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執子之手 Michael Ziemer & Edmond Yuen

「我不鼓勵輕率的出櫃,要找合適的時間、合適的機會、合適的言語,用家人能夠接受的方式表達,切勿令他們難過。」─Edmond Yuen 

「I do not encourage to come out of the closet recklessly. You need to find the right time, the right opportunity, the right language, and in a way that can be accepted by your family. Don’t upset them.」 – Edmond Yuen 

「我想當年輕人的表率─特別是無所適從的青少年。為了下一代,我們有責任消弭歧視。」─Michael Ziemer

「I want to be the role model for young generations – especially teenagers who have nowhere to go. For our future generations, we are obligated to eradicate prejudice.」 – Michael Ziemer

 


 

「我們只是一對普通愛侶,盡力維持這段親密關係。」台北文華東方酒店總經理Michael Ziemer一句平淡的陳述,其實是諸多不平淡際遇的積累。請你以不帶成見的平淡之心,來閱讀他與人生伴侶Edmond Yuen不平淡的故事……

同性相愛兼克服重重障礙的異國戀情,出櫃與否的苦苦掙扎,父母從另有期待轉而衷心祝福,場景橫跨香港、德國、澳門、澳洲和台灣,入鏡的還有第一男主角年邁卻思想先進的教母,以及第二男主角的大明星妹妹等諸多配角,綜合這些有笑有淚又吸睛的元素,肯定能編寫出堪比《囍宴》的精采劇本。不過,這卻是台北文華東方酒店總經理Michael Ziemer與他的人生伴侶袁家慶Edmond Yuen的真實際遇。在台北MO總統套房,默契十足的兩人不僅與《WE PEOPLE》合作演繹了戲劇張力十足的攝影佳作,更大方分享了他們一路走來的感人點滴。

「We are just an ordinary couple who are trying our best to maintain this intimate relationship,」 Michael Ziemer, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, said in a placid tone of a story that is anything but ordinary. Please open up your heart with an unprejudiced mind and join us in reading the extraordinary story of Michael Ziemer and his life partner, Edmond Yuen…

It is a cross-cultural relationship of two men who faced challenges from society, struggled with the decision of whether to come out of the closet or not, and overcame all the obstacles in their own way. The story spans across Hong Kong, Germany, Macau, Australia, and Taiwan, and involves parents who started off with other expectations but ended with genuine blessings, a forward-thinking godmother of the leading actor in this story, a celebrity sister of the second lead actor and many other significant supporting roles. The story is a combination of tears and laughter that will definitely beat the movie 「The Wedding Banquet」 directed by Ang Lee. This is a true story of the General Manager of Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, Michael Ziemer, and his life partner, Edmond Yuen. In Mandarin Oriental, Taipei’s Presidential Suite, two individuals who have a perfect tacit understanding collaborated with 「We People」 to showcase a series of powerfully dramatic photographs and the ups and downs of their touching life journey.

 

分享愛與幸福  Sharing love and spreading happiness

十數年依然恩愛如昔的秘訣? 「我不喜歡正面衝突,」Eddy先答, 「一旦發生問題, 我需要深呼吸,靜下來思索解決之道。Michael的個性比較急,希望馬上獲得答案,有時對我而言可能是負荷,所以我會先走開一下。當然,我們共度的大多數時光是歡樂的,彼此也很珍惜,發生不愉快通常是因為旁人。」Michael接著表示:「每一段戀情都有高低起伏的時刻。我個人認為,除了相互尊重、遷就、包容,同性愛侶還必須是最要好的朋友,Eddy正是我的心腹、我的知交、我的靈魂伴侶。他的包容力非常巨大,從不批判。你知道嗎?雖然我的前半生與後半生際遇簡直360度大翻轉,但我相信,命運自有其安排─我遇到生命中最重要的人並與他共享一切,太幸福了!所以我們很想有所回饋。」

