The Taiwan Toy Library Association on Wednesday said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the group is still collecting secondhand toys and other items to donate to Eswatini.
For its “collect secondhand toys, send love to Africa” project, the association said it has also enlisted the help of students and teachers from Vanung University’s department of commercial design to paint a mural depicting Africa on a shipping container, in which toys would be collected before being sent to the south African nation in the middle of next month.
The mural showcases Africa’s vast grasslands and unique animals, students Liu Sheng-hsiung (劉勝雄) and Lu Chien-kuang (盧建光) said, adding that they hope they succeeded in portraying the dynamism and vitality of the continent.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Aside from furthering the nation’s diplomatic efforts, the students said that supplying the needed items, especially in such a colorful package, would hopefully help children from the two nations to understand and cherish the Earth and all of its creatures.
Due to the pandemic, the association extended the collection period for the project to gather more donations of masks, sanitary napkins, mobile phones, dry goods and other items in addition to the toys, association chairman Yeh Kuo-fang (葉國芳) said
They also plan for the items to arrive by Christmas, he added.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Donations would be collected until the end of this month either by mail or in person at Jhen Tou Elementary School in Taoyuan’s Dayuan District (大園), Yeh said.
School principal Chen Wei-an (陳濰安) said that the 40-foot shipping container temporarily housed on the school’s campus has gained considerable attention as a popular photo destination for students, and is even attracting alumni, parents and local residents to come visit.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it