To the residents of Shenmu Village (神木) in Sinyi Township (信義), Nantou County, 58-year-old Wu Kuen-yu (巫坤煜) is certainly no stranger.
His devotion to the community has been immortalized in a book released as part of celebrations for the Republic of China (ROC) centennial.
Located in mountainous central Taiwan, roads in the Shenmu area are often damaged during rainy seasons.
Despite the unfavorable road conditions, Wu, a mailman for Chunghwa Post, delivers mail to residents of the village.
Wu’s mail run also includes Tongfu Village (同富) and Dongpu Village (東埔).
For 25 years, Wu had to travel more than 120km daily to deliver mail to 1,000 households in those three villages, carrying mailbags that on busy days could weigh as much as 80kg.
Aside from delivering mail to village residents, Wu also helped pay phone or utility bills in town on behalf of his customers.
He also helped people suffering from chronic diseases pick up medicine at the hospital.
Wu retired in April.
His story, along with that of 14 other individuals, was published in the book The Great Way Prevails (大道之行), which was published by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) in celebration of the centennial of the ROC.
The 15 individuals were chosen from different services under the administration of the ministry, which includes railroad, highway, aviation, navigation, tourism, weather, postal and telecommunications services.
About 10 people were recognized for their devotion as base-level employees, including a steam-locomotive conductor, a freeway toll collector and a weather bureau specialist stationed on Dongji Island (東吉島) in Penghu County.
“The spirit of a transportation person is to confront difficulty with courage and to attain goals with determination,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said.
“We want to record the stories that convey the professionalism and values of these people and pass them on from generation to generation,” Mao said.
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