Foreigners cleaning up Taiwan’s trash — netizens call it embarrassing

Lifestyle Center / Comprehensive Report

“Taitung is so beautiful, it shouldn’t have trash like this.” Chris, a 44-year-old from the United States who has lived in Taiwan for 14 years, particularly loves the Taitung area. On the 20th, he took his own boat to Fugang Harbor in Taitung but was saddened to see so much trash floating in the harbor. He used a fishing net to scoop the garbage out of the sea.

%A foreigner was seen cleaning up trash in Taiwan (Photo / Screenshot fromthe “I Love Taitung” Facebook group)

A man surnamed Hou, seeing a foreigner picking up trash in Taiwan, was curious. After asking about it, he immediately got garbage bags from nearby vendors and helped collect the trash from the harbor, also sorting it properly.“On behalf of the people of Taitung, thank you for everything you’ve done for our hometown.”Mr. Hou emotionally thanked Chris and posted the process and photos onthe “I Love Taitung” Facebook group, sparking lively discussion among netizens.

Most netizens praised Chris for his love of Taiwan, but some criticized, “Should Taiwanese trash be cleaned up by foreigners? That’s really embarrassing.” Eventually, some netizens stepped in to mediate and planned future group cleanups at harbors and beaches to help protect Taiwan’s environment.

%After cleaning up the trash, the foreigner also made sure to sort it (Photo / Screenshot fromthe “I Love Taitung” Facebook group)

Chris came to Taiwan at age 30 and never wanted to leave. He currently works in Tainan dealing in yachts. On the 20th, he took a yacht to Taitung for the first time and was upset to see the trash at Fugang Harbor, so he voluntarily started scooping garbage from the seabed. He said he doesn’t expect many people to pick up trash around their feet, but he hopes people in Taitung can reduce littering — if there’s no trash, no one has to pick it up. “Taitung is really beautiful, and it needs all of us to maintain it together!”