A soup kitchen opened on Thursday in Datan (大潭) community in Chiayi County’s Singang Township (新港) to provide free meals for elderly residents.
The kitchen, Chaoyuan Canteen, bears the name of its founder, Lin Chao-yuan (林昭元), who died on Jan. 17 at the age of 83.
Lin, born in 1930 to a poor family living in Datan, graduated from university and became a successful businessman.
Although Lin lived and worked in Taipei for most of his life, he often went back to Singang and was concerned about the lack of development in his hometown.
He financed the building of a community center in the township and provided funds to rebuild a temple which was badly damaged by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999.
After learning that many elderly people were living alone without proper care or support, Lin last year decided to set up a soup kitchen financed by stock dividends.
The kitchen is to provide lunches only two days a week, but could serve meals three days a week in the future, according to Chiayi County Councilor Lin Hsiu-chin (林秀琴), who presided over the canteen’s opening ceremony.
When it is not serving meals, the canteen will be used as a community center where volunteers will keep elderly people company during the day, Lin Hsiu-chin said.
She asked those attending the ceremony to observe a minute of silence for Lin Chao-yuan.
Attendees, including Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and her predecessor, Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), also released white balloons in memory of the canteen’s founder.
After the ceremony, the kitchen treated about 40 people aged 65 and older to a four-course meal including soup.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese