Hsi-hsi knew she would never enjoy a wedding night, a honeymoon, or even a future with Wei-bi when she married him last year. Their wedding was held in an intensive care unit in Taipei, where a paralyzed Wei-bi was receiving treatment.
"My husband was so strong and healthy when we first met [in 1999]," Hsi-hsi said, adding that Wei-bi became progressively sicker beginning early last year, and never recovered.
Not long after their wedding, Wei-bi succumbed to AIDS.
"My husband would have wanted me to be here today, working to prevent AIDS," Hsi-hsi told reporters at a press conference at the Taiwan AIDS Foundation's headquarters in Taipei yesterday.
The foundation had called the conference to announce that it will be holding a fundraising drive on Aug. 30 -- Chinese Valentine's Day.
"Valentine's Day is just around the corner," foundation chairman Twu Shiing-jer (
"So, this is the perfect time for us to promote a romantic but safe holiday," he said.
According to the foundation, games and activities for couples, and a concert will be held at the square near Warner Village Cinema on Wednesday.
People who donate at least NT$100 to the foundation at the event will receive NT$500 worth of fruit-flavored condoms, said Lin Chiung-chao (
Lin said the foundation would promote awareness of AIDS and safe sex at Wednesday's event.
"Since an AIDS vaccine or a cure still doesn't exist, we must focus on prevention," said Nick Liao (
Prevention and early detection were the themes of the conference, with Hsi-hsi pleading for couples to use condoms and to learn more about HIV/AIDS.
"It was because my husband and I used condoms that I was able to avoid contracting the disease," she said, adding that if only she and Wei-bi had been tested for AIDS sooner, he would probably be alive and healthy today.
Tsai Su-fen (
"If one is diagnosed early, and starts treatment in the early stages of the disease, AIDS is quite manageable, and one can lead a fairly normal life," Tsai told reporters.
As for how people with HIV/AIDS are received in society, Tsai said that 80 percent of those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS were accepted by their family members and associates, leading fairly normal lives.
"However, there is always a segment of HIV/AIDS-infected people who are ostracized by their family members or fired by employers because of the disease," Tsai said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS