While the nation celebrates the Lunar New Year holidays and most people are enjoying time off from work or school, some people are hard at work ensuring that others can enjoy their vacations.
Lee Hsi-yan (李曦妍), 30, is one.
The head of a high-speed rail train crew, Lee said the Lunar New Year holidays are her busiest time, as she has to make as many as eight trips between Taipei and Kaohsiung a day, adding up to more than 2,500km.
Lee, who has worked for Taiwan High Speed Rail for seven years, said seeing travelers happy with the expectations of family reunions during the holidays, while she still had to be at work, had made her feel lonely at first.
“However, a word of encouragement or gratitude from passengers is all it takes to boost my spirits and make me feel that my hard work is worth it,” she said.
“The work may be tough, but travelers’ warm greetings and children’s smiles are what motivate me to continue working,” she said
Chiang Chih-ming (江志明), a 46-year-old Metropolitan Transportation bus driver in Taipei, is another holiday worker.
He said he has always had to work over the Lunar New Year holidays, ever since he was a novice driver.
Chiang said he regularly misses Lunar New Year’s Eve dinners with his family.
Families riding his bus can make him feel sad during the holidays, but he has learned to reconcile himself to having to work and he regards all his passengers as his family, he said.
“My family is proud of me, even if I am missing from the dinner table, which brings me a sense of achievement,” Chiang said. “The smiles of passengers and my family’s support are what motivate me to work.”
Taipei police officer Chu Shih-chiang (朱世強) said he is proud to be a police officer, but has asked for his family’s support and understanding when he has to work the Lunar New Year holidays and give up time with his family.
Chu, who has been an officer for eight years, said that during his first three years on the job he felt very sorry that he could not return to his hometown in Yunlin County for the traditional Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner with his family.
“On my way on a train from Yunlin to report to work in Taipei on a New Year’s Eve, all I can think of is scenes of family get-togethers,” he said.
However, while most people are enjoying their holidays during the Lunar New Year, criminals might still be working, “so there is a need for police to work over the holiday to maintain public order.”
Taoyuan General Hospital chief obstetrician and gynecologist Lu Li-cheng (呂理政) said he has also grown accustomed to working on Lunar New Year holidays in his 23 years of practice.
“Bringing babies into the world safely is what motivates me,” he said, adding that the sight of a mother looking into her newborn’s eyes always moves him deeply and revives him after a long day’s work.
Chen Chao-hui (陳朝輝), a zookeeper at the Taipei Zoo for 24 years, said his work schedule stays the same even during Lunar New Year holidays, except that the zoo closes on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
“Everyone has to work a few days during the Lunar New Year holidays. I am quite used to it and my family also supports me,” Chen said.
When asked if he would like to have a long vacation like other people during the holiday, Chen said: “I am happy that I can at least have Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner with my family, considering that doctors and firefighters have to work 24 hours nonstop.”
Additional reporting by Chiang Hsiang, Lin Ching and Liang Pei-chi
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