A US man’s cleanup efforts at an east coast harbor have many locals giving him the thumbs-up, but also prompt self-reflection over Taiwanese throw-away habits and pervasive trash problems in the nation.
A local man with the online name of “Randy Hou” said he went fishing at the Fugang Harbor (富岡) in Taitung on Wednesday, where he saw a foreigner picking up trash, using a long bamboo pole with a collecting contraption at its end.
At first, Hou thought the foreigner was a hired worker for Taitung’s harbor authority. He was surprised to find that was not the case.
Photo: CNA
The foreigner was a 44-year-old called “Chris,” who told Hou that he was doing it on his own because “the harbor looked kind of dirty.”
“Taitung is beautiful. There should not be trash lying around here!” Hou said Chris told him, adding: “I really love the scenic landscape of Taitung. It is my first time sailing my yacht here [from Tainan]. But I felt very sad to see so much trash in the harbor.”
“I do not expect people to voluntarily pick up trash near them, but I do hope Taitung residents stop throwing garbage around. If there is no littering, then there is no need for someone to pick up litter. Let’s all keep Taitung beautiful,” Chris said, according to Hou.
Hou was moved by the US man’s action, while they kept talking and Hou joined the cleanup effort. They soon collected enough plastic bottles, wine bottles and other garbage to fill two massive garbage bags.
After going home, Hou wrote online about meeting Chris and their efforts, and posted photographs on Facebook.
Hou’s post gained traction, inspiring one netizen to respond, “Even a foreigner knows to keep the environment clean. Why do Taitung residents not know this?”
Another wrote: “This is so embarrassing. Taiwan’s trash has to be cleaned up by foreigners.”
Other people were moved into action, proposing to start group cleanup campaigns at the nation’s seashores, beaches and harbors.
Hou found out that Chris came to Taiwan when he was 30. He loved it so much that he decided to stay and live in the nation. Currently, he sells yachts in Greater Tainan.
Hou was impressed enough to write: “This foreigner was not born here or grow up in this country. But because he often visits Taitung, he was more in love and protective of this land than I, a native.”
Hou thanked Chris, on behalf of all Taitung people, while urging all Taiwanese to work toward a clean environment for their homeland.
Within a day of Hou’s posting, the page has received more than 6,000 “likes,” with more people advocating for group efforts to clean up coastal areas, targeting different sites for upcoming weekends.
Food delivery provider Foodpanda had 564 consumer disputes from January to last month and failed to attend many mediation sessions with local governments nationwide, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said. In a news release earlier this month, the committee said that it investigated consumer complaints and mediations for Foodpanda and rival Uber Eats during the period, when the number of delivery orders jumped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Uber Eats had 80 consumer disputes, the committee said. Of Foodpanda’s consumer disputes, 368 resulted from delivery drivers canceling orders after customers could not be reached, 108 were related to the quality or quantity
PILLAGING PENGHU: A 7,539-tonne Chinese ship found mining sand in the Formosa Banks area was escorted by several CGA ships to a Kaohsiung harbor The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday announced that it had dispatched ships to intercept Chinese dredging vessels operating in the nation’s territorial waters near Penghu and detained 10 crew members, who were transported to Kaohsiung. A coast guard patrol discovered more than 20 dredging vessels in an area known as the Formosa Banks, 46 nautical miles (85km) southwest of Penghu County’s Cimei islet (七美) at about 5am on Wednesday. The agency responded by dispatching two patrol boats, the 3,000-tonne Kaohsiung and the 500-tonne Penghu, along with two frigates, to intercept the Chinese vessels, while an airborne observation unit was used to monitor
‘HONEYMOON’ IS OVER: A political science professor said that the Tsai administration’s popularity peaked after it successfully contained COVID-19, but is waning President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) approval ratings fell significantly this month in the wake of the government’s handling of the distribution of relief funds and stimulus coupons to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll released yesterday by the New Power Party (NPP) showed. The poll showed that 68 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 8.9 percentage points from last month, while 21 percent said they disapproved of her performance. Her approval among respondents aged 20 to 29 fell 14.7 percentage points, the largest decrease when compared with other age
Passengers arriving at Taoyuan International Airport will find that most entrances to both terminals have been sealed off as part of its COVID-19 prevention efforts. Follow the signs and directions posted on the doors to find the nearest entry point. The airport has installed infrared cameras and thermometer guns at all open entrances, and all persons with a temperature of over 37.5 degrees Celsius are prohibited from entering the terminal. In addition, staff will take the temperature of those checking in to their flights in advance at Airport MRT stations A1 and A3. In accordance with the Centers of Disease
RSS