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.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS