The Taipei City Government yesterday unveiled its 41st sheltered workshop with an opening ceremony at the Nangang Exhibition Center MRT station, hoping to provide more employment opportunities for the physically or mentally challenged.
Ai Bu Luo Suo (愛不囉嗦), meaning “love is not troublesome” is the name of the new store, with its English name being “Abrazo,” meaning “to embrace” in Spanish.
The store embodied the spirit of “Abrazo” that “to love [someone] is not troublesome; just embrace [them,]” city officials said.
Photo: CNA
The store also marked the first joint venture between the city government and the Down Syndrome Foundation of the R.O.C. as the city government has contracted the foundation to manage the store.
Down syndrome is a condition caused by an abnormality of chromosome 21 at birth. While the syndrome sometimes manifests physically — in alteration of the appearance of some facial characteristics or delayed physical growth — it also delays cognitive ability.
The store is expected to provide employment opportunities for nearly 600 people who are physically challenged, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said at the event.
Hau expressed his gratitude to the volunteers who have helped make the store a reality, such as Lien Hwa Co, which provided the store and its employees — consisting of Down syndrome patients — with the nation’s first automated noodle maker.
Meanwhile, Taipei Department of Labor Commissioner Chen Yeh-hsin (陳業鑫) said that over the Lunar New Year holidays, there would be a variety of products made by people who are physically challenged.
For example, bakeries under the Children ARE US Foundation will be offering a special package priced at NT$499, Chen said, adding that other products, such as egg rolls, coffee beans, creme brules, chocolates and discounts for stationery, would also be available.
People who are interested can check out www.facebook.com/TaipeiSheltered for more information.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a