The parents of Jon Eric Hope, an American who died in a light aircraft crash in Taitung last month, said they did not blame the pilot, offering instead to help his bereaved wife and son emigrate to the US.
Terry and Karen Hope arrived in Taiwan a few days ago to attend to funeral arrangements for their son.
Jon Hope, 21, from Arkansas, was a member of an English teaching program organized by the Taipei-based nonprofit King Car Educational Foundation, which provides English language instruction to children in rural areas.
Hope died in a plane crash on June 30 in Taitung. The pilot, Chen Chun-jung (
As Chen's wife has yet to obtain Taiwanese residency, Terry and Karen Hope were concerned she might be expelled from the country.
Worried that Chen's wife might have to take on low-paying jobs, or be forced into prostitution to make ends meet and be separated from her children, the Hopes offered to help the family move to the US
"If Eric were still alive, he would do the same thing," the couple said, adding that the pastor at their home church in Bullshoals, Arkansas, would also help the widow and her two sons to settle in the US.
"He [Jon] had been a very good kid. I'm proud of what my son did in Taiwan. It's heartbreaking for me to lose the kid," Terry Hope said. "But I believe it's God's arrangement. One day, I'll reunite with my son in heaven, and he would support the decision I made for him."
Chen's family expressed their appreciation to the Hopes, but said they would have more detailed discussions with the Hopes before they made any decision.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS