Netizens help struggling widow with her business

‘I AM VERY MOVED’: After the troubles of a widowed store owner who was unable to compete with hypermarts came to light, she found unexpected help

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





A Chiayi County widow surnamed Huang (黃) was able to temporarily overcome the financial woes that face a small store owner in a rural township after the nation’s online communities rallied to help her out.

The widow’s predicament was first publicized by the Chinese-language Apple Daily a few days ago.

Huang owns a household hardware store in Dalin Township (大林), which was crammed with unsold items sitting on shelves.

After her husband passed away, the mortgage payments became a big financial burden for the 78-year-old, because her store had little business, the local media reported, adding that she thought by selling off the goods in her store she could make the mortgage payment, but sales at big hypermarts have drawn most of her customers.

She and her husband did not have children, so the widow had to face her business woes alone.

Following the media reports and a rallying among netizens over the past few days, more customers began to visit her store.

Some customers even told her to keep the change when paying for their purchases.

“Thanks to everyone with charity in their hearts. So many people are helping out, I am very moved by the generosity,” Huang said.

Meanwhile, one company, Taiyuan Co, said it plans to help Huang through an online auction service by posting photographs of the goods for sale on PCHome and the Taiwan Add+1 sites.

The service will be free and all proceeds will go to Huang, the company said, adding that it also plans to link up with a courier company to deliver the goods, so that she can sustain her business over the long term.