The groundbreaking ceremony for the dormitory project of the Hungkuang University of Science and Technology was completed successfully on July 5, 2018!! A university with 50 years of history, Hungkuang has adhered to its founding purpose of “being human-centered and caring for life” by placing equal emphasis on professional skills and humanitarian attainments and on inspiring reflection in students about life to accordingly respect life and care about society. It is now one of the important universities of science and technology in Taiwan developing health care and practical talent and technical research and development as well. It will also be a leading university of science and technology in the Asia Pacific Region in terms of health and livelihood. The current project covers around 200 dorm rooms. The accommodations will be better for students of the University. Hopefully, Hungkuang will attract more domestic and international outstanding students in the future.

On its 20th anniversary, for this year’s Kong Chou Cup Family Clay Contest, Lu Lu Marketplace that has been known for its devotion to local creative life was particularly invited to take part and add more cultural and creative momentum to the event. There was blood donation during the event. People were encouraged to share their love by donating their blood. Compared to prior years, it was further enriched and diversified this year. Chairman Chao-Guo Chen and Vice Chairman Chao-Ri Chen of Kong Chou Construction, and Chairman Hui-Mei Yang of the Foundation took the lead by donating blood to inspire Kong Chou staff and became the first to respond to this call for the interest of the general public. To welcome the Taichung World Flora Exposition, the contest this year combined the animal of the year and the flora exposition. With “the Year of the Dog With Colorful Flowers” as the theme, participants were able to make the best of their creativity. This has also indeed resulted in more creative honorable mentions among all the works in the contest. Large and small friends gathered in one place to not only play with clay but also appreciate the performances, play games, and donate blood. There were also more than 40 stands in the cultural and creative marketplace available for shopping. The whole event was filled with a noisy aura. The appearance of the secret guest - Flora Exposition Tiger, in particular, took the excitement to a climax; the mascot played and interacted with the passionate crowd. Kong Chou Education Foundation will continue to proactively promote clay art education to give back to society. Hopefully by learning about clay art, students will be helped to build confidence and integrate diversified intelligence and affection. It is deeply believed that aesthetic education should begin during childhood to help children develop a taste in life and have a feeling for beautiful things. Clay art also helps balance one’s physical and mental development. By organizing the family clay work event and encouraging participation as a family regardless of the number of generations, it also helps boost family relationships. Let clay art become part of the neighborhood, the family, and a national movement. In the meantime, it lives up to a belief in making life artistic and making art part of life. *E-news http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/2416470

The ground was broken on April 2 for the construction of the Central Taiwan Movie Center in Shuinan Smart City. It is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020. Once it is completed and commissioned in 2021, besides fulfilling the playing and performance needs of the film industry, it will also play artistic movies, accommodate commercial operations, and provide recreational service, which is made possible by a chosen private operational team. Chia-Lung Lin, along with Director Kuan-Ting Cho of the Information Bureau, Commissioner Chun-Chieh Wang of the Department of Urban Development, and Director-General Chih-Hsiang Chang of the Land Administration Bureau, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Central Taiwan Movie Center. Other guests included Legislator Kuo-Shu Huang and multiple city councilors, representatives from the Ministry of Culture, and the domestic film and comic industry. Together they declared that the Central Taiwan Movie Center Project officially began.

Kong Chou Construction Spring Gathering Banquet on February 24, 2018

Name of Project: Central Taiwan Movie Center Project Organizer: Information Bureau of Taichung City Government Designed By: Yuxiaolan Architecture Firm Built By: Kong Chou Construction Co., Ltd.

Shi-Zong Chen at 12:26, January 4, 2018, China Times In order to effectively reduce occupational hazards in the construction industry, the Taichung City Government particularly promoted the Safe Construction Certification Program. The four manufacturers, Ming Jie, Kong Chou, Guan You, and Xing Rong Wei, were certified as outstanding enterprises for their unparalleled industrial safety autonomous management. Mayor Chia-Lung Lin presented the awards in person on the 4th. In the future, these outstanding enterprises will be entitled to 50% off the listing value of performance bonds if they compete for public construction tenders. The Labor Affairs Bureau indicates that with these substantial incentives, the hope is to help attract construction enterprises to contribute to disaster prevention resources and fulfill their obligation to take care of their workers. The award presentation ceremony for the Safe Construction Certification Program was held on the 4th by the Labor Affairs Bureau of the Taichung City Government. Mayor Chia-Lung Lin, accompanied by Director-General He-Ting Huang of the Labor Affairs Bureau, Commissioner Chun-Chieh Wang of the Department of Urban Development, and Director Ting-Chang Chou of the Water Resource Bureau, presented the awards to recognize the outstanding enterprises with the honor in 2017. A total of four enterprises, including Ming Jie Construction Corp., won the award. He-Ting Huang indicates that for the Safe Construction Certification Program, workshops for business owners have been held regularly to communicate the importance of industrial safety and health management. So far, 232 construction business owners have attended the workshop. It has been well received by 107 construction businesses. A total of 207 projects have been certified as such. Chia-Lung Lin indicates that Taichung is growing large and many important construction projects have been promoted. The construction industry plays an important role in it. Hopefully, with the Program, it will help combine private and public resources while encouraging construction businesses to enhance their autonomous management level. Outstanding enterprises are entitled to 50% off the public construction down payment for the tender, performance bonds, and warranty bonds and assistance will be provided to them in project management. They are also entitled to prioritized review and expedited clearance service in order to enhance both engineering quality and efficiency, setting a good example in engineering. Chia-Lung Lin says that the innovative “Safe Construction Certification Program” initiated in 2017 by the City Government is known for its hierarchical management system that includes assistance provided to workers in receiving safety and health education and training, issuance of the Certificate of Successful Completion of industrial safety training, and comprehensive protection that covers facilities, equipment, the management system, education, and training. The goal is to jointly create a workplace with zero tolerance of construction hazards so that the people are assured of projects within the jurisdiction of Taichung City. http://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20180104002969-260405

Grand Beam-raising Ceremony Today (11/3) for the Central Taiwan Film Base Project Expected to be completed in mid-2018, the project is planned with a only-of-its-kind in Taiwan and one of the few throughout Asia artificial wave generation pool, deep-water pool, two indoor huge shooting studios, medium shooting studio, workshop, support service office space, and lodging space for the crew. After it is completed, it will be the largest film base in Taiwan, making it an important milestone for Taichung to become the city of films in Taiwan, too. Mayor Chia-Lung Lin places a rather high emphasis on the importance of the film industry and indicates that “it is no longer a dream for Taichung to become a film city and it is a dream coming true!” The overall conditions in Taichung make it the most suitable choice for a crew to shoot their scenes. Hopefully, the completion and commissioning of the Central Taiwan Film Base will contribute to the flourishing development of the cultural and creative industry in Taichung!

Kong Chou Construction Staff and Their Family Gathering Over a Meal