The Chou Ta-kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation (CTKF, 周大觀文教基金會), a charity dedicated to providing care for children with cancer and other serious diseases, said yesterday that it would donate the proceeds from sales of a collection of poems in the US to an American cancer society to help child cancer patients from poor backgrounds.
Titled I Still Have a Leg, the poems featured in the book were selected by Chou Ta-kuan (周大觀), a 10-year-old boy who died of cancer in 1997, but retained a passion for life until his final days.
After Chou’s death, his parents established the foundation to provide medical services and financial assistance to children suffering from serious diseases.
Through the foundation’s “Send Love to America” activity, I Still Have a Leg will be released in the US early next month, which will become the 12th country to publish the book.
To date, 4 million copies have been sold in different languages around the world, with more than NT$16 million (US$500,000) in royalties used to help the poorest among ailing children in those countries.
Aside from making a donation to the cancer society, the foundation will also present “Love for Life Awards” to three recipients living in the US.
“This is a most beautiful and touching diplomatic mission” said Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳), who was invited to the event by the foundation.
At yesterday’s news conference, Huang and Chou Chin-huar (周進華), the founder of the foundation, and Chou Ta-kuan’s father awarded two young girls with a “Love For Life” award, affirming their passion and perseverance in striving for life.
One of the recipients, Lin Mu-ching (林睦卿), had her left leg amputated at the age of 16 because of cancer.
Encouraged by Chou’s selection of poems, she decided she would not let her physical disability limit her life.
Lin has subsequently traveled to 15 countries, taken up rock-climbing and is now the host of a TV show.
“The imperfection of one’s body cannot hinder life from reaching perfection,” said Wang Shu-chiao (王蜀蕎), the other prize recipient.
Wang lost her left arm as a child after getting it caught in a meat mincer at a restaurant owned by the family’s neighbors.
The two girls formed a “three-arm, three-legged dance pairing” to prove that “without arms and legs, we can still dance.”
The “Love For Life” award is given by the foundation every year to about 20 people worldwide who fight for life with courage, compassion and perseverance, the foundation said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption