To thank the Taipei Veterans General Hospital for its dedication in the fight against the pandemic and protecting the health of the entire nation, Eastern Group donated a total of 390,000 custom-made double-labeled (“MD” and “Made In Taiwan”) medical grade masks worth NT$2 million to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital at a donation ceremony held today (29th). The donation was made by President Gary Wang on behalf of the Group and received by Superintendent Chen Wei-Ming of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. These masks were conceived by a designer living in Sweden who did not wish to be named. The masks come in six different color schemes to present the vibrant and dynamic Taipei Veterans General Hospital, referencing the Hospital’s emblem. The medical personnel at the scene praised the masks’ design, describing it as very beautiful and unique. The masks even attracted the attention of the public, with many people wanting to know where they could buy them.

    Superintendent Chen Wei-Ming said that in the past two years, Taipei Veterans General Hospital has achieved zero hospital-transmitted infections thanks to the concerted efforts of the hospital staff. During the pandemic period, the female medical staff might have saved a lot of money on lipstick, but the previous masks were either blue or green, which was not enough in terms of aesthetics. The Taipei Veterans General Hospital, together with its branch hospitals, has more than 50,000 employees, of which 80% are female; the nursing department alone has more than 3,000 employees. Therefore, they hoped to design a new mask with six color options for healthcare workers to wear from Monday to Saturday to match their mood and clothes, so that they can protect themselves and their patients while also maintaining a happy mood.

    Superintendent Chen said that when he was still worrying about where the funding for the masks would come from, Hu Hsiao-Ching, Vice President of Eastern Group, happened to call, and he asked her to convey the idea of donating masks to President Gary Wang, who immediately agreed to donate the money without any further ado. Chen described President Wang as an “angel sent from heaven,” as the specially made masks were immediately ordered and produced. The design elements of the specially made masks include the most significant symbol of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital – “unity and cooperation,” representing the joint effort against the pandemic. The personnel were all very happy to receive the masks. Chen Wei-Ming also mentioned that during the pandemic over the past two years, Eastern Group has been spreading love and care around Taiwan, and has provided a lot of resources to healthcare personnel for pandemic prevention, to ensure that frontline personnel can have the most concrete support in the fight against the pandemic and in protecting Taiwan. Therefore, on behalf of all the employees of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, he expressed his sincere gratitude for the kindheartedness and generosity of Eastern Group.

    President Gary Wang pointed out that he was very moved to see the medical personnel fully engaged in the pandemic prevention efforts during the pandemic, and that whenever the country needed them, the medical team of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital could be found treating patients and performing large-scale examinations and vaccinations. Their professional and outstanding performance has not only protected the entire nation, but also presented Taiwan to the world.

    Gary Wang emphasized that Eastern Group has always upheld the spirit of “giving back to society in return for the things that we take from society.” In the midst of the pandemic, Eastern Group made great efforts to use its resources to help society. At the start of the pandemic, the Group not only took the lead and donated NT$10 million to Taipei City and New Taipei City for their pandemic prevention efforts, as well as protective gear to the Tri-Service General Hospital, but even extended their care to the senior citizens by donating air coolers and tents, so that the elderly waiting to be vaccinated would not have to wait in the sun. Eastern Commerce Company (Eckare) donated “pandemic prevention satellite wards” and “modular negative pressure isolation rooms” worth NT$4 million to the Zhongxiao and Zhongxing branches of the Taipei City Hospital to support the frontline healthcare personnel.

    In addition to donating funds, Eastern Group also actively helped disadvantaged families affected by the pandemic, and used the ETMall shopping platform to help small farmers. Eastern Group also took the lead in giving a salary increase to entry-level employees, and paid for the PCR testing of all 5,000 employees. At that time, it was also the medical staff of the Taoyuan Branch of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital who assisted in performing PCR tests for the employees of Eastern Group. Therefore, the Group highly admires the medical personnel of the Veterans General Hospital for their selfless contributions in the pandemic prevention work.

    In this occasion, we hope that our donation of specially made masks conveys our support for the healthcare personnel, so that we can do our part for society. We also hope that the heartwarming public welfare image of Eastern can inspire the people of Taiwan to do good deeds together and make Taiwanese society move towards a better future.