The Taipei City Government is working with 29 civic groups to send 1,000 sets of Lunar New Year meals to low-income families and elderly residents who live alone.
The 1,000 sets include traditional dishes with symbols of good fortune, such as fried fish fillet, turnip cake and chicken stew.
The city’s Department of Social Affairs will also give out red envelopes to those who receive the New Year meals ahead of the traditional holiday.
Photo: CNA
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday thanked 240 volunteers from the civic groups for helping to send the meals to those in need, and promised that the city would offer around-the-clock services via its 1999 Citizen Hotline during the holiday period.
“It is important for the city to give warmth and blessings to people in need, and assure them that they are not alone during the holiday period. We hope that the New Year dish delivery service will offer practical help to them,” he said.
Meanwhile, a pork bun vendor in Taipei will continue his annual tradition of holding a free outdoor banquet for homeless people from today through Monday.
Liao Rong-ji (廖榮吉) is likely to spend about NT$3.5 million (US$110,000) holding the four-day banquet next to Longshan Elementary School in Wanhua District (萬華), with 200 tables available for homeless people each day.
He said that most of the money needed to hold the banquets came from donations, and while more homeless people and low-income families come to enjoy a free meal every year, the donations have declined due to the faltering economy.
“I’ve been holding the year-end banquets since 1987 and I will try my best to continue the service to help people who live a hard life to enjoy a good meal during the New Year holiday,” he said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS