Month: February 2017

Worst Road Accident in 30 Years: 33 Dead, 11 Injured

Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

[Picture: United Daily News] Firefighters worked through the night to extricate dead and injured passengers after a tour coach overturned on a highway near Taipei at around 9:00pm February 13. The accident marks the worst road accident in Taiwan in 30 years with 33 Dead and 11 injured. The tour group had spent the day visiting Wuling Farm in Ilan County to view cherry blossoms. The bus overturned while negotiating a bend at the Mucha Interchange on Highway 5. Preliminary

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Man Sentenced to Death for Murder of Relatives

man sentenced to death for murder of relatives
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A Taoyuan man was sentenced to death today, February 13, for a multiple murder by arson committed Chinese New Year’s eve 2016. February 7, 2016, Weng Ren-xian (翁仁賢), 51, purchased 20 liters of gasoline and distributed it into various containers on the second floor of the house. He then waited for his older siblings to gather with their families in the first floor dining room before pouring gasoline around the house in Longtan, Taoyuan City. A total of 16 people

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Another Rare Porpoise Found Dead: Two in Four Days

dead finless porpoise in Wanli District Taiwan
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The carcass of an Indo-Pacific finless porpoise was found washed up on the coast of New Taipei City’s Wanli District, at around 5:00pm on the evening of February 3. It is the second member of the vulnerable species to be found dead in just four days. Eight Indo-Pacific finless porpoises were recorded washed up on the coast of Taiwan in the eighteen years between 1998 and 2016. A juvenile female was found on a beach in Shimen District of New

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Rare Porpoise Washed Up On New Taipei City Beach

Indo-Pacific finless porpoise
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

The remains of a rarely-seen Indo-Pacific finless porpoise was found washed up on a beach in New Taipei City’s Shimen District yesterday, January 31. Members of Taiwan Cetacean Society, along with officials from New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office, identified the animal as a one year old juvenile female. They estimated it had been dead about 2 days. The body showed signs of injury, but it is unknown if it was injured before it died, or damaged

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Taiwan Freedom Level Rises: Surpasses USA

deomonstration in front of Presidential Palace, Taipei
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

[Picture: CNA] The 2017 Freedom Report compiled by NGO Freedom House saw Taiwan’s rating rise from level 2 to level 1 due to improvements in freedom of the press and academia. With an overall score of 91 out of 100, Taiwan surpassed the United States which finished 2016 with a score of 89. Freedom House reported that “Taiwan’s civil liberties rating improved from 2 to 1 due to demonstrations of media independence and academic freedom in recent years, including in

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Family Trapped in Central Mountains: Rescue Helicopter Grounded

central mountains Xinyi Township
Travel and Tourism 
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A family of five may have to wait 5 to 6 days before a rescue team can reach them in a remote mountain location, after a helicopter was unable to take off due to bad weather. The Lin family were hiking across Taiwan’s central mountains from Hualien when Mr Lin, 58, began to suffer gastrointestinal bleeding, leading to bloody diarrhea and physical weakness. Mr Lin is accompanied by his wife and three children, aged 17, 15, and 13. Nantou County

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