Taiwan launches new life movement
Taipei, June 17 (CNA) The Ministry of Education launched a “Taiwan Has Taste” campaign Wednesday to inspire local people to lead a life that prizes moral values, work quality and fine taste.
President Ma Ying-jeou attended the campaign’s inaugural ceremony at the Taipei Main Station, marking the first time that he has presided over the launch of a public education program since he assumed the presidency more than a year ago.
Addressing the ceremony, Ma said he hopes the campaign will become a new life movement to instill a new spirit and taste for morality and quality into the everyday lives of people.
“Challenges and tricks abound in our society. We need to value good character, ethical conduct, qualitative upgrades and tasteful lifestyles to maintain social order and sustain national development,” Ma said.
Noting that he has upheld two principles — “Engage people with sincerity and work with devotion and diligence” — as his mottos throughout his life, Ma said he believes those values conform to the main goals of the “Taiwan Has Taste” campaign.
The campaign is also expected to complement the Executive Yuan’s policy of accelerating development of six new emerging industries — creative and culture industry, tourism, medical and health care, green energy, biotechnology and refined agriculture, Ma said. This development will help to upgrade the quality of life for local people, he added.
Speaking on the same occasion, Minister of Education Cheng Jui-cheng said Taiwan is already a cultured society with good taste. Nevertheless, he said, there is still ample room for improvement.
“A spate of violence and drug abuse cases on school campuses and aimless killings involving adolescents indicate that there are still problems that need to be addressed with immediate and effective measures such as this campaign to cultivate a taste for good character and good work quality,” Cheng added.
Celebrities from various fields, including Cloud Gate Dance Theatre founder and artistic director Lin Hwei-min, lyricist Fang Wen-shan, and Olympic taekwondo athlete Su Li-wen, and senior executives of major cultural foundations established by prominent business groups such as Quanta Computer Inc. attended the inaugural ceremony to throw their support behind the campaign. (By Sofia Wu)
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