Sylvia Chang on her humanitarian work with disadvantaged children: ‘Through them, I learnt so much’

SINGAPORE – Many know Sylvia Chang as the famed Taiwanese actress-director behind movies such as Love Education (2017) and 20 30 40 (2004).

Or as the record holder for the most Golden Horse acting nominations, with 11 nods and three wins.

She also received the 2025 Camellia Award at the Busan International Film Festival, which recognises women who have made significant cultural and artistic contributions to Asian cinema.

But beyond her film accolades, the 72-year-old is a lifelong volunteer and child sponsor for humanitarian organisation World Vision, which aims to help children, families and their communities overcome poverty and injustice.

She was in town on March 1 for its Vision in Action event, attended by more than 300 fans, at cinema chain Golden Village in shopping mall Great World.

The session featured a screening of the film Measure In Love (2025) – which Chang produced and co-wrote – as well as a public appearance by the star, where she gave her perspectives on humanitarian work and told personal stories from communities she has visited.

Chang later told local media that she was driven to help disadvantaged children over the past three decades because of her own life experience. Her father, an air force officer, died in a plane crash when she was only a year old.

“Growing up, I also went through many difficult times,” she said. “If you are lucky enough to encounter the right things and the right people who guide you during your rebellious period, you have a good chance of getting onto the right track.”

To that end, she is sponsoring seven children, and has sponsored 34 in total.

One of them was a Mongolian girl named Gandulam whose mother could not earn enough to support her and her two siblings, despite working for more than 10 hours a day at a construction site. Gandulam, now 29 and married, has graduated from university and become a lawyer.

Chang said: “Every year, the kids I sponsor send me updates on their lives. I get to see them grow taller and bigger, and read about the games they play, and which sports they enjoy. It warms my heart to receive them.”

Another child Chang sponsored was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She had contracted HIV from her mother, while her other siblings had died from complications related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the most severe stage of untreated HIV infection. Nobody wanted the girl.

Chang sponsored the child until her death at age 16. “Before her death, she did not want to go to school because her schoolmates laughed at her and kept their distance because she was HIV-positive. But I told her that she must go to school.

“She would send me Christmas cards. They were very cute, covered in gold dust, with handwritten messages. And workers said she was so happy all those years (when she was alive).”

Chang has also been on field visits to disenfranchised areas, such as Lebanon in 2019 and Zambia in 2025.

There, she gained first-hand insight into the realities faced by children affected by poverty, displacement and crisis. They included malnourished children with gaunt, twig-like arms and bloated abdomens, caused by a type of severe malnutrition resulting in fluid retention.

She recounted: “Once, we visited a refugee camp in a bomb-ridden area, and were supposed to take photos of children being brought to the camp. When we pointed our cameras towards one child, she mistook our camera for a weapon and cried out in fear.

“This startled both me and the photographer. But we were in a bind, because if we did not take photos, how would we seek help for the children?

“So, we decided to stand farther away from the children when taking photos, so as not to frighten them.”

Once the kids trusted her, however, many opened up and were eager to speak with her in rudimentary English.

Chang said: “Through them, I learnt so much. Seeing their smiles at receiving hand-me-downs showed me how little we need to feel happy and content.

“And seeing them go to school in their uniforms, with a zest for life and optimism for the future, also made me feel very proud.”

Chang is married to Taiwanese businessman Billy Wang and they have one son, Oscar, 35, who is an artist and entrepreneur. She took Oscar on field trips too when he was a child.

Over the years, she has participated in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine initiative many times, where participants fast for 30 hours to raise awareness of challenges faced by children battling hunger and poverty.

Although the event has taken many different forms, she hopes it will continue. She said: “Today’s children do not really know what hunger is, and I am quite worried about that.

“I hope they can understand how to cope with hunger, avoid waste and protect the Earth. It may sound preachy, but it is the truth about what the world is facing.”