Wed, Jan 10, 2018 page4

• Veteran’s charity stems from vegetables

  LOOKING AHEAD: Hsu Chih-tien has paid for more than 130 traffic mirrors to be installed in the past 10 years after learning his township lacked funding for safety projects

  • By Lee Li-fa and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Helping others is a happy thing, like growing vegetables, said veteran Hsu Chih-tien (許枝田), 76, who has been making donations to his Pingtung community for more than a decade.

  For more than 20 years — since Hsu retired from the air force as a master sergeant — he and his wife, Yang Mei-Hsueh (楊美雪), have been growing vegetables and practicing self-sufficiency, he said.

  “If a day goes by without cooking or eating vegetables, I feel uncomfortable,” Hsu said.

  

  Retired air force master sergeant Hsu Chih-tien harvests an eggplant from his vegetable field in Pingtung County’s Sinsing District on Friday last week.

  Photo: Lee Li-fa, Taipei Times

  Every morning, Hsu tends his field and gives any extra vegetables to his neighbors, he said.

  After becoming a coordinator in Pingtung’s Sinsing District (新興), Hsu said he discovered that there were many households that needed help.

  He began selling vegetables at the local market and for more than 10 years, he has donated the profits to Sinsing’s underprivileged youth for their education, he said.

  Some days, he only earns a few hundred New Taiwan dollars; but its adds up to tens of thousands of dollars each year, he said.

  His four children have their own families, so he does not need to worry about them, Hsu said, adding that he and his wife have minimal expenses and they cannot eat all the vegetables they grow.

  They rarely need their monthly pension, Hsu said, adding that the money might as well be used to help those in need.

  He donates NT$100,000 (US$3,386) to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families’ (TFCF) Pingtung branch each year, Hsu said, adding that he has donated a total of NT$1.3 million.

  He also paid to have traffic safety mirrors installed at intersections to reduce the number of car accidents after he discovered that the local government has limited funding for safety projects.

  Residents from neighboring towns have informed him of other dangerous intersections since they found out about his generosity, Hsu said.

  In the past 17 years, he has donated more than 130 traffic mirrors to Pingtung City, as well as Wandan (萬丹) and Jiouru townships (九如) in Pingtung County, Hsu said.

  This year, Hsu said he plans to have five mirrors installed in the county’s Jiadong Township (佳冬), adding that the contractor has kept the cost of the mirrors at NT$6,000 each over the past 10 years.

  Hsu has been recognized for his charity by the Pingtung County Veterans’ Service Office with the National Good Person, Good Deeds Representative and the National Veterans Role Model awards.

  “Hsu’s selfless sacrifice and spirit of service is precious and hard to come by,” said former Pingtung County councilor Lee Ching-sheng (李清聖), who is also a TFCF sponsor and has known Hsu for years.

  Hsu not only brings warmth to the community, he sets a good example by encouraging people to get involved in charity, Lee Ching-sheng said.

  Hsu said he is grateful that he and his wife are healthy and able to work in their field and serve their community.
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