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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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