Month: June 2017

Hail Storm Followed by Double Rainbow: New Taipei City

double rainbow New Taipei City
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Picture: Megan Liang An intense hail storm that lasted for about 10 minutes brought hail up to 5 centimeters in size to parts of Banciao and Hsinchuang districts in New Taipei City this afternoon, June 13. The hail storm was followed by a double rainbow. Photographer Megan Liang took a picture of the rainbow from the 12th floor of a building and posted it on Facebook where she wrote “a few minutes ago I was taking pictures of hail.”

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Man Arrested After Posting Lethal Weapon Video to Youtube

air rifles and handguns modified to lethal power
Crime and Criminals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A 25 year old man was arrested in Taichung after police found Youtube videos demonstrating the lethal power of modified air-guns. A police criminal investigation unit in Taichung patrolling the Internet became suspicious when they saw air-guns offered for sale on an Internet auction site at up to 10 times the normal price. The videos associated with the ads demonstrated that the rifles and handguns had been modified to fire pellets that penetrated metal. A police officer posing as a

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Sub-Machine Gun and Grenade Found in Arrested Gangster’s Arsenal

A sub machine gun found in a gangster's car
Crime and Criminals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Police discovered what they called “a small arsenal” of weapons after arresting a gangster wanted in relation to a kidnapping for ransom case. The haul included a sub-machine gun and a grenade. Earlier this year, during the Chinese New Year holidays, the son of a gang boss serving time in prison, was kidnapped and held for 14 hours. The kidnappers demanded a NT$5 million ransom. Police investigators had been working on the case for more than four months. After identifying

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Documentary Maker Dies in Helicopter Crash

Chi Polin taking photographs from a helicopter above Taipei City
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Award winning documentary maker Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) was killed along with a production-assistant and the pilot, when a helicopter crashed in Hualian County this morning. Chi was known for his documentary “Beyond Beauty-Taiwan From Above,” which won Best Documentary Award at the 2013 Golden Horse Awards, and grossed NT$220 million (US$7.3 million) at the box office, making it the highest-grossing documentary in Taiwan history. On Thursday, the 52 year-old filmmaker had announced that he was working on a sequel to

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Aboriginal Hunting Rights Protected Under Wildlife Conservation Law

Council of Indigenous Peoples and Council of Agriculture members pose at a press conference
Culture 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The right of aboriginal people to hunt for personal, non-profit use has been upheld with provisions made in the Wildlife Conservation Act, it was announced at a press conference at noon today. The press conference was held jointly by the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Council of Agriculture. It was explained that under Article 21 of the Wildlife Conservation Act, indigenous people are legally able to hunt for personal use in aboriginal areas. The provisions were made to uphold

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New Taipei City Gas Explosion: 12 Injured

gas explosion in New Taipei City
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A gas explosion in a commercial kitchen in New Taipei City’s Wugu District destroyed equipment and vehicles, and left 12 injured this morning, June 7, 2017. Witnesses reported hearing an ‘ear-splitting’ explosion at around 11:00am from the building which houses a commercial kitchen. Panicked workers rushed out of the building which was extensively damaged. Several vehicles were also badly damaged, including a truck, a van, a sedan, and many motorcycles. On receiving a report of the massive blast, New Taipei

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Taiwan High Speed Rail Criticized Over Discriminatory Hiring Policy

Taiwan High Speed Rail Train at station
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

[Cover picture: Nikkei] A Kaohsiung City Government councilor, and a spokesman for a prisoner rehabilitation group spoke out today against a clause in Taiwan High Speed Rail’s tender contracts that prohibit contractors from employing people with criminal records. Kaohsiung City councilor Lina Chen (陳麗娜) said the restriction was discriminatory, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Councilor Chen requested THSR to remove the discriminatory clause or she will report the company to the Control Yuan. A spokesperson for a prisoner rehabilitation group, Liu Jia-guo

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Spiderman Killed Off in Police Video

spiderman is seen laying dead on a road after running into a car door
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The National Police Agency (NPA) has produced a video featuring Spiderman in an attempt to urge people to look behind before opening their car door into traffic. The video sees Spiderman attempt to foil a bank robbery. However, while chasing the crooks on foot, the popular superhero is killed by a driver who carelessly opens their car door without first looking behind them. The video was uploaded to the NPA Facebook page, where it received mostly favorable comments. Viewers called

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Brother Arrested After Gruesome Murder in Taichung

Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

[Cover Picture: China Times] The younger brother of a murder victim was arrested yesterday after police found blood in his car. In the early hours of Thursday morning, June 1, a security guard found a partially burnt corpse on a road in Hsitun District in Taichung. Police forensics found the man’s throat had been cut, and both his hands had been cut off. The hands were missing. Police also found 6 dice around the body, and at first suspected the

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Torrential Rain Lashes Taiwan

guards on duty at the martyrs shrine in Taipei City during torrential downpours that brought floods to the city June 2, 2017
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A “meiyu” front, called plum rain by locals, has brought torrential rain, floods, and landslides all over the island as the East Asian rainy season begins in Taiwan. Municipal governments have declared a total of 81 schools closed for tomorrow, June 3, in flood and landslide-prone areas. The Central Weather Bureau issued heavy rain warnings rated extremely heavy, torrential, and extremely torrential for 15 counties this morning. Keelung City and New Taipei City were rated as “extremely torrential.” Power and

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