The Hsinchu County Disability Welfare Service Center (Tongxin Building) officially opened on July 31. Using the concept of environmental protection, well-known Chinese designer Daniel Wong integrated used clothing collected from the disabled, the elderly, women and children, makers and residents in the community into a fashion show. Symbolizing the integration of the five major ethnic groups, the show kicked off the opening event. County Magistrate Yang Wen-Ke participated in the opening ceremony together with former County Magistrate Chiu Ching-Chun; Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-Chung; Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Tseng; Director Chien Hui-Jiuan of the Social and Family Affairs Administration, MOFW; Director-General Ho Chin-Tsang of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA; CEO Gordon Yeh of RITEK Corporation and Legislator Lin Szu-Ming.
County Magistrate Yang expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the RITEK Foundation for their support and cooperation. They have invested funds to improve hardware and software equipment and built a healthy ecosystem for the elderly health care industry. He also thanked the Ministry of Health and Welfare for its support in providing more care for the disabled and the elderly. The government will continue to implement social welfare in the county, and achieve the goal of "Young, Middle-aged and Elderly: Caring for All". County Magistrate Yang had previously visited the Service Center, and felt the vitality and warmth from the smiles of everyone inside. He hopes that in the future, the county government will make every effort to promote related policies, see more business participation and receive further support from the central government.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-Chung said that as soon as he entered the Service Center, he immediately noticed its difference from other day centers he had visited in the past. This Center has included many elements and collaboration between the government and enterprises. By tapping into the vitality of the business community and the spirit of idea development, more energy is injected into the government to provide a more comprehensive social care. Like the term "HK2gether" that he saw, Minister Chen believes that as long as everyone works together, they will succeed. Only by working hard together to come up with better models and being united in one goal can society become better.
The concept of harmony and inclusiveness is like the five colors of the Taiwan Barbet, Hsinchu County's mascot bird. The colors represent the coexistence and co-prosperity of the different ethnic groups. Through a variety of activities such as parent-child and professional courses, the disabled and elderly populations are integrated into the Center. In this way, the people can learn about each other and care about each other, thereby creating a new lifestyle for the local residents, the disabled and the elderly.
Today’s Tongxin Building is different from the past. The first floor is a community shopping mall offering food and beverage services, flower shops and displays and sales of special local agricultural products in Hsinchu County. It incorporates the strength of Kuang Chuan Dairy to provide local employment opportunities for special education students in National Chupei Senior High School. Future parent-child activities, professional courses and fairs will also be organized where local businesses and disabled groups will be invited to participate. Activity space will also be revitalized to provide a good place for people to enjoy leisure activities.
An assistive device service center on the first floor is also being planned to provide services such as assistive device assessment, lease and return, and connecting the public to relevant subsidy resources. The second floor is ear-marked for a daytime occupational facility for the physically and mentally disabled to help them learn simple operational skills and develop proper work attitude. At the same time, a day care service center will be established. A subtractive care model will be adopted where the elderly is allowed to arrange their own schedules. This independent lifestyle model will help them achieve life rehabilitation and regain self-care ability. The third floor will be a shared office space. Makers can develop and test their assistive devices and Lohas products for the elderly in this space, thus truly giving back to society.