An 82-year-old farmer from Sinying District (新營), Greater Tainan, has been pedaling 6km to the city center on a tricycle for the past 18 years so that his wife could receive medical treatment.
Chao Shen Chin-liu (趙沈金柳), 78, has walking disabilities resulting from spinal surgery, a condition that is exacerbated by her age, and is unable to ride on a motorcycle.
In light of this, her husband, Chao Shui-sheng (趙水盛), takes her to a downtown clinic — 6km there and 6km back — whenever she needs medical treatment.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
To enhance traffic safety as he escorts his wife, Chao Shui-sheng has placed several CDs on his tricycle’s front wheel as reflectors, along with a warning triangle reflector. Aside from this, a wicker chair was installed on the back for his wife to sit on.
Pedaling 12km may seem to be an easy task for people in good physical condition, but Chao Shui-sheng is in his 80s and has a disability certificate because of poor vision in his right eye, and weak vision in his left — so much so that everything beyond 5m is a blur.
Despite the physical barriers, Chao Shui-sheng said he did not feel tired from his long-distance pedaling.
On the couple’s cycling route to the clinic, the husband occasionally glances back to check on Chao Shen Chin-liu seated behind him. Upon their arrival at the clinic, Chao Shui-sheng reverses his tricycle to the front entrance, then lends a hand to his wife as she dismounts and proceeds into the clinic with a walking stick.
“Grandpa is very thoughtful so that grandma can have the chance to get some air outside. Remember to treat him nicely,” nurses at the clinic said to Chao Shui-sheng’s wife, adding the elderly couple share a close connection.
“So long as I can move, and can cycle, I will keep on pedaling my tricycle to transport my wife,” Chao Shui-sheng said, with the 78-year-old wife expressing gratitude to her husband for taking care of her during their 60 years of marriage.
Cho Chun-mou (周俊牟), a resident of Sinying’s Piliao Borough (埤寮), said the couple’s lifelong dedication to one another could serve as an inspiration and example to others amid the high divorce rate in Taiwanese society.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, staff writer
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS