired electronics company employee Su Sian-rong（蘇顯榮）, wanted to assist other kids in repairing their toys. As a result, he founded Dad Su's Toy Hospital. Since 2017, he has restored more than 1500 toys.
His most memorable repair encounters include a customer who brought in toys that his father had given to his grandchild, following the father's passing. The customer's wish was to uphold his father's memory for his child by restoring these cherished toys. Dad Su also once worked overtime to repair a toy for a child with Kanner's syndrome. The child was ecstatic when they got their favorite toy repaired.
Dad Su says repairing toys has brought tremendous meaning to his retirement. Besides fixing sentimental toys and maintaining the memories connected to them, he believes it is also an environmental business. At the Fongshan Cleaning Squad office, Dad Su offers free repair services six to ten times a year.
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Kaohsiung Repair Café
Kaohsiung Repair Café has nearly 60 volunteers that assist in repairing home appliances. The Café has been open for over three years and is a community-oriented repair shop. They only charge for the parts and provide free repairs for small home appliances. Even more impressive is that they involve customers in the repair process, so they can better understand their typical usage patterns and share tips on maintaining them.
It's refreshing to see a business that truly cares about its customers and goes above and beyond to provide a valuable service.
Volunteer organizer Huang Wu（黃武）says, "The more difficult it is to find a home appliance repair shop, the more valuable we become!"
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Once, they successfully restored a 70-year-old antique metal fan, which had been a customer's housewarming present. They also repaired a custom-made Buddha table lamp that the customer's mother had ordered when she was young. After replacing a small switch, the lamp instantly lit up again.
Seeing customers joyfully carrying home their appliances brings satisfaction and joy to the volunteers. They are open at varying times and have service centers in Meinong, Cishan, and Fongshan districts.
|  | | Read more Love Kaohsiung articles | | TOP | | |  | | | | 「旗」步走 享受鼓山公園心「森」活 | | 這座超過一世紀的公園擁有歷史文化、森林、生態、現代雕塑及運動休閒、健身等多元功能，園內林相豐富蓊鬱參天，還有東南亞最大的孔廟與各時期的紀念史蹟，極具歷史感，「鼓山春望」也曾是全台12勝景之一，這座充滿森情魅力的公園是市民朋友最佳探訪的景點。順便逛逛鄰近旗山老街享受美食及老街文化，小朋友可到今年新完成的武德殿特色遊戲場遊玩，全家享受休憩、美食及玩樂的一日遊。…  | | | | |
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