Taichung mayor back at work following surgery
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen arrived for work, and addressed reporters and the City Council from a wheelchair following hip surgery.
Describing it as an old injury, she said she decided to have the surgery on the advice of doctors and to “get it over and done with.”
Her vice mayor handled her duties last week while she was in hospital.
Responding to reporters, she said she would continue staying in the hospital for another week or so, but said she was recovering faster than expected
She said she is expected to be in the wheelchair or on crutches for the next two to three months.
The mayor was feeling well enough to once again slam the central government, this time over tax allocation.
She pointed out that Taichung puts in nearly NT$160 billion, but only receives back NT$35.8 billion from the central government.
The mayor also pointed out that in spite of being Taiwan’s second largest city, Taichung ranks fourth in the amount of money received.
Taipei and Kaohsiung receive considerably more money, in spite of being smaller cities.
She called the situation “unfair” and said that Taichung was being “wronged”.
Another stadium is on the way
Barely a week after the announcement of the design for the Taichung Arena, ground has been broken on another stadium.
The International Softball Stadium, located in the Waipu District, is expected to be completed late next year.
When completed, the NT$200 million project will feature an international standard software field, and a simpler practice field.
Seating will be able to accommodate up to 2000 spectators.
Murder and suicide in Changhua
On Friday, relatives found a 54-year-old woman stabbed to death in her bathroom at her home in Xizhou Township, Changhua County.
She had been stabbed repeatedly in the face, neck and chest.
The police arrested a suspect at the Fengchia Night Market in Taichung.
The suspect, a 53-year-old sausage vendor near Mingdao University and only 300 meters from the victim’s home, had originally been good friends with the victim.
However, they had had a falling out, possibly over money, and were battling each other in court.
In other tragic news, a single father and his three children were officially declared dead Wednesday after allegedly committing suicide the previous day at their home in Xiushui Township, Changhua County.
Prosecutors suspect they died as a result of suicide, having found charcoal in the toilet, while their bodies were found in the apartment with all the windows closed and no sign of intrusion.
Lucky Changhua residents get showered with cash
Changhua County now has a fashion for handing out cash.
First it was Hemei Township, which announced earlier this month it would be handing out NT$600 to everyone with household residency there.
But next-door Shengang decided they couldn’t be outdone, and announced a plan to give every resident NT$2000.
That plan hit a glitch, however, as that would have contravened budgetary law.
They have since scaled that back to NT$1000 for everyone.
Then apparently Huatan Township caught the bug, and also announced NT$1000 for their residents.
However, Changhua County’s two cities, Changhua City and Yuanlin City, have so far kept out of the fray.
Central Taiwan the place to be for lottery tickets
Taichung appears to be a lucky city for people who play the Power Lottery, as most of the winning tickets for the jackpots have been sold there since 2014, Taiwan Lottery Co. said on Sunday.
Over the past six years, of the 30 tickets that won the Power Lottery jackpot nine were sold in Taichung, making up nearly a third of the total, with the prize money totaling NT$9.14 billion.
The latest lottery winner wasn’t in Taichung, however, but in Zhushan Township in next-door Nantou County.
The consumer, who spent only NT$200 to buy lottery tickets, was one of two winners of the NT$3.124 billion prize.
This lucky person will receive NT$1.562 billion, or half of the total.
The other half was won by a person in Taipei.
Elderly couple now a worldwide phenomenon
Last week on this segment we introduced a charming local story about an elderly couple.
They had been running a laundry and dry cleaning business for decades, and during that time had accumulated clothing that had never been claimed.
During the height of the pandemic, their 31-year-old grandson came up with the idea of them modelling the abandoned clothes to keep them from being bored.
They added hats and sunglasses, and by last week’s report had become something of a hit on Instagram in Taiwan using the handle wantshowasyoung.
Within the last week they’ve become a worldwide phenomenon, being covered in the press around the planet, including outlets like the New York Times, BBC and CNN.
They now have over half a million followers on Instagram from around the world.
Image courtesy of 盧秀燕’s Facebook
