3123 Edition
January 2-8, 2012
Headline News

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong, Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma

Organizations such as Working Poor Unite, Salvation Army, and Taiwan Association for Human Rights protested outside of the Legislative Yuan on December 24, 2011, by showing a clip taken a few days earlier, which captured Taipei Parks & Street Lights Office workers spraying water on homeless people at 11:00 p.m. using a high pressure water hose. The incident took place at Monga Park in Wanhua District of Taipei City on a cold winter’s night as homeless people settled inside the park for the night. It was clear from the clip that the workers had been ordered to banish homeless people from the area.

During that protest, officials from these organizations criticized government authorities for using such an inhumane method to sweep poor people out of sight and out of mind and urged them to stop immediately as it was immoral and useless in solving the problem of homelessness and poverty.

According to these organizations, homeless people have been stigmatized for too long in Taiwan, often labeled as lazy, scums, and villains. They are often blamed or suspected in public safety problems without a shred of evidence and this has become a widely accepted practice, a troubling indication that protection of human rights in Taiwan doesn’t extend to the homeless. This latest water spraying incident is a sign that poverty is a grave social problem that the incoming administration must face with wisdom and maturity.

Salvation Army Taiwan Headquarter Office spokesperson Rev. Kao Li-ming said he was shocked that Taiwanese government would treat homeless people in such an inhumane way, and especially under the watchful eyes of police officers. He added that similar incidents had taken place previously in the months leading up to the opening of Taipei International Flora Exposition in 2010.

Kao underscored that the Salvation Army had seen governments use similar underhanded and inhumane methods to solve problems before, but they occurred in third world countries. To see such incidents happen in a democratic country such as Taiwan as well is unthinkable and an indication of underlying misguided thinking.

Kao added that though he could sympathize with the concerns of Wanhua residents and their preoccupation with maintaining a good community image, treating homeless people in such an underhanded way posed a greater harm to community image, and even Taiwan’s international reputation. He warned Taipei City that water spraying homeless people to banish them from the streets of Taipei will tarnish Taiwan’s international reputation and give people the impression that Taiwanese society lacks empathy.

However, just as Taipei City Councilor Angela Wing lauded people who sprayed water on the homeless, a church in Taipei demonstrated a better and more loving alternative. Shuang-Lien Presbyterian Church elders and deacons set up a few tents near a plaza on Minsheng East Road and put out 30 tables to prepare a banquet for nearly 300 people of low-income families. These people came from 2 nearby districts and 9 boroughs.

Besides enjoying a year-end feast, these families also received a red envelope, fruits and canned, non-perishable food. Shuang-Lien Church hoped that these small gifts would help people experience the love of God through churches.

The coordinator of this year-end banquet was the Church and Society Committee officer from Shuang-Lien Presbyterian Church, Hong Yu-hao. She said that it was her church’s custom to invite low-income families in the area to church for a banquet at this time of the year.

Hong underscored that this event was made possible through the support and help of 9 borough directors and donations totaling NT$300,000 from church elders and members who wished to remain anonymous.

Shuang-Lien Church also serves its surrounding communities by offering bursaries to struggling students, helping single-parent families, and visiting seniors living alone. Much of the church’s ministry is done in a low-key manner so as to follow the biblical command to serve in quietness and humility.

Hong emphasized that long-term unemployment and inflation had risen in the past few years under the Ma administration, keeping the national Misery Index high. She hoped that through Shuang-Lien Presbyterian Church’s example, other churches would be inspired to reach out to marginalized groups in society, including the homeless, so that they may experience God’s love and the warmth of Christian churches.