The fundraising event hosted by Hwa Hsin Taiwanese Society of Christchurch on 5 April 2014 was a heart-warming and entertaining occasion. Yoko Couling (an early student of the late Mr. Loo-Chi Hu) initiated the event in support of editing/post-production for the film. Yoko and Robin first met in the late 1980s at Mr. Hu’s Monday evening T’ai Chi classes at Phillipstown Hall.

Yoko & Robin with national T’ai Chi committee members

The evening was also an opportunity to celebrate the inspirational life of Mr. Hu.  Outstanding performances by the Taiwanese and Canterbury Japanese Choirs, as well as by opera singer Andy Fu (President of the Hwa Hsin Taiwanese Society) were interspersed with a range of rousing short speeches from:  Trevor Quirk (President, New Zealand National T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association), Lin-Lynn Chen (Committee Member, Hwa Hsin Taiwanese Society & event organizer), Mrs. Masako Kyayaba (President, Japanese Society), Yoko Couling, and Alex Fu (Committee Member of Overseas Community Affairs Council).

Taiwanese and Japanese Choirs

In a wonderful impromptu speech by Mr. Pong Chang of the Taipei Economic Cultural Office in Wellington, he recalled, as a small boy, hearing his parents talk about the Free China junk’s departure from Taiwan in April 1955.

We were blown away by the generosity from members of the audience, the choirs and the T’ai Chi Association. Thank you very much to everyone who helped organise and participate in this awesome event.

Whilst Mr. Hu’s physical presence will be forever missed, it is our hope that the film will contribute to keeping his extraordinary legacy alive.