The lobby of Taipei City Hall was full of songs, music, laughter and tears yesterday, as more than 100 visitors attended the opening ceremony of its newest tenant, the Enjoy Taipei Cafe.
The coffee shop is reportedly the first enterprise in Taiwan to be run by a mentally disabled group in a government building on a permanent basis.
The one-hour ceremony, accompanied by melodies performed by the New Formosa Blind Orchestra (新寶島視障樂團), was attended by Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Director of the Bureau of Labor Affairs, Cheng Tsun-chi (鄭村棋), City Councilor Li Hsin (李新), as well as city council deputy speaker Fei Hung-tai (費鴻泰).
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The city government's goal is to create more job opportunities for the physically and mentally disabled, and our target goal in the upcoming year is to assist more than 1,000 of them to find employment in enterprises and institutions," Ma said.
The Children Are Us Foundation (CAUF,
"We are very pleased that the city government is willing to offer the space to us," foundation chairman Hsiao Shu-jen (
"Profits gained from charity bazaars are far from sufficient to cover the expenses of the foundation. We need to create a more active channel. That is why we came up with the idea [of running our own bakeries and cafes]," Hsiao said.
Renowned for quality food and amiable service by the mentally disabled staff, CAUF has opened six bakeries and three coffee shops since its establishment in 1995.
The foundation provides vocational training and assists students in job-hunting upon completing their programs.
According to the statistics released by the foundation, it has successfully developed work skills for hundreds of mentally disabled people, and helped find work for dozens of students at various companies.
"I can't describe how I feel at this moment. [My son] Wu Shih-cheng (吳世正) was born as a premature baby and was very difficult to raise as a child. I am very grateful for all the foundation has done for him. To see how he has changed since working here is unbelievable," said a tearful Mrs Wu.
Wu, now 35 years old, suffered severe brain damage while still in his mother's womb.
"What the foundation is doing is extremely helpful to my son, but I think the government should help these `children' more by extending its subsidy program to two years from its current one year," said Kung Chiao-lan (
"One year is not long enough for these `children' to become proficient in what they are learning," Kung added.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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