光輝十月贈書活動 Double Ten Book giveaways

Dublin School of Mandarin Chinese and learners who love traditional Chinese characters celebrated double ten

To celebrate Taiwan’s 109th birthday, Dublin school of Mandarin Chinese is delighted to share the joy of double ten with the school community offering the handmade Taiwanese cakes made by Jane and the books sponsored by the Overseas Community Affairs Council. Special thanks to the OCAC for its enthusiastic sponsorship of this book donation event.

During the planning period of this event, the pandemic restriction was at level 2. Three weeks ago, three cities were moved onto level 3. The number of new cases infected was over a thousand daily, which led to the implementation of the highest level of restriction in Ireland on October 22, which is level 5. Therefore, this event can only be carried out by post.

The Irish Times reported on October 20, “Rise TD Paul Murphy said that not implementing a zero-Covid strategy meant a “continuous yo-yo into lockdown, out of lockdown”, which is a “nightmare for people”. Other countries including New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Iceland and Australia had successfully done this”.

In May this year, the number of people claiming pandemic unemployment payment 350 euro/week in Ireland was 598,000, accounting for 30% of all employed population. The only industries that have not been affected by the epidemic after March 2020 are probably only the finance, insurance, and education industries; however, related industries that provide cultural events, artistic activities, and after-school education have a considerable impact due to the restrictions. Many organisations such as heritage language schools and after school languages have been forced to suspend classes or even close.

The unforgettable 2020 is coming to an end. Taiwan’s performance in the prevention of Covid-19 has been outstanding, and people’s lives have not been greatly affected. The lives of our relatives and friends in Taiwan are now back to normal; we are looking at the beautiful Taiwan from abroad, Its overall economy is mildly affected by this pandemic, which has made us who are living in a "new normal" life in Ireland very envious.