Taiwan’s Robinson Crusoe Shows the Power of Life and The Third Milestone of Soochow University Brings Love to Hualien

The novel Robinson Crusoe tells the story about a castaway who spends years on a remote tropical desert island. In a waterfront park in Hualien, Taiwan, like Robinson Crusoe, an elderly man lives in a small house built by himself and collects raindrops to support his life for many years. It is hard to believe that there are still people in Taiwan who live in a house without utilities.

Student riders joining the annual cycling-around-Taiwan trip, “The Third Milestone of Soochow University: Cycling with Love,” rode to Hualien at the tenth day of their trip and worked with the Hualien Elder and Family Care Association. They visited the elderly living by themselves in the Jian region. One of the elderly was the Taiwanese Robinson Crusoe mentioned above and student riders called him grandpa. It was difficult to imagine that under such harsh circumstances, grandpa still kept everything in his small house neat and tidy. There was even a clean church in the corner of his house for him to worship.

Student riders from Soochow University performed dances and songs for grandpa. The coordinator of the Hualien Elder and Family Care Association pointed out, “These elderly people live under such difficult circumstances either because their children cannot support them or they are not qualified for government assistance. Our association tries its best to help them, and it is important for them to have company because it makes them feel they are not forgotten by society.”    

It was amazing that even though grandpa led a difficult life, he still managed to raise a stray dog in his house. Xu, Hao-Wen, a student rider from the Department of Chinese Literature said, “Such a vulnerable yet powerful life! You have to see it to believe that people like grandpa actually live in Taiwan.” Student riders joining “The Third Milestone of Soochow University: Cycling with Love” this year tried to promote public welfare along their trip, and hopefully every year the cycling-around-Taiwan trip organized by Soochow University will bring more love to Taiwan.