A project spearheaded by a French priest to build a nursing home in Hualien County is facing a big shortfall in funding, but it is to go ahead with a groundbreaking ceremony this week as efforts to raise money continue, the priest said yesterday.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility, which is projected to cost NT$80 million (US$2.47 million) to build, is to be held tomorrow as scheduled, French Catholic priest Yves Moal said.
The nursing home needs about NT$50 million to be completed, but Moal said he is optimistic that the money will be found.
Photo: CNA
Fundraising is to continue as construction proceeds, said the 74-year-old priest, who has been devoted to humanitarian services since he came to Taiwan about 50 years ago.
Moal has been in charge of St Andrew Training Center for the Disabled in Hualien County’s Fuli Township (富里) for 17 years.
With the center taking on more young people with disabilities, a new nursing home is needed to better care of adult residents, he said.
As part of Moal’s efforts to raise funds, he said he wrote a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last week to ask for the president’s assistance.
The Presidential Office sent former Taiwan High Speed Rail Co chairman Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) to meet Moal and express the government’s willingness to provide funds to cover the costs of construction materials, the priest said.
Further details have yet to be worked out, Moal said.
“I am confident of building the facility. Taiwanese people have a good heart,” he said.
Moal was awarded a Presidential Culture Award in the humanitarian category last year in recognition of his efforts to care for physically and mentally challenged people, the homeless, orphans and other underprivileged groups in Hualien County.
Moal was also commended for helping preserve Aboriginal cultures and languages by compiling a Bunun-French dictionary, and English and French glossaries for the Amis language.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS