One man's junk may be another man's treasure, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Deputy Minister Chang Feng-teng (
The "Your Old Computer, His Hope" program marked its 10th anniversary yesterday.
The program began in 1998, with 300 to 600 refurbished computers a year given to social welfare groups, he said. In 2005, the number of computers increased more than a thousand, he said.
"The program was expanded in accordance with the Cabinet's `2008 Challenge -- closing the digital gap between cities and rural areas plan' in 2005," Chang said.
The program, cosponsored this year by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), collected 9,581 processing units and 7,286 monitors from government agencies, or 52 percent of the total collected. Businesses contributed 34 percent, schools 11 percent and homes 3 percent, CIER president Daigee Shaw (蕭代基) said.
Elementary or secondary students received 1,180 of the refurbished computers, while 1,966 went to schools and 654 to welfare agencies, Shaw said.
"A computer is basic equipment for digital work," he said, adding that those who could not afford a PC might not be able to bridge the digital gap.
"Though these computers may not be the most up-to-date, they are perfect first units for economically disadvantaged children who may not otherwise own a personal system," National Taiwan University Hospital superintendent Lin Fang-yue (
"As a child who grew up in the city, it was hard to imagine that the computers we consider `too slow' are treasures for others," said Tai Chang-yan (
"I once installed a system for a child in Ilan County's Dongshan Township [冬山] who did not even have a proper desk to put the computer, so he placed it on top of a shoe rack," he said. "When he got the computer on, his eyes sparkled as he repeatedly stroked it with a big smile on his face."
"When you give, you receive much more in return. I urge other city folks to experience the joy of giving," he said.
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The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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