‘Ice Bucket’ gives ALS group boost

Staff writer, with CNA

The Ice Bucket Challenge that recently spread from the US to Taiwan has raised large sums of money for local amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients within a short period of time, with many attributing the campaign’s success to the power of viral marketing.

Between last Sunday and Thursday, the Taiwan Motor Neuron Disease Association received a total of NT$13 million (US$433,091) in donations, it said.

That is about 43 percent of the about NT$30 million that the association typically receives in donations over an entire year, association head Liu Yen-chu (劉延鉅) said.

Liu said the association will use the money to provide better long-term care for people with ALS — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — and improve the financial conditions of the patients’ families.

The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media in the middle of the year, and from July 29 to Sunday last week, the US-based ALS Association received US$53.3 million in donations, it has said.

Many Taiwanese public figures have taken on the task, which involves pouring ice water over the head or donating money — or both — and challenged more to participate.

Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders deputy chief executive Yang Yung-Shiang (楊永祥) said the challenge has raised public awareness of rare disorders in the nation and has been a big encouragement for people working in that sector.

Local academic institutions lack funding to study rare diseases, said Liu Ho-chien (劉和謙), CEO of the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation and former secretary-general of the Taiwan Spinocerebellar Ataxia Association.

There are 201 diseases classified as rare in the nation, 70 percent of which are not treatable, Yang said.

While the National Health Insurance Administration covers some of these patients’ medical needs, other costs, such as for care and assistance, are still a huge burden for the patients’ families, he added.

Liu and Yang urged the public to continue donating to and helping raise awareness of patients with rare disorders, and not allow the Ice Bucket Challenge to be just another Internet fad.

webside:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/08/24/2003598151

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients

WHEN-

WHAT-

WHY-Raised money to ALS patients and let the participate realize feeling of an ALS patients .

WHERE-over the world

HOW-

Keywords:

1. 

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Shooting victim’s father lashes out at NRA

Shooting victim’s father lashes out at NRA

AFP and Reuters, SANTA BARBARA, California

A man whose son was among six people killed in a stabbing and shooting rampage in California blamed politicians and the gun lobby on Saturday, asking in an emotional and at times angry speech: “When will this insanity stop?”

Richard Martinez paid tribute to his son who was killed on Friday night when a gunman, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger, opened fire in the town of Isla Vista near the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

“My son’s name was Christopher Ross Martinez, he was 20 years old and he died last night,” Martinez told reporters, his face contorted with despair and rage.

“Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don’t think it’ll happen to your child until it does,” he said, reading from a statement prepared by the family.

“Chris was a really great kid, ask anyone who knew him. His death has left our family lost and broken,” Martinez said.

His voice shaking with emotion, Martinez rounded on politicians and the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA).

“Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA,” Martinez said, raising his voice.

“They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say stop this madness? We don’t have to live like this,” he said.

“Too many have died. We should say to ourselves: ‘Not one more,’” he said.

Rodger, the son of a Hollywood director, stabbed three people to death in his apartment before gunning down three more people in Isla Vista.

He stalked Isla Vista in his car and on foot, firing on bystanders in a killing spree that ended when he killed himself after a shootout with sheriff’s deputies, police said.

At least 13 people were wounded, eight of whom were shot.

Authorities found three legally purchased semiautomatic guns, two Sig Sauers and a Glock, and more than 400 rounds of unspent ammunition in his car.

In a YouTube video a young man believed by police to be Rodger bitterly complained of loneliness and rejection by women and outlines his plan to kill those he believed spurned him.

“It’s obviously the work of a madman,” Sheriff Bill Brown told a news conference, adding that Rodger had been seen by a variety of healthcare professionals and that it was “very, very apparent he was severely mentally disturbed.”

Witnesses reported seeing someone driving a black BMW through the streets and shooting at people in the beachside community, which is home to many college students.

The Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on Saturday night said that six people were still being treated in its trauma unit as a result of the incident.

Brown said his department had been in contact with Rodger three times prior to the killings, including once after a family member asked them to check on his welfare last month.

Deputies who interviewed Rodger found him to be polite and courteous and took no further action, Brown said.

“He expressed to deputies he was having difficulties with his social life and would probably not be returning to school within the next year,” Brown said, adding that Rodger was not thought to have met the criteria to be held involuntarily.

A crowd of about 5,000 people met at the university campus for a vigil on Saturday, filling Isla Verde’s narrow streets before converging in silence on a local park.

webside:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/05/26/2003591242

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Elliot Rodger

WHEN-May 23, 2014

WHAT-killing people

WHY-beacause of emotional problem

WHERE-Isla Vista,California

HOW-Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured 13 others then committing suicide

Keywords:

1. rampage橫衝直撞/暴怒

2.tribute貢獻/明證

3.contorted扭曲的/彎曲的

4.craven雕刻的

5.stalked有莖的

6.bystanders旁觀者/局外人

7.spree狂飲作樂/放縱的行為

8.deputies代理的

9.semiautomatic半自動的

10.ammunition彈藥

11.spurned唾棄/藐視

12.welfare福利

13. criteria標準/準則

The Sewol ferry tragedy and its ongoing impact on South Korean society

The Sewol ferry tragedy and its ongoing impact on South Korean society

4 September 20

Author: Lina Koleilat, ANU

The sinking of the Sewol ferry on 16 April 2014 will be remembered as South Korea’s worst maritime disaster. The tragedy paralysed South Korean society for months and its impact remains palpable today.

While the rest of South Korea was celebrating on 15 August, Liberation Day, with a festival of South Korean flags and nationalist celebrations, the scene at Seoul’s City Hall was very different. An estimated 80,000 people — parents with children, students, labourers, religious figures and activists — gathered that afternoon in the centre of the capital with different kinds of flags: flags of human rights organisations, labour unions and NGOs in addition to hundreds of yellow flags representing solidarity with the victims of Sewol ferry tragedy.

Bound for Jeju Island from Incheon, the Sewol ferry capsized while carrying 417 passengers. Of these, 304 lives were lost (200 of them students and teachers from Danwon High School in addition to truck drivers on duty, tourists and other civilians).Ten passengers are still missing. Seven members of the rescue team also lost their lives in the process of the rescue operation. After being saved from the ferry, vice-principal of Danwon High School Kang Min-kyu committed suicide, leaving a message apologising to the school community.

In the weeks and months following the tragedy, South Korean society collectively mourned. Celebrations for Easter and the Buddha’s birthday were scaled down, and public concerts and festivals were cancelled. Television and radio programs were altered to match the grief. School excursions and corporate events were postponed till further notice. Local communities all over the country set up shrines and memorials of yellow ribbons with individual messages to the victims and their families.Newspapers have reported the tragedy’s impact on the economy across industries.

The aftermath of the tragedy has taken its toll on the ruling Saenuri Party’s popularity and over shadowed the local elections in June. Civil society, religious groups and the Family of Victims’ Committee are also holding on going protests, candlelight vigils and hunger strikes in order to pressure the government. They are demanding the enactment of a special law that would allow an independent and thorough investigation into the cause of the sinking of the ferry and the overall lack of coordination of the rescue operation.

There are three major issues surrounding the accident that intersect with many problems of South Korean society: irregular labour, the government’s continuous special treatment of Chaebol (South Korean conglomerates) and prevalent frustration with the media.

First, 19 out of the 33 crew members on the ferry, including the captain and the first mate, were irregular workers. A senior member of the crew was given the job with only verbal agreement one day before the ferry departed, contributing to increasing speculation that proper training for irregular workers among the Sewol crew was lacking. In addition to the absence of job security it is estimated that irregular workers get paid less than 50 percent of the wage of a worker on a permanent or long-term contract. With temporary employment contracts and poor working conditions, irregular workers are on the rise in South Korea. These working conditions are not only a problem of the maritime industry but all sectors of South Korean society.

Second, the Sewol ferry was illegally renovated to carry extra cargo in order to bring in higher profits for its owner, the Cheonghaejin Marine Company. The government’s special treatment of Chaebol in South Korea is not a new phenomenon. Investigators noted that the Sewol ferry had carried excess cargo 139 times since it began the Incheon-Jeju route in March 2013, resulting in almost US$3 million in profit for the owner. Despite this flouting of cargo regulations, the Sewol ferry regularly passed government safety checks.

Third, in the few hours immediately following the accident, several media companies falsely reported that all passengers on the ferry had been rescued. These reports had a devastating impact on the public. Hundreds of journalists have gone on strike to protest the government’s manipulation of the media, and the president of South Korean public broadcaster KBS resigned after being pressured by the public.

These three problems, all too familiar in South Korean society, have created anger and public disappointment. Citizens have doubts about the ability and will of the government to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the disaster. They doubt the government’s ability to implement new safety measures that would prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. The families of the victims, with the support of civil society organisations and religious groups have been protesting continuously for legal changes. They have been protesting in front of the National Assembly building and holding hunger strikes and protests in Gwanghwamun Square, a central location in downtown Seoul.

The cause of the sinking of the Sewol ferry is not merely an accident but a failure by the South Korean government to ensure the safety of its citizens, especially the vulnerable. Parents of the victims, still devastated at the loss of their children, and relatives are continuing their protests and hunger strikes, demanding the government conduct an independent and transparent investigation.

Lina Koleilat is a PhD scholar at the College of Asia and The Pacific at The Australian National University. She is currently conducting fieldwork in South Korea. She is the recipient of a 2014 Prime Minister Australia Asia Endeavour Award. Her research is partially funded by the Australian Government through the Australia-Korea Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

wedside:http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/09/04/the-sewol-ferry-tragedy-and-its-ongoing-impact-on-south-korean-society/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-417 passengers

WHEN-16 April 2014

WHAT-ferry tragedy

WHY-human defect

WHERE-South Korean Sewol

HOW-

Keywords:

1.maritime
2.paralysed
3.palpable
4.estimated
5.labourers
6.solidarity
7.truck
8.mourned
9.scaled down
10.excursions
11.shrines
12.aftermath
13.vigils

14.enactment

15.overall
16.coordination
17.intersect
18. conglomerates
19.prevalent
20.verbal
21.speculation
22.permanent
23.contract
24.temporary
25.sectors
26.falsely
27.devastating
28.manipulation
29.transparent
30.implement
31.conduct