The first ‘suspended meal’ website created by the authorities has officially gone online! Taichung Vice-Mayor Hsu Chung-hsiung arrived at Yichung Street to help launch the press conference and was full of praise for the caring nature of the people of Taichung – donation 2000 TWD by a single father who works as a cleaner, and a student who used her scholarship money to buy cakes for disadvantaged members of the community. Mayor Hu and Vice-Mayor Hsu also took part in the purchase of 200 ‘suspended meals,’ which increased the number of volunteer restaurants taking part in the scheme in Taichung to 17.

Vice-Mayor Hsu said that ‘suspended meals’ originated from the highly popular concept of ‘suspended coffee,’ in which ‘those that can pre-pay for coffee which can be enjoyed by those in need.’ After this idea reached Taichung it was taken up a level to include ‘suspended noodles,’ ‘suspended cakes’ and ‘suspended fast food,’ giving disadvantaged members of the community the chance to also eat a hearty meal.

Vice-Mayor Hsu gave an emotional account of how the medical and pharmaceutical sectors were still underdeveloped in Taiwan when he was growing up and polio was the biggest threat to children’s health – which is what caused his own physical afflictions. Now, globalization has created a serious divide between the rich and poor, with poverty becoming the newest ‘enemy’ of the people. In light of this, the City Government has specially created a website that integrates information about suspended meals and allows those in need , and those who would like to support the scheme, to easily find out more about the scheme online.

Vice-mayor Hsu said that 15 restaurants have already joined the ranks of those supplying ‘suspended meals’; in some cases the restaurant owner have personally got involved, and in others passionate members of the public have paid the money in advance to help disadvantaged members of the community. However, restaurants in Central Dsitrict had yet to participate, as a result of which Vice-Mayor Hsu and Mayor Hu each bought 100 suspended meals at the Li Hai Fish Restaurant and Ting Shan Meatball Restaurant, increasing the number of volunteer restaurants in Taichung to 17. Vice-Maor Hsu also said that in the future he hoped that this figure could rise to 170 – or even 1,700.

The suspended meal movement has been embraced by members of the public, the most touching example of which is Mr. Yen, a single father who works as a cleaner. He said that he has a disability in his right foot, and despite a desperate search for jobs had previously been unable to find work. At the time he accepted 7-year disability benefits from the government, and now works as a cleaner in a security company. After learning about the suspended meals, he immediately donated 2,000 TWD, hoping to give something back to society after all the help he had received.

The boss of Can’t-Wait-Love-Cakes in Houli District is Miss Huang, a student at the Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology who used her scholarship money to buy 40 cakes as part of the suspended meal movement. Vice-Mayor Hsu was very moved when he heard about this, and ordered an extra 40 cakes from the shop to show his appreciation.

Mayor Hu reminded people that disadvantaged members of the community lack access to informational resources, and grassroots social workers, district offices, neighborhood leaders, police stations, and schools and civil groups at all levels should take the initiative in helping keep them more well-informed. They should assist members of the public who need help in going to their nearest restaurant offering ‘suspended meals’ to enjoy the food there. The public should also take advantage of the 1999 dedicated information line to find out more about suspended meals. Director-General of the Taichung City Government News Bureau Shi Jing-wen, Director-General of the Education Bureau Wu Rong-fen, and head of Northern District Li Zheng-feng also went to restaurants to take part.

Restaurants taking part in the suspended meals scheme are: A Mo Dining Hall, Shao Tsai Da Wei Beef Noodle Restaurant and Ren Mei Smelly Tofu Restaurant in Dali District; Ji Chuan Century Healthy Fast Food Restaurant in Taiping District; Sister Wei Bao Hsin Fen Yuan Restaurant in Xitun District; An Kang Vegetarian Cold Food Restaurant, Eat Hand-Pulled Noodles Noodle Restaurant, Yuan Chi Jia Mian Restaurant, Lin Bei Hsiao Dian Restaurant, and Mai Ge Wen Ge Q Restaurant in Northern District; the Lidong branch of Laya Hamburgers in Nantun District; and Love Everybody Restaurant and G uGu Chicken Cake Shop.