Philanthropist vegetable vendor Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊) yesterday donated NT$15 million (US$537,095) to the Taitung County Government to set up a fund to provide financial assistance to pregnant women to help them give birth safely.
The fund would help pregnant women who cannot afford hospital care get access to antenatal examinations and offer assistance to children who lost their mothers during childbirth until the age of 12, the Taitung government said.
Taitung Department of Social Welfare Director Chen Shu-lan (陳淑蘭) said that Chen Shu-chu, who retired in early 2018, has donated a life insurance policy worth NT$15 million to set up the fund.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
Chen Shu-chu, who is in her 70s and had sold vegetables from her family’s market stall for more than half a century, wanted the funds to be used to commemorate her mother, who died during childbirth when Chen Shu-chu was in elementary school, Chen Shu-lan said.
Her family was poor at the time and could not afford hospital care for her mother, Chen Shu-lan said.
The county government expressed gratitude for the donation, saying that the fund would help lower risks women face during childbirth and enhance their welfare.
The fund would also provide scholarships to children who lose their mothers during childbirth, it said.
At the donation ceremony, Chen Shu-chu said that she had saved income from her family’s vegetable stall for more than five decades before retiring, so it was “natural” that she would do something to help her community in return.
“For me, the best way to live my life is to complete what I want to do,” she said. “As I am grateful to my mother for giving birth to me, but regret that she lost her life while in labor, I just want to help pregnant women who need financial support to make sure they are safe while giving birth.”
Chen Shu-chu has become famous for her philanthropy over the past few years.
In 2018, she donated two life insurance policies worth a total of NT$16 million to Taitung MacKay Memorial Hospital and Taitung Christian Hospital to set up two cancer treatment funds for the benefit of people in need.
When she retired, Chen Shu-chu said that she had a home and some savings, which would be enough for her to support herself for the rest of her life.
She is determined to continue providing as much help as she can to others, she said at the time.
In 2012, Chen Shu-chu was named one of six winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for helping poor people.
She donated the US$50,000 cash prize to Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital.
In 2010, she was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people for contributing more than NT$10 million to charitable causes, including a donation to build a library at Taitung’s Ren-Ai Elementary School, her alma mater, and another donation to sponsor poor children.
In the same year, she was also named one of 48 heroes of philanthropy by Forbes Asia.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS