International Media Invited to Taiping Island

March 17, 2016 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment South China Sea, Spratly Islands, Taiping Island, Taiwan

International media are being invited to visit Taiping Island in the Spratly Islands for the first time next week for a tour and press conference, in an attempt by the R.O.C government of Taiwan to prove that Taiping is indeed an island and not a reef. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to fly reporters along with legal and environmental scholars to the island in an air force C-130 Hercules next week on March 23. The island is occupied by

Soldiers assisting residents in Wulai, after landslides and other damage caused by Typhoon Soudelor in Taiwan.

Disaster

August 10, 2015May 13, 2016 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment news, search and rescue, Taiwan, typhoon soudelor, Wulai

Wulai Township: A clearer picture of Typhoon Soudelor’s destructive power emerged Monday, as weather cleared, floodwaters receded, and rescue crews reached isolated communities around Wulai, south of Taipei City. The main tourist thoroughfare, Wulai’s ‘Old Street’ is covered by mud, rocks, and other debris. The bridge linking the old street to the main part of the village and its hot-springs resorts, has lost its safety rails. The narrow gauge coal train, constructed during the Japanese colonial period, and now used

Violent Crimes

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment gangsters, political thugs, Taiwan, violence, Yunlin

Two employees of Taipower undertaking repairs to the power grid in Yunlin County in the wake of Typhoon Soudelor, were beaten up by a group of thugs wielding baseball bats, who hit the men and smashed a window of their truck. The men were led by former township chairman and husband of the current legislative yuan representative, who is one of three men charged with several offences after the incident. An electrical worker explains the incident and shows his injuries.

A fallen tree blocks a road in Taichung City Taiwan well before the full brunt of Typhoon Soudelor is felt

Weather

August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment news, Taiwan, typhoon soudelor, video

Typhoon Soudelor made landfall on Taiwan last night and was felt at its most intense in Taipei in the early hours of the morning. Here are some citizen videos showing the intensity of the storm and its aftermath.

People stand in front of huge waves caused by Typhoon Soudelor in Taiwan August 7, 2015

Weather

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment news, Taiwan, taiwan typhoon, typhoon soudelor, weather

The whole island of Taiwan is now under the influence of this year’s strongest tropical storm Typhoon Soudelor. Huge waves began pounding the east coast this morning, and tourists packed trains and buses to leave the popular tourist areas. Airports were crowded with travelers forming long lines to find vacant seats on flights before take-offs and landings are halted. The following incidents happened during the afternoon of August 7, long before the full brunt of the Typhoon was felt. In

Typhoon Soudelor photographed from the International Space Station on Aug. 4, 2015, NASA.

Weather

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Taiwan, typhoon soudelor

The strongest typhoon to form in the Pacific this year is plowing towards Taiwan at the time of writing Thursday evening August 6, 2015. The full brunt of Typhoon Soudelor is expected to be felt Friday night as the typhoon crosses the island. The forecast track will take it across the middle of the island before heading north-west across the Taiwan Strait into China. The first rains brought by the typhoon have already fallen in Taipei, and other parts of Taiwan.

A catfish shark is seen in a net after being caught in a pond in Kaohsiung August 2015

Culture

August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment catfish shark, fish, Genghis Khan fish, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, temple

Staff and worshippers at a temple in Kaohsiung had long wondered why the numbers of carp and tilapia in the temple pond were on the decline. The mystery was solved when workers lowered the water level in order to make repairs. Temple staff were surprised to find three huge ‘catfish sharks’, also known as Genghis Khan fish. Not actually sharks, but a species of catfish. It is suspected that the fish were probably abandoned aquarium pets that grew to their huge size after

A car is seen after rolling down a slope into busy traffic in Hsintien District, Taipei City.

Traffic Accidents

August 3, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment driver-less car, news, taipei, Taiwan, traffic-accident

Taipei (Hsintien District): A driver-less car rolled down a steep slope across a busy street, smashing into three scooter riders and a car. The driver parked the car and got out without applying the handbrake. A few seconds later he heard the sound of the crash, and turned his head to see his car amid a scene of chaos and destruction. Nobody was seriously injured in the accident. Sources: CTi, TTV

A man is seen standing up from a pile of debris after surviving a truck accident on a Freeway in Tainan, Taiwan

Traffic Accidents

August 3, 2015March 18, 2016 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment freeway accident, miraculous survival, news, Tainan, Taiwan, traffic-accident, truck

Tainan: A man miraculously survived a high speed crash on a freeway today. The truck involved tipped over, losing it’s load along with the passenger, before righting itself and landing back on its wheels. A video of the incident shows the truck’s load of trees and dirt strewn over the road when suddenly a man stands up from the debris, and walks to the side of the road to recover. The small truck was behind a tanker-trailer, when he decided

A man is lifted to the surface in a car accident rescue in Hsinchu County, Taiwan

Traffic Accidents

August 2, 2015August 2, 2015 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment car accident, hsinchu, news, rescue, Taiwan

Hsinchu: What would have been a normal everyday kind of car accident in Taiwan made the headlines today when a driver trying to avoid another driver reversing into oncoming traffic, not only failed to avoid the reversing vehicle, but careered into a 9 meter deep shaft in the middle of the road. The car landed upside down in water, but rescuers managed to save the man. The man, who suffers disabilities caused by childhood polio, was taken by surprise when

An elementary student holds a banner and placard joining a student protest in Taipei

Politics

August 2, 2015August 7, 2015 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment black box student movement, massage, student-protest, taipei, Taiwan

A professional masseur has set up a free massage center at the Ministry of Education protest site. Student protesters are now in the third day of occupation after pushing down the razor-wire security fence and occupying the square on Thursday night. The visually impaired man is one of the many volunteers supporting the more than 100 protesters who are making a stand against a politically motivated alteration of Taiwan’s high school history curriculum. Sources: CTi, SET

Taiwan

International Media Invited to Taiping Island

Post Typhoon Clean-up: Rescues and Airdrops Continue

Emergency Power Restoration too Slow: Electrical Workers Beaten by Thugs

Typhoon Soudelor Leaves Taiwan in its Wake: Taiwan Wakes to Scenes of Destruction

Typhoon Soudelor Grinding Over Taiwan: The Damage So Far

Taiwan Braces for Typhoon Soudelor

Giant ‘Catfish Sharks’ Found in Temple Pond

Muddle-Headed Motorist Forgets to Use Handbrake: Driverless Car Ploughs into Traffic

Man Thrown from Truck: Stands up and Walks Away.

Car Falls into a 9 Meter Deep Shaft: Driver Rescued.

Free Massage for Protesters