On a normal Friday evening outside Taipei Railway Station, an unusual banquet unfolded for people living in the area with no home to return to before the Lunar New Year.
Carrying two polystyrene boxes filled to the brim with home-cooked meals, Han-yun (瀚云) arrived with her two daughters at a counter near the west gate of the station, ready to give out the nutritious and festive delicacies her family had been hard at work preparing since early morning.
“I find this event quite meaningful, so we wanted to continue donating food this year,” the 40-year-old mother said.
Photo: CNA
Organized by the nonprofit group Do You A Flavor, this annual year-end banquet has taken place on the streets of Taipei for the past five years and has expanded into a three-day event, not just featuring food, but also free haircuts, donations of clothes and the chance to play fun games with volunteers.
The aroma of the food and the army of volunteers quickly drew the attention of homeless people in the area. Among them was Tung An-ling (董安齡), who has been homeless since returning to Taiwan from the US almost four years ago.
“I like to eat a variety of food; I can eat lots of different food,” the 53-year-old said, adding she has been out of touch with her family for more than 10 years and feels lonely during the holidays.
Having worked as a janitor, Tung offered to help the volunteers repackage the food. “I really appreciate the kindness of those people... you know the kindhearted who help the homeless here,” she said after finishing a portion of salad and drunken chicken — one of 400 dishes donated on the first day of the event.
Having lived on the streets for more than 20 years, Chang Yun-hsiang (張雲翔) said he loved having the chance to interact with people at the event. He said the public has mixed impressions of the homeless, with some showing concern, and others looking down on them. “I used to sleep by the sidewalk, and someone once asked me, ‘Why don’t you just find a job since you are physically capable?’” the 37-year-old said, who has serious heart problems.
Meanwhile, the event was just as rewarding for those who gave as well as those who received. Robert Lin (林鈺祥), an occupational therapist and a first-time volunteer, was responsible for distributing food around the station, which he said he found rewarding.
“When we interact with the homeless, they get to know a new person or make a new friend, and they know there are people in society who care about them,” the 31-year-old said.
Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed that there were a total of 3,002 registered homeless in Taiwan in 2022, with the figure remaining steady since 2019. One-third of homeless people reside in Taipei and New Taipei City.
Ader Wu (巫彥德), co-founder of Do You a Flavor, said the number of homeless people would increase if society continues to ignore their plight.
The event aims to provide homeless people with a sense of hope and to help them not feel left out during Lunar New Year celebrations, the 34-year-old said.
“It also gives society a tangible way to offer help, as people sometimes feel a sense of anguish when they see homeless people on the streets during the cold weather but feel they cannot do anything to help them,” he added.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition