An exhibition highlighting the struggles of economically disadvantaged people in Taipei opened on Thursday at the Bopiliao Historic Block (剝皮寮歷史街區) in Wanhua District (萬華).
The exhibition, run jointly by eight non-profit organizations, is spread over three exhibition spaces: one highlighting homeless people’s stories, one housing workshops and another exploring discussion topics related to low-income households, the organizers said.
Some of the items on display in the story space include a wheelchair similar to the kind used by people with physical disabilites who sell goods on the street, and a bicycle covered in plastic bags representing homeless people who carry their few personal belongings with them in bags tied to bicycles, they said.
Signs at the exhibition share the words of homeless people who are forced to make difficult decisions in their lives, they added.
One homeless woman surnamed Hsu (徐), who shared her story with the organizers, said she was forced to leave her home due to domestic violence.
Her husband regularly beat her until one day he took the family’s savings and left, after which her son began acting violently toward her, she said.
Facing the situation, she made the difficult decision to live on the streets, Hsu said.
“Some would say it was a senseless decision, but I feel free living on the street away from the fetters of ‘home,’” she said.
In the workshop space, participants in the exhibition use means other than words to express themselves and share their stories, the organizers said.
An installation featuring 10 beer bottles represents homelessness resulting from alcoholism, they said, adding that people represented by the bottles are not prepared to face the future or their emotions.
“It is important to note that the people represented in this exhibition are not only economically challenged, but they also face emotional, social and health-related challenges,” they said.
One section features student items, including a desk, stationery and test papers, to express the psychological struggles faced by students who fail to live up to their family’s expectations, such as in their career choices, the organizers said.
Another exhibition explores difficulties that working adults might face as a result of their financial, family or work situations, which could result in them making difficult decisions that could lead to homelessness, they said.
The exhibition aims to explore the issues from a perspective different from social preconceptions, the organizers said.
An interactive exhibit challenges visitors to connect ropes of different lengths to nails on a wall. The nails represent common expenses, such as food, entertainment, rent, healthcare and insurance, while the ropes represent different levels of income.
Hopefully, visitors to the exhibition will better understand homeless people and their needs, which are not all financial needs, the organizers said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS