Memorial service honours 17 Taiwan quake victims
HUALIEN, Taiwan — The 17 people who died last week after a strong earthquake hit Taiwan’s east coast were honoured at a memorial service on Monday, with hundreds of attendees bowing their heads while placing flowers in front of photos of the victims.
Fu Kun-chi, the magistrate of worst-hit Hualien county, spoke at the noon ceremony at a local funeral parlour. Members of the military and police force, religious group volunteers and city workers paid their respects.
Family members sat inside while various officials expressed their condolences. The attendees then stepped into the memorial hall in turn, bowing and placing white flowers before the photos.
The deceased include nine mainland Chinese, one Philippine national and two Canadians, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency, or CNA.