Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

Inspired by its vegetarian chairman, one of Taiwan’s biggest computer firms went meatless for one day, in the hope of persuading its staff to follow his example. ASUS, computer product manufacturing giant, invited all its 3,500 employees in Taipei for a vegetarian meal on July 28.

The idea came from an employee, Wei Xingjuan, who is director of the company’s sustainable development initiatives and a Tzu Chi volunteer. “I asked our big boss if he would like to treat all his employees to a meatless meal and he agreed without a second thought,” she said. The big boss is chairman Shi Chongtang, a committed vegetarian for 10 years; he can personally vouch for the health and environmental benefits of a meatless diet. “I think that it is a great opportunity to involve all my staff in something that not only purifies your body and soul but is ultimately good for the planet,” he said. “I hope that all the employees can show their support for conservation.”

Before six in the morning, more than 100 volunteers gathered at the Tzu Chi Foundation’s Guandu Chapter, in a northern suburb of Taipei, to begin preparations of the lunchboxes. “We work as one to show people how delicious vegetarian dishes can be,” said volunteer Cai Meilain. “We also put in a lot of effort to make the food a pleasure to eat. This is all to support Master Cheng Yen’s vegetarian drive.” Each lunchbox was packed to the brim with delicious varieties.
ASUS has a large food court where employees go for lunch. All the shops in the food court closed their business for the day, to show their support for the initiative. The volunteers delivered the lunchboxes to distribute to the employees. “I am a big meat-eater,” said employee Hong Wanjing: “I want to thank my boss for giving us this opportunity to experience being a vegetarian. The food is very healthy.” Another employee, Zhen Zunzhou, said that the food was good and quite light: “unlike traditional vegetarian dishes, this food is very tasty.” Shi went himself to the food court to see how well his staff enjoyed this unusual lunch. It was not simply a case of preparing and eating meatless food; it was also a commitment to the well-being of our ailing planet, an act to make everyone conscious of mankind’s responsibility to future generations.