A city cleaner in Taitung County was named 2007 Person of the Year by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Tuesday.
The agency chose Chao Pin (趙彬) in recognition of his hard work and dedication. Chao, 48, a mechanic by training, has been with Taitung County's environmental protection bureau in Beinan Township (卑南) for 13 years.
"Like Angus MacGyver from the popular 1980's TV show, Chao has always applied his skills and knowledge to his job, dazzling his coworkers and supervisor," said Wen Hsiu-hui (溫修慧), a specialist at the EPA's Bureau of Environmental Inspection.
Wen described Chao as a man "full of ideas [who] cannot seem to sit still without fixing something."
"What is even more impressive is that Chao has never taken a day off from work: He volunteers to repair the cleaning squad's equipment during his days off and brainstorms for ideas to make a better job for both his colleagues and the township people they serve," she said.
One of the most talked about of Chao's "wonders" was his successful transformation of a dilapidated garbage truck into a functioning recycling pick-up van, saving the local government the cost of buying a new van and Beinan residents the inconvenience of having no recycling truck, she said.
In a telephone interview with the Taipei Times, Chao said he was "merely doing his job by making things flow smoothly for his team captain."
"I save the scrap metal that our recycling vans pick up and use it to patch things when needed -- you can save a lot of resources and money that way," he said.
The Beinan MacGyver services the county, which is a prime tourist destination during the Lunar New Year.
"That means Chao and his team would probably be too busy to enjoy their Lunar New Year's Eve meal," Wen said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS