President Ma Ying-jeou presided over a ceremony held on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Sunday to mark Mother’s Day as well as the anniversary of Buddha’s birth.
The president urged everyone to give their mothers a big hug and to tell them “I love you and I need you” on Mother’s Day.
Mothers deserve gratitude for their “selfless devotion to their children,” he said.
He also expressed his appreciation to Taiwan’s Buddhist organizations for their long-term efforts to integrate Buddhism into daily life.
Since the rise of Buddhism in China 2,000 years ago, the religion has never been as dynamic as it is now in Taiwan thanks to the passion and professionalism of Taiwanese Buddhists in social work, voluntary services and business entrepreneurship, Ma said.
Also on Sunday, a group of college students visited a home located in Taipei City’s Wenshan District that was established exclusively for abandoned AIDS children and mothers.
The students presented carnations to the residents, hugged them and encouraged them to face their lives courageously.
Meanwhile, the son of the female taxi driver who perished in a landslide on Freeway No. 3 on April 25 paid tribute to the memory of his mother Sunday.
Hsieh Hung-pei, 30, said he was heartbroken that he did not spend any good Mother’s Days with his mother when she was alive.
He urged that people value the time they still have with their mothers.
In related news, a women’s rights group on Sunday called for the country not to discriminate against people who take their mothers’ family names.
In April, the Legislature passed an amendment to the Civil Code that changed the regulations pertaining to family names.
Under the amended law, adult children are legally allowed to choose either their father’s or mother’s family names.
Fan Yun, chairwoman of the Awakening Foundation, said the family name is a symbol of family ties and affection and should not be a tool for patriarchy.
“In Taiwan society, there should no longer be dismissal of or discrimination against adoption or inheritance of the maternal family name,” she stressed.
Source : http://focustaiwan.tw
