Ma offers thanks to 12 heroic locals

Ma made the move when speaking at an official celebration ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (R.O.C.).

The president expressed his deepest esteem for all the indivduals who have contributed their sweat and youth to the Republic of China in the past.

Among the 12 heroes were four seniors who have kept doing good deeds to help those in need, including Chen Chou, who has set up a “Chen Chou Youth House” to help problem juveniles get on the right track of development; Chen Shu-chu, a vegetable dealer who has donated over NT$10 million over the past years to help orphans complete their studies and to finance establishment of libraries in the eastern county of Taitung; and Yin Dian-jia and Hung Chung-hai, both retired veterans who have donated their savings to support other veterans and their family members.

The heroes also included “Mosquito Man” Lian Ri-ching, who has studied mosquitoes for 65 years and has done a great job in attacking malaria; Kevin Lin, a renowned Taiwanese ultra-marathon runner, who has completed the Silk Road expedition and ultra-marathon across the Sahara Desert; Wu Bao-chun, an internationally-acclaimed baker; and Chien-ming Wang, who has successfully staged a comeback as a Major League Baseball pitcher who plays for Washington National, following more than two years of shoulder injury.

The other four heroes were Yang Huang Mu-dan, a ragpicker who picked up up to NT$1.1 million in cash but handed the cash in full to the police; Yang Ming-yu, an examiner at the Cabinet-level Department of Health who found toxic plasticizer in retail beverage and food products, sending shock waves through the society and effectively safeguarding the heath of local consumers; Wei Teh-sheng, a famous director who has realized his dream of filming a Taiwan historical drama Seediq Bale and successfully upgraded Taiwanese films into a new level; and Yani Tseng, who ranks No. 1 player in Official Rolex World Rankings for the LPGA.

On the same occasion, Ma also noted that Taiwan may lack natural resources but has scored dramatic achievements as a result of concerted and painstaking efforts by all the people, having played a key role in the fields of semiconductor, tablet PCs, smart phones and solar energy globally and contributed greatly to the global reduction of carbon emissions.

Ma continued that Taiwan took the No. 6 place in the global competitiveness ranking released in May by the International Institute for Management and Development (IMD), the best ranking of its kind ever scored by Taiwan.

In addition, in another global competitiveness rating released by the World Economic Forum in September, Taiwan boasted the highest scores in five years, ranked 13th in the overall ranking, and ranked first in eight indicators, according to Ma.

He went on to say that Taiwan has also shone brilliantly in industrial designs, inventions and cultural creativity, adding that up to 80 percent of Chinese music created in Taiwan.

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