ERLIN (Taiwan) - WHEN Wang, 24, went to jail three years ago he had no idea he would end up in a bid to break a record for most inmates dancing together.
Wang is one of more than 2,000 inmates in Changhua Prison in central Taiwan who routinely take part in mass dancing sessions as part of a larger programme aimed at reforming prisoners through art and creativity.
'I've made new friends since I joined the drills in July,' said Wang, incarcerated for seven years for robbery, speaking to AFP on condition that only his family name be revealed. 'I feel happier now than before.' The culmination of the twice-weekly dance practice was a mass Lunar New Year performance given by 2,011 prisoners in front of Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu to the tunes of a famous song by local pop diva A-Mei.
'I believe we've created a new record,' said a proud Tai Shou-nan, who in his capacity of prison chief has the responsibility for altogether 2,724 inmates, all of them in their late teens or 20s.
This was a veiled reference to the recent Internet sensation created when 1,200 Filipino inmates were caught on video dancing to late superstar Michael Jackson's hit This is It.
But for Tai it is more than a question of breaking records. The prison's programme, unique among the island's 48 detention centres, is based on a belief in the transforming powers of art. -- AFP
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