Philanthropist vegetable seller Chen Shu-chu, a Taitung County native who was selected as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2010, was recently interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), once again bringing Chen, who has been called the pride of Taiwan, to the world’s attention. The report mentions that a customer once said that an imported dress that Chen was wearing was a fake, whereupon Chen realized that “no matter how I dress, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a vegetable vendor.”
The BBC dispatched a reporter to Taitung for the interview. The report, which was published on Oct. 6, calls Chen one of the world’s most humble philanthropists. It recounts how she has donated over NT$10 million (US$329,000) over the past two decades to help build a hospital and a library. As the report says, to some people it might seem like madness to give away most of your wealth, but Chen says that money is not so important. In her words, “It’s not how much money you make that matters, but how you use your money.”
The report also talks about Chen’s motivation for her generosity. In the past, her family was not well off. Her mother and younger brother died because they could not afford medical treatment, and this experience motivated her to help other poor people. She has not forgotten those who helped her in the past. “I feel I owe people a lot. I feel I have to make more money to help others,” she says.
Photo: Huang Li-hsiang, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者黃立翔
The report notes that Chen, who lives by selling vegetables, has received several international honors, but is not keen on media attention, preferring to concentrate on selling her wares. Although she has health problems, Chen still has no plans to retire. “My wish is that I can work till the day I collapse,” she says, “Money is only useful if you give it to people who need it.”
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
二０一０年入選《時代雜誌》百大影響力人物的台東愛心菜販陳樹菊，日前接受英國BBC採訪，台灣之光再次於國際綻放光彩。報導提到，陳樹菊曾被顧客指稱身上的進口衣服是假的，當下她意識到，無論怎麼打扮，「我就是一個菜販」。
BBC特地派記者到台東採訪，該報導在十月六日刊登，稱陳樹菊是世界上最謙虛的慈善家之一，過去二十年已捐贈超過一千萬台幣（三十二萬九千美元），興建醫院及圖書館。內文提到，對一些人而言，放棄大部分財產似乎是瘋狂行為，但陳樹菊表示，錢不是那麼重要，「不是賺多少的問題，而是如何使用你的錢」。
該報導也敘述陳樹菊愛心行為的動機，由於過去家庭經濟不寬裕，其母親和弟弟皆因無法得到醫療照護而逝世，促使她幫助其他貧困人士，她也不忘曾經幫助她的人，「我覺得我欠人很多，要賺更多錢去幫助別人。」
報導指出，販賣各式蔬菜的陳樹菊多次獲得國際榮耀，但不願被媒體關注，更專注於賣菜，雖然健康已出問題，但陳樹菊仍沒有退休計畫，「我希望工作到不行的那天；錢是給需要的人才會有用處。」
（自由時報）
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