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.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its