TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday (Oct. 17) toured the former Daan Hospital in Taipei’s historic Dadaocheng area, where the late Taiwanese physician and social movement leader Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) practiced medicine, on the 100th anniversary of the Taiwan Cultural Association (TCA).

Chiang was one of the TCA founders and the hospital has been turned into the Wei Shui Station, where exhibitions about Chiang are regularly held. Addressing the media before touring Wei Shui Station, Lai said that he respected Chiang very much as a social movement leader and partly attributed Taiwan’s development to Chiang’s efforts.

He said that Taiwan is rated as having the world's second-best medical services and the best in Asia. The country has one of the world’s 25 largest economies and is ranked 13th in military strength globally, Lai added.

The vice president went on to say that Chiang thought Taiwan was doing poorly in terms of culture and literacy a century ago. This is why he called for the establishment of more kindergartens and schools and encouraged the reading of newspapers.

Later, his hospital became the headquarters for the Taiwan Minpao, a large newspaper in the country at the time. To commemorate Chiang’s contributions to Taiwan’s cultural and democratic development, regular exhibitions about Chiang’s dedication to social and cultural movements have been held at Wei Shui Station, which is open to the public.

As the hospital is next door to the birthplace of I-Mei Foods Company, one of the largest food companies in Taiwan and parent company of Taiwan News, the vice president also visited the company’s Yanping North Road store.

He was accompanied by I-Mei Foods Company President Henry Kao (高志尚) and General Manager Luis Ko (高志明). Ko gave the vice president a tour of the store, an introduction to Taiwan Minpao, the history of the food company, and the origin of the company’s name, I-Mei.

I-Mei Foods General Manager Luis Ko and Taiwan Vice President William Lai.

I-Mei Foods President Henry Kao, Taiwan Vice President William Lai, and I-Mei Foods General Manager Luis Ko. (Taiwan News photo)