Taiwan man gave up higher education and marriage for younger brother

Tsai Zhong-mao said his greatest concern has always been his younger brother

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/06/19
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An 86-year-old man in Yilan County gave up opportunities to study abroad and get married when young because he wanted to take care of his mute younger brother, who later became blind after an illness, Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Wednesday (June 19).

Schooled by the Japanese during Japanese rule (1895-1945) , Toucheng Township (頭城鎮) resident Tsai Zhong-mao (蔡中茂) was given a place on a doctoral program at Waseda University (早稻田大學) in Japan. However, just three days before he was scheduled to set out for Japan 47 years ago, his brother Tsai Mu-huo (蔡木火), who was three years younger, fell ill and later became blind because of the illness, CNA reported.

Unable to leave his brother, Tsai Zhong-mao got a refund on his ticket and instead of studying in Japan spent the money he saved on studying abroad to treat his brother’s illness. He taught Japanese part-time at schools or cram schools, and doubled as “a mother” to care for his brother at home, which he has done for almost half a century, according to CNA.

When he was young, Tsai Zhong-mao also passed on getting married so that he could focus on taking care of his brother. The elder brother has remained single, the news outlet said.    [FULL  STORY]