The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Welcomes American Red Cross Employee Jill Orton
A vocational visit to the local Red Cross was my primary request as a Rotary Group Study Exchange member. The Chungli Area Rotary provided not one visit but two!
Rotarians Younger, Tony and Jeff arranged and accompanied me on my first meeting. I had the pleasure of spending over two hours with Alice and her paid and volunteer staff at the Red Cross Society Taoyuan Branch. A volunteer Instructor, Iain Chao, did a superb job of interpreting and giving a presentation about the services provided in Taoyuan Taiwan. Some of the interesting information that I gathered was that their most successful program is Home Care services . The government has selected them as one of three organizations to provide this service to it’s citizens. CPR training is primarily free. Businesses/Schools pay a small membership fee to the National Headquarters.
The most interesting class I learned about was Driver’s First Aid. (Learning to respond if there is a traffic accident.) The Taoyuan Branch trained over 6000 students in their classes last year. They are very interested in the “practice-while-you-watch” training concept and are just starting to think about training with the Automated External Defibulators (AED’s). We talked about Blood Services , volunteers, disaster relief and more. Alice was very gracious in answering my many questions! The visit ended with the giving of gifts and taking pictures. A big thank you to everyone for making my request become reality!
A few days later when our team was in Taipei Rotary member s Finance and Tony went out of their way to arrange an impromptu visit to the National Headquarters. The Red Cross Communications Department provided a warm welcome to the GSE Team and Rotarians. We took pictures and exchanged gifts including pins!
A thorough “Introduction to the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China” was provided in Englilsh. It gave a historical sketch that during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Chinese and foreign citizens in Shanghai formed what eventualy become the Red Cross Society. The Red Cross Society of the R.O.C. is a 3-leveled national civil organization, with the headquarters, the chapters, and the branches. There are chapters in Taiwan, Taipei and Kaohsiung subordinate to the headquarters, while there are 21 branches under the Taiwan Chapter. The national headquarters of the Red Cross society of the R.O.C. is in Taipei City, comprised of 5 departments (training, social services, junior and youth services, planning, and international & public affairs). Each unit has its different mandates: promotion of voluntary service, training & consultation service, disaster relief and preparedness service, social relief service, junior and youth service, cross-strait humanitarian service and International humanitarian assistance.
The commitment is “where there is catastrophe, there is the Red Cross; where there is the Red Cross, there is hope.” The Red Cross Society will continue to provide timely and needed service to the people under the founding principles of brotherhood, humanity and voluntary service.
I was so proud to be a member of the Red Cross and get a broader perspective of how my organization provides services to people around the world!
Tsu-Sze Temple, Shan-Hsia, Taipei County
YM Temple in Hsinchu
Matzu Temple in Miaoli
Matzu Temple #2 in Miaoli
Maitreya Buddha of the Bao Jue Temple in Taichung
Temple in Downtown Hsinchu
Meagan always rocks!
Ta-da...and here is the ocean!
Chris is excited about his 7-11 egg sandwich!
The amazing Jeff balancing act
With our friend, "Saint," a Rotarian who manages the Landmark Hotel
GSE Team...Mailani, Jill, Jeff, Meagan and Chris enjoy the exercise of biking along the western seashore of the Taiwan Strait!
While touring the Taipei County Yingko Ceramic Museum, we met the nicest monk who was gracious enough to pose for some pictures with us, flashing up the popular "Victory" sign!
Cargo!
View from EVA Cargo looking out at the airport
Chris talking business!
With the Chairman of EVA Cargo (center) and an EVA Airlines Captain (far left)
Taiwan's late President Chiang Kai-Shek with General MacArthur
One of two guards at CKS's memorial - the guards have duty in one hour blocks. The changing of the guard is gracefully executed with a lengthy choreographed moves that include marching with knees high up, gun twirling, stomping and chants.
Above is a view from the CKS Memorial looking out on the National Theater of Taiwan. The Memorial is on the same grounds as the National Theater and the National Concert Gallery and was designed as a "space of tranquility amid the bustle of a modern city." It is a beautiful building and a must-see for anyone visiting Taiwan.
The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Welcomes American Red Cross Employee Jill Orton
The most interesting class I learned about was Driver’s First Aid. (Learning to respond if there is a traffic accident.) The Taoyuan Branch trained over 6000 students in their classes last year. They are very interested in the “practice-while-you-watch” training concept and are just starting to think about training with the Automated External Defibulators (AED’s). We talked about Blood Services , volunteers, disaster relief and more. Alice was very gracious in answering my many questions! The visit ended with the giving of gifts and taking pictures. A big thank you to everyone for making my request become reality!
A thorough “Introduction to the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China” was provided in Englilsh. It gave a historical sketch that during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Chinese and foreign citizens in Shanghai formed what eventualy become the Red Cross Society. The Red Cross Society of the R.O.C. is a 3-leveled national civil organization, with the headquarters, the chapters, and the branches. There are chapters in Taiwan, Taipei and Kaohsiung subordinate to the headquarters, while there are 21 branches under the Taiwan Chapter. The national headquarters of the Red Cross society of the R.O.C. is in Taipei City, comprised of 5 departments (training, social services, junior and youth services, planning, and international & public affairs). Each unit has its different mandates: promotion of voluntary service, training & consultation service, disaster relief and preparedness service, social relief service, junior and youth service, cross-strait humanitarian service and International humanitarian assistance.
16 years old (see candle)? YES!...times 2 and plus 8!
District Governor-Elect Surgeon & his fantastic family threw me a SURPRISE birthday party complete with excited kids, a silly birthday hat and singing. They really made me feel at home.
District Governor T.Y. - so gracious in throwing a birthday party for me at the last minute!
A surprise birthday lunch courtesies of the very fun JhungLi Rotary clubs - they sang Happy Birthday in Chinese, we karaoked "Mei Lan Mei Lan Wei i Ni" and did the bunny hop.
Jill and I are both Vintage 1969 - she'll be 40 in October :)
Life is so good here. Everyday is a new experience that has been above the last. Each day we get the chance to learn something new. We have had a chance to learn about business, daily life, great food, parks, wildlife, schools, culture, and so on. The life here is much different then home but yet I still feel very comfortable about where I am.
Talk about an awesome way to watch a baseball game, eating egg sandwich and drinking milk tea is fantastic!
My next visit was to Cheng Hsin Aluminum Company, or CHA for short. CHA is an innovative company that manufacturers alumninum windows and doors and is managed by Rotarian Win. His father started the company and they've built it into a successful operation that now boasts four separate brands. What I found most impressive is their online marketing strategy: CHA was the first aluminum window and door manufacturer in Taiwan to have a web presence and use search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising to boost their sales.
My last visit for the day was to Bao-Shyang Jewelry store owned by Chung-Li Chung Yang Rotarian Diamond. It's a beautiful boutique shop in the heart of downtown Chungli that offers the finest jewelry around. Diamond said his business primarily comes from referrals..something I thought was very interesting! He obviously makes good relationships with his clients: many are repeat customers that have kept the store booming for nearly 20 years!
I can honestly say I learned a lot about business from all of the companies we visited on this trip. All of the Rotarians we've met are incredibly successful and it's easy to understand why after seeing how hard they work!
Showing the different stages of the silk worm - from baby to adult to cocoon. It's interesting to watch them eat the leaves - they are voracious eaters! 
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