Some 60 people who embarked on a walk from Taichung seven days ago to raise awareness of environmental protection reached Taipei yesterday and were greeted by representatives of several environmental groups.
Braving the scorching sun, the walkers, led by 21-year-old Providence University student Kuo Yen-jen (郭彥仁), are planning to finish their round-the-island trip in 44 days to promote environmental protection.
Kuo, an ecology major, said at first his goal was simple -- to walk around the island during his two-month summer break to gain better understanding of the environment where he was born and going to spend his life in.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
But his walk has unexpectedly turned into a media event with an increasing number of people asking to join in, he said.
During his trek over the past six days, Kuo said he found Miaoli County to have the most gorgeous landscapes which best reflect the beauty of Taiwan's rural areas.
Kuo said walking in cities or counties has been a painful experience for him and his entourage.
"None of the sidewalks in Taiwan have been properly reserved for pedestrians," he said.
Chen Yu-ting (陳於庭) is the youngest walker at 13. Chen said he thought about abandoning the journey more than 100 times over the past six days, particularly when the sizzling sun was "frying" him and the monotony of walking made him sleepy.
Chen, however, said he is determined to finish the round-the-island challenge now with so many blessings and greetings shown to him by so many people along the way.
Eighty-year-old Chen Kuo-heng (陳國衡) is the oldest in the group. A retired police officer and the Asian recordholder of the 100m dash for for men over 70, Chen said that he had joined the walk to help leave a clean and beautiful land for Taiwan's children.
The only Caucasian walker in the group is a Macedonian man, known by his Chinese name, Lung Yi (龍一).
Lung, who came to Taiwan six-and-a-half years ago, has been a mechanical engineer and language teacher, and is married to a Taiwanese woman.
He said he quit his last job to walk around the island for the sake of environmental protection.
Lung said he has discovered how sweet the people of Taiwan are, and he feels obliged to tell his "fellow Taiwanese compatriots" that this island is worth protecting.
After passing through Taipei City, the walkers headed to Taipei County, where they planned to stay the night before hitting the road for the Ilan County.
From there the group will head to Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung. They plan to stop in Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi and Changhua before returning to Taichung.
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