Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) Taichung Mayor Jason Hu presented awards to 20 'father figures,' or people who played the role of fathers with their contributions to society, on Friday, ahead of Aug. 8 Father's Day, in central Taiwan's Taichung City.

"It is not even easy to be a father to your own child, let alone to act as a father to someone else's child," Hu said at the recognition ceremony.

Hu expressed his gratitude to the "fathers" and said he understood the responsibilities they shouldered, as the number of his godchildren almost ran into two digits.

Sixty-two-year-old Wang Yi-sheng was one of the recipients at the ceremony. A patient of gastric and colorectal cancer, Wang raises his two grandchildren alone by driving a taxi.

Luis Lopez, an American living in Taiwan, who volunteered to teach and help young people open charities organized by the Chang Show Jyu Social Welfare Foundation, was also recognized by Hu for his contribution.

Among those awarded, a Taichung native Huang Ming-ho was honored for his long-term devotion to providing care to homeless people.

(By Hao Hsueh-chin and Maia Huang)
ENDITEM/p