A natural disaster may, like an unexpected tsunami, damage a boat – but it can also bring everyone who has lived through it closer together. During the 2024 Hualien Earthquake, Farglory Ocean Park proved that corporate social responsibility is actually not hard to fulfill: The most important thing in the critical moment is to put others first, and choose to do the right thing!

Prioritizing Peace and Safety

After the earthquake, Farglory Ocean Park immediately evacuated visitors, and closed the Park for safety inspection. In a moment when many were panicking, the Park played a role as a calm, collected leader, and made four promises to help get society back on track: 
 

• For animals: We promise to offer prioritized care and ensure their normal habitats.
• For employees: We promise to provide shelter to ensure employees’ rights and interests. 
• For visitors: We promise to keep leisure safe, using scientific data to keep it that way.
• For the land: We promise to treat the land in a friendly manner and let nature heal. 

A long weekend was declared after the earthquake, but the Park was kept closed to thoroughly inspect and repair all amusement and marine-life facilities. We insisted that on keeping the Park closed until the monitoring data confirmed that it was perfectly safe; we never take chances on anyone’s life for the sake of business gains. When they saw the Park closure announcement, many people showed their agreement, agreeing with a decision that was not easy to make. No one wants natural disasters to happen. However, it is always in these most difficult situations that the pure, humane warmth of Taiwan becomes a heartwarming torch that brings brightness to the injured and to dark places. 

Serving as a Calming Force in the Midst of Panic

The day after the earthquake, once it was confirmed that the Park would stay closed for safety inspections and repairs, we immediately donated all the fresh food that was originally destined for visitors. We gave the food to Hualien County Fire Department and Hualien County Disaster Response Center, to support fire brigade and rescue team members.

In the following days, we continued to post evacuation information on Farglory Ocean Park’s Facebook page, using it as a bulletin board for disaster recovery information; we also guaranteed that Farglory Ocean Park would stay responsible for all ticket cancellations and refunds until they were all settled. The Park also requested that the public spare communication capacity for those in need in the days to come, which further helped calm the public’s emotions.

These small actions are in fact an enterprise’s basic duties. We hope that Hualien can recover as soon as possible, and again become Taiwan’s “backyard”, full of joy and happiness.

 

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