When retired school teacher Liao Shou-yi (
"He's crazy about trees, especially old trees. Such characters are extremely lacking in a city like Taipei, where there is little respect for people -- let alone trees," said Hugh Lin (
"The fact that Liao has been selected this year as an `Honorable Taipei Citizen' was intended to highlight the lack of this kind of spirit in Taipei -- that is, respect for trees," said Lin, who had joined Liao in his efforts to save an old tree along Hoping East Road several years ago, when Lin was still a student.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Liao's neighbors, whose house is located next to a 115-year-old linden hibiscus tree on Chungteh Street in Taipei's Hsinyi district, have had a good opportunity to observe him.
"I often see Liao bringing experts and climbing enthusiasts to visit the tree. He knows a lot about old trees, and he deserves the title," said Lin Ching-fu (
The day after receiving the award, Liao returned to the 115-year-old linden hibiscus tree for another visit, and told the story of what sparked him to devote himself to the preservation of old trees.
According to Liao, it was the sight of a 25-meter-tall banyan tree in 1992 when he was mountain climbing with his wife, that inspired him to seek out old trees. After he retired from teaching in 1994, he scoured Taipei for them.
Liao said that Taiwan's golden-rain tree (also known as the flamegold tree) and the Taiwan cherry are two of his favorites. He added that he had a particular affection for old trees.
"Old trees can be regarded as the real `Honorable Taipei Citizens' because they are faithful to places where they were born, never departing from their birthplace," he said.
After he retired, Liao began to scour the city for old trees, winning himself the nickname "the father to old trees," which was given him by acquaintances and community members.
In 1995, Liao was invited by the Wenshan district office to design guided tours to advertise the old trees as a destination for eco-tourism, in the same way that historic sites such as old temples are venues for conventional tourism.
In May 1995, the Taiwan Tree Lovers' Archive Workshop (
Chen Che-nan (
At the same time, Liao was invited by the bureau to work with Wu Chih-chin (吳智慶) to conduct a thorough survey of old trees in Taipei, culminating in the publication of the book Valuable Old Trees in Taipei City (台北市珍貴老樹) in December 1995. The book gives detailed information about the height, age, location, health and anecdotes of over 80 old trees in Taipei.
Chen, now deputy commissioner of Tainan City, said Liao's devotion to his work on old trees in Taipei impressed him. "He has great persistence. He could spend the whole day with trees. He could tell what sort of illness a tree is infected with by merely looking at the leaves," Chen said.
"He conducted many interviews with old-timers asking them to recall stories about these old trees he surveyed," he said.
Liao described his encounters with the elderly people who grew up with the old trees in Taipei as the "greatest delight" of his life over the past five years.
"I've made friends with the elderly people who gather under the city's old trees. Making these new friends at my age is great fun," said Liao.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary