Twenty-two HIV-infected people and AIDS patients living in a halfway home at an apartment complex in Wenshan District face a deadline of today to move out of the community after a fierce protest by community members.
Undeterred by the setback, residents and volunteers at the Midway Home built by the Harmony Home Association expressed a strong desire to remain in the community and called for greater social acceptance of people with AIDS.
The Midway Home is a self-help group and half-way house for AIDS patients and people who are HIV-positive.
"HIV can only be contracted through intercourse, blood transfusions and breast milk. People will not be at risk of contracting HIV by having an AIDS patient living next door," Nicole Yang (
The Midway Home was originally located in Sanchong District. But the landlord, after finding out that people in the organization had AIDS, decided not to renew their lease.
As a result, in June the association moved the Midway Home to the current site. Six children with AIDS, as well as 16 adults who are either HIV-positive or have full-blown AIDS, are living in the shelter.
The local police station revealed the situation to the township officials, sparking fear and resentment in the community, according to Yang.
After learning about their new neighbors, community members issued a statement expressing opposition during a township meeting on July 1 held to discuss the issue.
"Many of the AIDS patients are drug addicts or gay people. We refuse to live under the fear that one day one of those people may stab other residents with a needle or have a bad influence on our children," the statement said.
A representative of the residence surnamed Chen said that despite some people's anger, the community as a whole does not intend to discriminate against AIDS patients and push them out, and thus cause the same anxiety in other neighborhoods.
"I think the government should establish a shelter specifically for AIDS patients so that they can get professional help and not cause public fear," she said.
One resident of the Midway Home, an AIDS patient who goes by the alias of "A-chong," said that he understood the community's fears. But after being cast out from their families and now without a halfway home, Midway Home residents don't know where to go.
"The saddest thing for us [AIDS patients and HIV-positive people] is that while we are alive, we have no place to live, and when we die, no funeral homes will take our bodies," he said.
Yang said that on average, one out of four AIDS patients face discrimination from their own families and friends, and have no homes to return to. As such, the Midway Home may be the only place they can find support and love.
As a friendly gesture to show their desire to stay in the current site, the association promised to ensure a sanitary environment in the community, as well as to provide AIDS-related education and maintain the moral standards in the neighborhood, in a bid to gain the community's acceptance.
But if the community members insist on forcing them out, the Midway Home will have to search for a new site on their own, since the government has provided no assistance.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS