On November 26, 2023, the Taoyuan City Vision Association held its founding assembly in Zhongli. On that day, many members, directors, supervisors, and friends who care about Taoyuan came together, and an idea that had lived only in our minds became, for the first time, something we all took part in.
The message of the founding assembly was simple: keep a good heart, and do good deeds.
It does not sound complicated, but sustaining it over the long term takes the commitment of many people. Along the way, I have come to understand more and more deeply that society has never lacked goodwill; what it lacks is a way for people of goodwill to find one another, and for resources to reach the places where they are needed.
One person can help another, but an organization carries a greater responsibility: to connect scattered efforts. Some people can offer professional skills, others are willing to give their time; some have venues, networks, or experience, and others understand best what a community truly needs. When these resources are not connected, even the best intentions may go nowhere. When resources begin to flow, what one person gives can become the starting point of change for another.
That is why, at this stage of our journey, the Vision Association is putting forward a further idea: “Sharing resources, creating the future.”
This does not mean setting aside our original belief in keeping a good heart and doing good deeds. Rather, we hope to turn goodwill into a way of working that can be sustained. Public-interest work cannot rely on a single donation, a single event, or a brief moment of emotion. Real change requires systems, professionalism, and companionship, as well as trust built up over time.
The Vision Association begins in Taoyuan. Taoyuan is a fast-growing city with a young population, diverse industries, and residents from different generations and communities. Its development brings opportunities, and it also brings into view issues such as care for older adults, disadvantaged families, youth development, local industry, and environmental sustainability. No single person or organization can solve these problems alone, but a start can be made when more people are willing to see, to understand, and to take part.
We have taken Awakening, Legacy, Mobilization, and Coexistence as the association’s four core values. Awakening means being willing to see the problems, and to see what we ourselves can do. Legacy means allowing knowledge, experience, and values to flow between generations. Mobilization means letting concern move beyond the heart and become action. Coexistence means rethinking the relationships between people, and between society and the environment.
As we set out again, we will also pay closer attention to the association’s governance, financial transparency, and principles of cooperation. What a public-interest organization receives is not only resources, but also the trust placed in it by members, partners, and society. Where every contribution goes, and what difference it makes, should be clearly explained.
I hope the Vision Association will not be an association for a few, but a platform where everyone can find a way to take part. You do not need to donate a large sum, nor do you need any special standing. Sharing a skill, an experience, or some of your time, or even simply beginning to care about the city you live in: any of these can become part of the change.
The founding assembly was our starting point, but founding an association has never been the hardest part. The real test is whether we can keep going after the excitement fades, and carry out, one by one, the things we said we would do.
Keeping a good heart gives us the willingness to begin; doing good deeds brings that goodwill down to earth. When more people are willing to share the resources they have, I believe we can create a better future together.