Author: Phillip Charlier

Cement truck plunges from elevated road in Kaohsiung City

cement mixer truck after plunging off elevated road
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

The driver of a cement mixer truck was rushed to hospital without vital signs, and two people on a scooter were slightly injured when the truck plunged off an elevated road in Kaohsiung City today, October 14. The Kaohsiung City Fire Department dispatched 7 vehicles and 16 personnel to the scene of the accident at the intersection of Cuihua Road and Zhonghua Road in Gushan District at 12:14 pm. Fire Department paramedics found the truck driver seriously injured and without

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Former defence chief touts civilian defence force: Ukraine’s will to resist the enemy a lesson for Taiwan

screenshot of Lee Hsi-ming interview
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan’s former defence chief (Chief of General Staff), Admiral Lee Hsi-ming, said that if Taiwan had a civilian territorial defence force it would make the Chinese Communist Party think twice about launching an invasion of the country, citing the example of Ukraine, in an interview with Liberty Times Network today, October 7. Lee, who currently serves as a senior research fellow of the Washington-based Project 2049 Institute, said that Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, and Russian troops in

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Garmin launches handheld satellite communication device for Taiwan’s booming outdoor sports market

Garmin inReach mini 2
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

In cooperation with Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, the National Fire Agency of the Ministry of the Interior, and national communications carrier Chunghwa Telecom, Garmin has launched a handheld communications device utilizing low-orbit satellites that can assist people in emergencies when out of mobile phone communications range. Taiwan is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, with around 70% of its landmass consisting of mountains, of which 268 are more than 3,000 meters high. According to statistics, in the past

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Japan ends distribution of AstraZeneca COVID vaccines with the last of the shots destroyed

Covidian helmets and holy vaccine
Health and Safety Regional 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Japan has discarded some 13.5 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, as all of the remaining shots supplied by the British pharmaceutical company have expired, the health ministry announced on Sept. 30, according to Japan’s leading daily newspaper, The Mainichi , October 1, 2022. “Japan is officially ending the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the report said, while explaining that the Japanese government had signed up to purchase 120 million doses of the product in December 2020. Only 200,000 doses

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High school student commended for using his body as human shield to protect grandmother during earthquake

teenager hugs his grandmother as an earthquake strikes
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

A high school student who shielded his grandmother when a destructive 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan 11 days ago was awarded a certificate of commendation for filial piety today, September 26, and his actions will become part of the curriculum in his school’s moral education course. Video footage of Qin Tangyan using his body as a human shield to protect his grandmother when the earthquake shook the family’s 6th-floor apartment in Kaohsiung City at 9:41 pm, September 17, went

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43 people trapped by rising stream: weather bureau warns extremely torrential rain on the way

vehicles and people trapped in streambed
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

More than forty people in 17 vehicles are trapped in a streambed at a popular hot springs camping area in a mountain district of Yilan County this morning, and the Central Weather Bureau has issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for the area. Liberty Times Network reported that a large number of tourists camped on the Qingshui River next to the Qingshui Geothermal Recreation Area in Datong Township last night when “unexpectedly” heavy rain began to fall, causing the creek

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148 schools report damage after 6.4, 6.8 magnitude quakes strike Taiwan

damaged elementary school after earthquake
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Taiwan’s Ministry of Education reported that 148 schools around the country had reported damage after a series of earthquakes struck the east coast over the weekend, with two quakes over magnitude 6. More than 140 earthquakes have shaken Taiwan since the first, a magnitude 6.4 tremblor, struck in the north of Taitung County Saturday evening. More than 70 aftershocks were felt Saturday night and Sunday before a destructive 6.8 magnitude quake struck in Chishang Township at 2:44 pm. As of

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4 people rescued from collapsed building after destructive earthquake strikes eastern Taiwan

composite image showing collapsed building and person rescued
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Firefighters in Hualien County successfully located and extracted four injured people after a building collapsed when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the area today, Sunday, September 18. Hualien County Fire Department sent a search and rescue team to the scene of the disaster in Yuli township after receiving reports that a three-storey mixed commercial and residential building collapsed after the earthquake struck at 2:44 pm. Staff and customers of a 7-11 convenience store on the first floor had all evacuated the

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Prosecutors request death penalty for killer of two police officers

Lin Hsin-wu (林信吾) arrested
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 5 Comments , , ,

Prosecutors in Tainan City requested the death penalty for a man charged with stabbing to death two police officers last month, revealing chilling details of the suffering the officers endured in their last moments of life, and the suspected killer’s coldblooded disregard for his victims. According to the results of the prosecutor’s investigation announced today, September 7, shortly before noon on August 22, police officers Tu Ming-cheng (凃明誠), 36, and Tsao Jui-chieh (曹瑞傑), 27, drove a police car to Taijiang Avenue

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Taiwan insurance companies suffer heavy losses on COVID and vaccine policy payouts

Taiwan NT$1,000 bills
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

Some of Taiwan’s largest insurance companies have applied for capital reserve funding increases and short term loans to cover losses to the tune of more than NT$80 billion as Covid-19 and COVID vaccine insurance claims continue to pour in, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday, September 6. The FSC Insurance Bureau reported that from the beginning of the year to September 5, there had been more than 1.7 million claims settled on COVID-19 insurance and more than 386,000 claims

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3 workers dead after crane boom touches power lines in Tainan City

truck on fire after contact with power lines
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Firefighters found the charred remains of three men after extinguishing a fire that consumed a crane truck in Qigu District, Tainan City this morning, September 6. Tainan City Fire Bureau received reports that a truck was on fire after the crane boom came into contact with high voltage electricity lines on a fish farm 500 meters from the Liukong Wharf at 7:56 am. Firefighters arriving at the scene waited until Taipower personnel turned off the power before deploying water to

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