Amid tears and laughter, hundreds of people from different nations gathered yesterday in downtown Taipei for a celebration memorial, remembering the lives of the five Taiwan-based young victims of last month's Bali bombings.
"Over the past month, I've been grief-stricken. I can't understand why a young, energetic and promising young life was snuffed out in the blink of an eye," said Theresa Chu of the death of her 24-year-old co-worker Eve Kuo (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"She was able to remember each guest's name, what sort of beer they like and even what sort of weird temperament they have," recalled a weeping Chu of her co-worker at Saints and Sinners, a bar in downtown Taipei.
Chu, dressed in black, found her grief echoed in the silent sobs of Kuo's parents sitting in one corner of the room, located in the Gloria Prince Hotel in downtown Taipei.
Greg Assink, a South African member of the Taipei International Rugby Club (TIRC), said the memories of his girlfriend have kept flooding back to him since Kuo died in the blast.
Michelle Tsai (蔡怡), co-worker of South African bomb victim Craig Harty at the LADDER Digital Education Corp, said her office is no longer the same without the presence of Harty, a man "with a big smile."
"`How empty the bus stop was without Craig there helping me pass the time,'" read Tsai from a small card written by another staff member at the company.
Max Murphy, captain of the TIRC, which lost four members in the bomb blast, said the team was no longer the same after the atrocity.
Calling the club "a home away from home," Murphy said the club would grow and gain strength despite the tragic loss of his four teammates.
Murphy made his point by recalling an anecdote about a message delivered by John Hardman, father of lost teammate James Hardman, when they said good-bye in Bali.
"He raised one finger, pointed to us and said, `Live it, guys. Live it,'" Murphy said, adding that his teammates are determined to make the most of their lives in memory of their friend.
The family of Daniel Braden, a 28-year-old Briton who also died in the attack, has set up a trust fund called "Encompass" aimed at offering "non-sectarian, non-denominational education" to young people, initially in Indonesia.
Those interested in contributing to the trust fund can E-mail info@encompass.com for further information.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and