"Happy Birthday to PP Janet"
On the 2 Sep 2021, PP Janet was invited to share her life story during our Zoom Meeting whilst we were in Level 4 lockdown in Auckland. She shared many stories with us. She spoke of her childhood, adolescent years, romances, the schools she had graduated from, her career and work. She also told us about her experiences of immigrating to New Zealand. Solely one hour was much too short to hear her whole life. All of us hope to one day hear more.
PP Janet immigrated to Vietnam with her parents when she was in intermediate school. There, she experienced the horrors of the Vietnam War. She studied incredibly hard in school and her most important achievement was to learn fluent English, which would help her significantly in work and later in life.
She began attending the night school of Taipei First Girls High school when she moved back to Taiwan. Following this, she majored in Chinese in the Department of Chinese. I thought it was impressive for her to major in Chinese first because she had spent most of her time studying English when she lived in Vietnam. Just a short time after, she transferred to the Department of English. She went on to receive the highest mark in English at her university graduation. This was a testament to her capabilities and wonderful work ethic.
Peking Opera – the photos of PP Janet where she is wearing the costumes of Peking Opera surprised me. I had not known that she was involved in the opera as a university student. Her photos show a beautiful, charming, attractive young girl. PP Janet did her own make up for the roles she played on stage. I like the Peking Opera. It uses the skills of speech, song, dance, combat in the way of movement, as well as Chinese music instruments. It is truly a traditional cultural treasure of Chinese Art.
PP Janet is grateful to her dad who sparked her love for the Peking Opera. She shared with us the photos of her and her dad, these captured moments showed when she was performing on stage with her English teacher and friends when she was at University. She was charming and looked so professional. During university, she joined various different societies not only Peking Opera, but also the Drama society amongst others. She took on a multitude of important roles, including performer, MC and group leaders in the university Societies.
Not only was she busy studying and performing at school, but PP Janet also had the time to fall in love. Her now husband was also an outstanding leader in the school. Most groups that PP Janet joined were girls’ groups. But he followed her every moment that he could. He became the only male in the group. Their story was one of romance and devotion. PP Janet married him a couple years after she graduated from school.
The first company PP Janet worked in was the AIR ASIA Company Limited in the South Taiwan (Tai Nan). She has since worked in Wang Laboratories (Computer technician company) (HsinChu, North of Taiwan) after she married and had children. Then when her boss started his new business, Siemens Telecommunication Systems Ltd (Taipei, North of Taiwan), he invited PP Janet to work for him as an important secretary to run the business. Because of this, PP Janet has had to travel back and forth for work from South Taiwan to North Taiwan for the last 10 years.
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PP Janet has had many experiences in a diverse range of workplaces. But she has always had outstanding performance at work, no matter what the role is. From a secretary at the first company, to the secretary of general manager and R&D commentator in Wang Laboratories, she has also had commendable experiences being the helpers for English speaking guests and government officers. We can see from the photos that showed PP Janet at her work, just how hard she worked and the effort that she put into doing her jobs well. It also showed us the confidence that she had in herself as well as her clear enjoyment and pride in her work. 
PP Janet has been an executive secretary, a commentator, a foreign guest receptionist, a English translator, the company spokesperson, the general manager, Public Relations Manger… etc. We have now learnt about the reasons for she could do everything so wonderfully. She is a creative talent who has done many projects successfully. One of the projects she mentioned which gave a strong impression and that she received good feedback from was the “Looking for outstanding staffs in campus – the FIRST TOUTH with Siemens”.
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One thing that shocked our mind and souls as we followed the journey through her life, was the moment that PP Janet mentioned the “AIR CRASH” in 1985. It happened on the way while she was travelling to attend the Main office meeting in Phoenix, U.S. She showed us the photos of the accident – the flight was flying at risk and they were forced to get off the plane in San Francisco. She refused to get on the plane in the U.S. because she was so scared. But as she felt that she had a responsibility, she still went to the meeting. The photo that she has, where is a business proposal of more than hundred pages while standing outside the conference room made me realise just how incredible a woman she was. She has had such a “Colorful” and “Worthwhile” life.
I always enjoy attending Rotary Meetings as it gives me the opportunity to listen to Rotarians or Rotarian’s friends sharing in their experiences of work, life and family. It always makes me appreciate how everyone has lived such diverse and vibrant lives. It is the same feeling that I had at this zoom meeting. PP Janet’s story is interesting, enjoyable, and dramatic which only makes me want to know more. We all expect to hear from her again in upcoming meetings.
Written by Daisy, edited by Jocelyn
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