來台年餘,他倆已充分感受到寶島的熱情與包容。Eddy坦言:「以前在香港介紹Michael為partner時, 很多人不明瞭是哪一種partner,還會追問,是否為一起做事的夥伴?在台灣,我只要簡單介紹『這是我老公』,沒人多問,也沒人覺得奇怪。」Michael亦贊同:「台灣超前亞洲各國制定同婚法,真的棒透了! 能夠身歷其境,我和Eddy都與有榮焉。我期盼,看到台灣政府的作為,澳洲政府也能加快覺醒的腳步。」兩人有志一同,希望將滿滿的幸福分享給悅納他們的台灣社會。「今年,我計畫和關愛之家合作,」Eddy表示,「創辦人非常有愛心,盡己所能為缺乏愛與照料的嬰兒和幼童付出,我們也想為他們做點事。此外,我們還想發揮我們少許的影響力, 與弱勢老人家分享我們的愛。」Michael透露:「為了幫他們獲取更多資源,今年12月2日,我們將與《WE PEOPLE東西名人》攜手在台北文華東方酒店舉辦慈善晚宴,期待大家共襄盛舉。」

不僅投身公益慈善,他們也期許自己成為年輕人的良好示範。「我愛孩子,但領養的年齡真的過了,這是我此生唯一的遺憾,」Michael說,「所以我想當年輕人的表率─特別是無所適從的青少年。現在的小孩比我悲慘,被網路社群媒體霸凌。為了下一代,我們有責任消弭歧視。」Eddy呼籲:「我們今天的擁有來自先輩的奮鬥,不能視作理所當然。年輕人要懂得珍惜,一步一步也能慢慢改變,不要濫用自己的權利。」Michael與Eddy並非慷慨激昂的同志平權主義者,他們只是一對普通愛侶,盡力維持這段親密關係,同時為下一代營造一個更美好、友善的環境。他們其實和世界上所有善良的男男女女一樣。

What is the secret to being in love for so many years? 「I do not like confrontation,」 said Eddy first. 「When there’s a problem, I need a deep breath and calm down to think about the solution. Michael’s character is that he wants to know the answer right away. Sometimes it is a little bit too much for me so I need to walk away first. Of course, most of the times together we cherish it with happiness. We appreciate each other very much, whenever there was a problem it’s usually because of somebody else.」 Michael added, 「There are ups and downs for every relationship, and personally I think, aside from respect, compromise, acceptance, same-sex couples also need to be best friends. At the end of the day, Eddy is my buddy, he is my mate, he is my soulmate and he is my best friend. He has a very high level of tolerance, and he never judges. You know? I believe destiny is carved out for you, and there’s a reason for everything. There has been a complete 360-degree turn for the first half of my life and the second half of my life. Right now, I have the most important person in my life, and we are very lucky that we are surrounded by people we love. So we want to give back to the society.」

Michael and Eddy have fully felt the passion and openness of Taiwan. 「When I introduced Michael as my partner in Hong Kong, a lot of people were not sure what kind of partner I meant, and they would ask me if it’s business partner. But in Taiwan, I can introduce him as my husband and nobody would ask further questions or think it’s weird.」 said Eddy. Michael agrees and says, 「Taiwan is really ahead of other Asian countries in terms of same-sex marriage equality, and this is wonderful. Eddy and I are both very proud to be part of it. I’m hoping that what Taiwan government is doing will be like a wake-up call for Australians.」 Great minds think alike. Michael and Eddy both wish to share their happiness with Taiwan’s society which has embraced them with open arms and love. 「This year, I plan to work with Harmony Home Association,」 said Eddy. 「The founder has a very good heart and they try their best to take care of babies and children who are in need of help. We want to do something for them as well. In addition, we also want to share our love with elders of the minority groups」. Michael stated that, 「In order to get more resources for them, we will be hosting a charity dinner at Mandarin Oriental, Taipei on 2 December this year in corporation with WE PEOPLE Magazine, and we hope everybody will be participating in this good cause」.

Aside from devoting themselves into charity, they also want to be role models for the young generation. 「I love kids, but I am past the adoption age. This is my only regret,」 Michael stated. 「I want to be the role models for teenagers who have nowhere to go. Kids these days get easily bullied on social media on Internet. For our future generation, we are obligated to eradicate prejudice.」 Eddy also added, 「What we have now is built on the work and struggle of our ancestors, so we cannot take it for granted. Young people need to learn to cherish. Small changes can still make a big difference.」 Michael and Eddy are not impassioned gay activists. They are simply an ordinary couple in love who are trying to maintain this relationship while creating a better and friendlier environment for the future generation. They are just like any other man and woman with a good heart.

 

 

PHOTOGRAPHY/ Hedy Chang

STYLING/ Tricky Chang

ASSISTANT/ Wendy Chou

MAKE-UP/ Nash Chen

HAIR/ Dino Kao(FOUR Hair Concept)

場地提供/ 台北文華東方酒店

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