While many families follow tradition and change their furniture during the Lunar New Year period, the New Taipei City Government’s Bureau of Environmental Protection, in light of disadvantaged families being unable to afford furniture, is restarting a program to help distribute still usable furniture to families in need.
A mother of two, surnamed Tsai (蔡), who comes from Vietnam, said she divorced her husband after suffering abuse and finally settled in Linkou District (林口). Tsai said she works at a factory for a living, earning about NT$20,000 per month, but after paying rent and daily expenses, the family has little left, adding that the family does not even own a bed, closet or table.
Bureau chief Cheng Ta-wei (程大維) said there are many families in a similar position to Tsai’s.
The program aims to promote a healthy cycle of resources, Cheng said, adding that it hoped to prove the phrase: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Saying the program was first initiated in 2008, Cheng added that, to date, it has distributed more than 10,583 pieces of furniture to more than 5,347 people, aiding 1,404 families in need and cutting back waste and garbage by 215 tonnes.
Cheng called on municipal residents to call the bureau if they wish to donate furniture or appliances, adding that the bureau would see to distributing the furniture to those who need it.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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