Watching
Video Clip (Korean
subtitle)
We
have long recognized The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association
as a member of our Hsihu rural township. All of you know that we have
undertaken an environmental protection project since I assumed office.
Those coming from Miaoli six kilometers away must have realized how
clean county Highway No. 28 has become. The Chinshih village chief,
who is also here with us today, is especially touched about it.
The Supreme
Master Ching Hai International Association has maintained a long-term
cleaning operation on country Highway No. 28. I can still remember
the Taiwan Restitution Day on October 25 two years ago. It was drizzling,
and I saw our fellow brothers and sisters bringing their own equipment,
braving the wind and rain, and clearing the highway until it was virtually
spotless. They transported categorized , and disposed of the garbage
at a place more appropriate than anywhere we could think of. I was
so touched that they regarded Hsihu as their hometown, that I went
to the Hsihu Center to express my gratitude. There, I was surprised
to see that they had prepared a huge cake. They told me that it was
International Ching Hai Day, and invited me to share the cake and
sing Happy Birthday with them. Before my eyes were so many living
saints. I had this strong feeling because I am a Buddhist. They have
done so much for Hsihu. For instance, they often participate in our
Environmental Protection Flea Market and retrieve materials for recycling.
At the
inauguration of our Matsu (a Chinese goddess) Temple, they volunteered
to help, preparing 1,200 individual meals and delivering them to the
venue. They also cleaned and decorated the venue.
In my
first year in office, I found that Hsihu residents were often delayed
when they had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment
because they had to wait for ambulances coming from another town.
The Association then generously contributed an ambulance to us. The
mountain roads in Hsihu are narrow and winding, and forest fires occur
there frequently. When there is a forest fire, the men try to contain
the fire from the front, while the women use leaves to beat out the
fire from the rear. That is a very tedious task, because sometimes
there is no water source where the big fire engines cannot reach.
Thus, the light fire engine that the Association has contributed to
Hsihu is a very important resource for disaster relief.