Taichung housewife inspires community with charity lunchboxes

Taichung housewife inspires community with charity lunchboxes

2022-12-08

And now we turn to Taichung, to meet a housewife who is giving her cooking gifts to benefit her community. Three years ago, Lai Mei-ju started making charity lunchboxes for the homeless. Before long, many of her friends and passionate cooks from the district wanted to join in. Now it’s a major event inspiring neighbors with the joy of giving.

Welcome to the Lai family kitchen. Many cooks bustle about, some ladling out rice and others doling out carefully prepared vegetables. As a gifted cook, Lai Mei-ju saw her chance to help others, by bringing together this group of housewives and friends. They work together to produce charity lunchboxes.

Lai Mei-ju
Lunches for the Homeless founder
I love cooking, so I thought, I could use my cooking skills to help people living on the street. My friends heard that I wanted to do it, and they all really supported it, and one by one they all joined in.

They buy ingredients at the market at first light, agree together the day’s menu, then wash and prepare the vegetables, and have a lot of fun doing it.

Volunteer
I think it’s a great idea, and a very fun way to do it. So I’m very happy that Mei-ju invited me to join the team.

Volunteer
I think it’s a wonderful thing to contribute, even if only a little bit.

The 50 vegetarian lunchboxes of the day each contain five different delicious and nutritious dishes, as well as fruit for dessert. When they’re ready they’re delivered straight to the local Homeless Social Welfare Foundation.

Tsai Wen-hao
Zenan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation
For a long time now, three years, Mei-ju has been bringing mothers and grandmothers together, to provide these healthy, vegetarian lunches on Tuesdays every month.

Member of public
It’s good to have compassion! Society does better with a bit of warmth and love.

The charity lunchboxes are not just a tasty meal, but a way to spread love in the community.

自家廚房當成工作室　主婦揪團做愛心便當

2022-12-08

台中有一位家庭主婦，非常喜歡烹飪、也很有愛心，她透過廚藝做公益，召集好朋友，大家有錢出錢，有力出力，把自家廚房當成工作室，一起製作便當，親自送到街友服務站，分送給街友享用。

這裡是賴小姐家的廚房，好幾人分工合作，有的忙著盛飯，有的忙著打菜。賴小姐本身擅長廚藝，也喜歡幫助別人，兩年多前，她號召一群主婦朋友，大家出錢出力，一同來製作愛心便當。

[[街友愛心便當發起人賴美汝]]
“因為我很喜歡做菜，那我是不是能夠用做菜的才能，來幫助街友？我朋友聽到我要做這個活動，他們每個人都很支持，紛紛的加入。”

一大早，從市場買菜、洗菜，煮飯到炒菜，大家共同討論菜單，一起完成，忙得很開心。

[[志工]]
“我覺得這是一個很好的理念，也是很好的方式，所以我很開心可以被美汝邀請來參加這個團隊。”

[[志工]]
“我覺得可以發揮自己一點小小力量，是一件很開心的事情。”

50個愛心素食便當，裡頭有五樣菜色，營養又豐富，還有飯後水果，完成後專車直送街友服務站。

[[人安基金會台中站長蔡文豪]]
“美汝就是這樣長期的，三年來，號召這些婆婆媽媽，美麗的善心小姐，共同在每個月的禮拜二，提供這樣的健康的蔬食餐點。”

[[民眾]]
“有愛心很好，社會上有溫暖，有愛心比較好。”

主婦們的愛心便當，不只美味，也充滿濃濃的人情味。

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This room feels like a classic hot spring hotel suite. But it’s soon to become a dorm for Chinese Culture Uni students.

The university is working with a nearby hotel to provide 250 beds over 125 new rooms, from next semester.

Yang Hsiang-chun
Chinese Culture University
We want to create a second living area for Chinese Culture University, here in Beitou. It’s only a tiny bit more expensive than student dormitories. So we must stress that residents will have to pay extra to use the hot springs or other hotel services.

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Chinese Culture University student
The price difference with private apartments is enormous. When I was in my second year, I lived in an apartment for two people, with bunk beds, and the beds were smaller than these ones here.

Transportation is another big factor. Getting from CCU to Taipei generally means an almost hour-long bus journey. And the buses are often packed. But the hot spring hotel is just a 10-minute walk from the Xinbeitou MRT Station.

Chinese Culture University student
We have to take the bus down to Taipei, but it’s always packed with people, weekdays or weekends. But here it’s very convenient – if we want to go into Taipei, there’s an MRT station just next door.

The hotel is 50 years old and its amenities rather outdated, but all the basic facilities are fine – and the MRT station is a big plus. The 250 beds were quickly snapped up by CCU students keen to try the new dorm.

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Changing globalization trends factor in TSMC’s decision to expand in US: analyst

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Morris Chang (Dec. 6)
TSMC founder
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Morris Chang (Dec. 6)
TSMC founder
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Lee Chun
Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research
You’ve got to imagine it as if the world were spilt in thirds, each with its own tech companies and trade investment groups. It’s a revised version of globalization. In the past, production was concentrated in China and Taiwan. In the future, production will be spread in many different areas. So when countries turn into themselves and Taiwan goes out to service them, that brings Taiwan a lot of new opportunities.

The analyst says globalization has changed, in part due to the U.S.-China tech war. Taiwanese companies are having to follow their clients to other parts of the world, which according to him, is an opportunity for growth. But for TSMC, producing chips in the U.S. comes with costs about 50% higher than in Taiwan. The chipmaker has announced a total investment of US$40 billion in Phoenix, Arizona, with US$12 billion in the first phase and US$24 billion in the second. By 2026, the fab is expected to have an annual production capacity of about 600,000 chips in 2026, a minute amount compared with Taiwan’s output.

Chai Huan-hsin
Semiconductor industry analyst
Building up supply chains takes a long time. And in the U.S. there is more intrusion from non-economic factors. So if you want the fab in Arizona to make profits closer to fabs in Taiwan, I’m afraid that will take a very long time, more than five years.

Amid a changing geopolitical landscape, TSMC has expanded in the U.S. despite the higher costs. Even if orders pour in, will the firm’s profits be affected? It remains to be seen.

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Older adults fulfill their dreams with round-island motorbike trip

Have you ever thought of chasing a dream before you feel too old to do so? Since 2007, the Hongdao Senior Citizen’s Welfare Foundation has been holding motorbike trips around Taiwan for adults aged 60 and up. In 2012, the foundation released a documentary called "Go Grandriders," featuring the stories of 17 older adults who embarked on the round-island motorcycle trip. FTV reporter Stephany Yang caught up with two of them to find out more about their life-changing journey.

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Chang Hung-tao
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Chang Chen Ying-mei
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Chang Hung-tao
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Since 2007, the Hongdao Welfare Foundation has held the round-island ride to encourage older adults to chase their dreams and enhance the public’s views and attitudes towards aging. So far, the event has been held 11 times, with more than 350 participants. In 2012, the association released the documentary short film "Go Grandriders," which follows their journey.

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After the film was released, it topped the box office as a documentary and even had the opportunity to be shown in Hong Kong, South Korea, and the U.S. A good event can change the life of an older adult, a family, and a community. If you want to create a bigger impact, films can really convey the message. We now see that Taiwanese people view older adults very positively. Compared to 10 years ago, there’s been very good progress.

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