Taitung vegetable vendor Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊), who has received several awards in recent years for her philanthropy, was granted this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.
The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced on Wednesday that Chen and five individuals from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines would receive Asia’s premier prize.
“[Chen] is being recognized for the pure altruism of her personal giving, which reflects a deep, consistent, quiet compassion, and has transformed the lives of the numerous Taiwanese she has helped,” the foundation said in a press release.
Photo: CNA
The 61-year-old was busy arranging vegetables when reporters approached her at Taitung Central Market. Chen did not give an unequivocal answer as to whether she would go to receive the award herself, but said that Taitung County Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) had encouraged her to go.
The presentation ceremony will be held on Aug. 31 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said yesterday that the ministry had contacted Chen to tell her it would provide assistance so she could receive the award in person.
Chen was selected by Forbes Asia as one of its 48 Heroes of Philanthropy in 2010. Also that year, she was chosen by Time magazine as one of its top 100 influential individuals, ranking eighth in the “heroes” category. Reader’s Digest also bestowed upon her the fourth annual Reader’s Digest Asian of the Year award for 2010.
When she was 13 years old, Chen began helping her father sell vegetables to support a family of eight after her mother died giving birth because her family did not have enough money for a deposit to get her mother to a hospital. After she graduated from elementary school, Chen missed out on further education.
Chen has since donated NT$10 million (US$331,000) to set up scholarships to help children in need of emergency funds and to help an elementary school build a library. She also donates NT$36,000 per month to three children in an orphanage. Chen plans to save NT$10 million to set up a foundation to pool resources to help the poor.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in New York City.
With the concurrence of the Philippine government, the prize was created to commemorate Ramon Magsaysay, a former Philippine president.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS