The Formosa Charity Group has raised NT$1.18 million (US$36,341) in four days to help the Hung family (洪) in Chiayi County’s Taipao Township (太保), whose home was damaged by Typhoon Soudelor last month.
The news of the Hung family’s predicament was first made public by local borough warden Lu Chu (呂柱) and local representative Lin Shu-mian (林淑勉), when they said that multiple tiles were ripped from the roof and that the family was worried about the rain.
Local media stations reported on the family’s plight, which prompted people to donate money to help the Hung family.
On Friday, Lu and Lin issued a statement asking for donors to support other causes, as the Hung family had received enough funds to help them regain their footing.
The Formosa Charity Group said that they were planning to build a new house for the Hung family that would include three bedrooms and two living rooms. The house would be built from steel and would be fully furnished, the group said.
The Hung family would be able to move into their new home with just the clothes on their backs, the group said, adding that they would be giving the family’s four-year-old child a computer as a gift.
Group chairman Lin Chi-mao (林其茂) said that the cost of building the house was around NT$1.3 million, but added that the group would only take NT$500,000 from the donation money and cover the remaining cost with the group’s funds.
The remaining NT$680,000 would go into a bank account that would provide funds to cover the child’s education and Hung Chin-lung’s (洪金龍) medical expenses, as he injured his spine during the typhoon, Lin said.
The Formosa Charity Group, located in Yunlin County, was originally established to help the victims of the 921 Earthquake, but has since expanded its operations to help those who need disaster relief.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it