Twenty-year-old Chen I-lun, a resident of Tunghsiao Township in Miaoli County, belongs to a family of six. Apart from her father, all the other members of her immediate family have moderate-to-severe learning disabilities. Chen, who has moderate learning disabilities, has, with the assistance of the Miaoli County Employment Center, not only found a stable job at the Haiching Elderly Care Center, but has also obtained a basic-level carer qualification. Chen hopes to take an exam to become a qualified professional carer and help her family take care of her father.
Chen’s family originally relied on her father’s job for income, as well as assistance from his older brother. After Chen graduated from junior high school, she helped her uncle raise pigs. Every month she would earn NT$5,000, which she contributed toward the family’s finances, in addition to her younger sister’s part-time job at a golf club.
However, three years ago, her father suffered a stroke, which further increased the family’s outgoings. Her uncle, hoping that Chen would be able to support herself, enlisted the help of the Miaoli County Employment Center. An employee at the center arranged for Chen to become a cleaner at the Tunghsiao Township branch of the Haiching Elderly Care Center.
Photo: Peng Chien-li, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者彭健禮
Chen’s ability and willingness to learn were recognized by the center’s director, who believed that Chen, in addition to her cleaning job, would also be a competent carer. The director then arranged for Chen to undertake a pre-employment carer’s training course.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency says that Chen has passed an initial appraisal and is qualified to become a carer. However, to become a professional carer, Chen must obtain a level-three certificate. Haiching Elderly Care Center is willing to continue to assist Chen in her efforts to obtain the qualification. The center hopes that Chen, under their guidance, will be able to gain the qualification within two years and become financially independent, which will allow Chen to share the responsibility for looking after her family.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
廿歲苗栗縣通霄鎮民陳怡綸一家六口，除父親外，都為中、重度智能障礙者，中度智能障礙的她，透過苗栗就業中心協助，不僅在海青老人養護中心找到穩定工作，並取得基本看護資格，期許考取照顧服務員證照，分擔家人照顧父親的壓力。
陳家經濟來源原依靠父親工作及伯父接濟，怡綸高中畢業後，幫忙伯父養豬，每個月賺取五千元貼補家用，她的妹妹也在高爾夫球場打工，分擔家計。
但三年前父親中風，開銷增加，伯父希望她可以自謀生活，找上苗栗就業中心求助。中心就服員劉芳珍，安排怡綸進入苗栗縣海青老人養護中心通霄分院擔任清潔工。
怡綸的學習態度與工作能力，獲中心主任賞識，認為除了清潔工作，她也應該能勝任照服員的工作，遂安排怡綸接受「照顧服務員職前訓練」。
勞動部勞動力發展署表示，怡綸通過檢定，具備基本看護資格，但要成為照服員，仍需具備丙級證照，養護中心也願意持續給予考照協助，期許輔導怡綸於兩年內取得證照，自力更生進而分擔家計。
(自由時報記者彭健禮)
A: According to reporter Joon Lee’s analysis, what are other reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers made back baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s huge contract so quickly? B: Second, a lot of Japanese and global enterprises are eager to benefit from the “Ohtani effect”. . . A: That’s sure to increase the Dodgers’ bargaining chips in negotiations. B: Lastly, all this media coverage is elevating the Dodgers’ brand to a new level, boosting the value of the franchise. A: I can’t wait to see a battle between Ohtani and “Team Taiwan” at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. A: 根據記者Joon Lee的分析，洛杉磯道奇隊和球星大谷翔平的巨約快速回本還有哪些原因？ B: 第二、無數日本和全球企業都想和這股「大谷效應」沾上邊……。 A: 這也增加了道奇在各種商業談判中的籌碼吧。 B: 第三、媒體報導更將道奇的品牌形象推升至全新的高度，使該隊價值水漲船高。 A: 真期待在2026年「世界棒球經典賽」，看到大谷和台灣隊的經典對決！ （By Eddy
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Kevin leaned over the bubbling pot. “Hey. . . are you okay? You’ve barely touched your food.” Zoey blinked. Her face was red — not from blushing, but from the “mala” spice and the heat of the room. Her blond hair clumped to her face like strands of fine spaghetti. Her carefully applied makeup now streaked. “This isn’t what I expected,” she said softly, forcing a smile. All around them, Kevin’s friends were laughing, shouting, and tossing ingredients into the broth. The air smelled of chili oil and garlic.
Picture this: contestants are walking gracefully across a stage, competing for the highly desired title of “most beautiful.” However, these participants aren’t fashion models—they’re camels. Welcome to the extraordinary world of the Pushkar Fair, where beauty contests take on an entirely different meaning. The Pushkar Fair is held annually in the small desert town of Pushkar, India, usually in November. It began as a livestock trading event where farmers and herders gathered to buy and sell camels, horses and cattle. Over time, it has grown into a major cultural carnival that attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.
A: Major League Baseball’s 2025 World Series took place last week. The games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays were so exciting. B: As the highest-paid baseball player in the world, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers was an incandescant superstar. A: The Dodgers signed a record-breaking 10-year, US$700 million contract with Ohtani in 2023. As former ESPN reporter Joon Lee analyzed, the team quickly made back all the investment in the player’s first season. B: Wow, how is that possible? A: Firstly, tourism from Japan to Los Angeles has surged by 90 percent since Ohtani signed the deal, with the
RSS