Joking as they redecorated the bedroom of their new home, sisters Chen Suen-yu (
Suen-yu, 13, and Ching-wen, 11, are starting a new life in their aunt's apartment in Keelung. So far, they seem to be adapting well, though they still try to block out the horror of Sept. 21.
"There were horrible scenes, but I think I will gradually get over it," said Suen-yu, 13, who lived until then in Tungshih, near the epicenter of the earthquake in central Taiwan. "Right now, anyone bringing up the subject of parents still bothers me."
PHOTO: AP
Like many of the other 120 orphans of the quake, the care the girls are getting from relatives has considerably relieved their anxiety and trauma.
Ching-wen, a slender girl like her sister, said she likes her new home and school but still has deep sorrows.
"When I see good or bad things at school, I can't go home to tell Mom and Dad," she said, lowering her head.
All except a few of the quake orphans are under the care of their relatives, despite hundreds of offers to adopt them.
The youngest orphan is a boy who was only 13 days old when the quake hit. His parents were buried under the rubble of their home, and he survived in his mother's firm embrace. His grandparents are raising him.
Welfare groups are arranging for families in areas spared by the quake to temporarily house some of the estimated 5,000 children who might need care until their families are resettled.
Social workers say most orphans are being well cared for, thanks to the strong ties between extended families. As a result of Taiwan's rapid industrialization in the past few decades, small families have replaced the traditional big families, but relatives still maintain close contacts.
Hours after the quake, Chen Su-fen (
"We are the next of kin. I never doubted that I should take care of them," the aunt said.
Just after the quake, Suen-yu went to a nearby hospital with her 68-year-old grandmother, whom neighbors dug out of the rubble.
Days later, the girls were taken to Keelung to their aunt's home, where they now stay with her husband, a power plant employee. The sister's aunt has three children between the ages of 17 and 20.
Just a week after the disaster, the sisters went back to school.
Suen-yu said she missed her old classmates and often chats with them over the telephone. Many of them still lived in tent camps or were staying temporarily with relatives, she said.
A month after the disaster, the quake still dominates the news; on Wednesday many television stations began showing footage from the morning the tremor struck.
The girls' aunt said she lets the orphans watch such scenes.
"I told them they should face the reality rather than hide from it," she said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
RSS