Author: Phillip Charlier

Bus plows into vehicles, house after driver loses control on east coast highway

bus crashed into vehicles and house on highway 11 in Taitung County
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Fortunately nobody was injured when a bus driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into vehicles and a building in Changbin Township, Taitung County this morning, February 13. The bus traveling southbound from Hualien City to Chenggong Township via the scenic coastal Highway 11, was carrying just one passenger when it crashed into a scooter, two light trucks, and a cultivator before hitting a house and shop at 7:50 am. Police breath tested the 52-year-old driver and found he

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Police officers charged over death of suspect under restraint

Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office building and logo
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Five Taoyuan City police officers have been charged on suspicion of negligent homicide after a man died while being suppressed on the ground following an attack on two police officers in 2019. On August 20, 2019, two police officers were dispatched to a restaurant on Guangming Road in Luzhu District following reports of a dispute threatening to turn violent at around 10:30 pm. The two officers, named Lu and Zhong, were confronted by a 37-year-old man named You (pronounced “Yo”)

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3 rough-toothed dolphins stranded on New Taipei City beach released after 3 days rehabilitation

Marine and Fisheries 
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Three dolphins found stranded on a beach in New Taipei City’s Bali District, Wednesday, were released in waters off the coast of Keelung City, after spending two days in a cetacean rehabilitation center. The one male and two female rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) were reported stranded on Waizaiwei Beach on the morning of February 9. Personnel from the New Taipei City Government Animal Protection Department, Coast Guard, and Taiwan Cetacean Society responded to the report. Due to bad weather and

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Armed bank robber arrested after attempting to shoot at police

police arrest armed bank robber
Crime and Criminals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An armed bank robber attempted to shoot at police officers, but was arrested after his gun jammed and broke apart in Kaohsiung City today, February 11. According to reports, a 50-year-old man named Ye, drove a black Porsche Boxster to a branch of Changhua Bank on Bo’ai Road in Gushan District shortly after noon. Ye entered the bank, threatened a bank teller with a handgun, handed over a plastic bag, and ordered the teller to fill it up with cash.

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Armored vehicle collides with “Swedish tank” during urban combat drill in Taoyuan City

composite image of armored vehicle and civilian vehicle
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An army armored vehicle collided with a civilian car while on combat exercises in Taoyuan City this morning, badly damaging the Volvo sedan, but fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. According to reports in United Daily News, and Liberty Times, the eight-wheel, 22-ton, CM-33 “Clouded Leopard” was engaged in a combat readiness and reconnaissance drill in Luzhu District this morning when it side-swiped a Volvo V40 sedan driven by a 30-year-old man, named Huang, on Nanqing Road at around

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Ministry of Labor says no menstrual leave for transgender women

ministry of labor sign
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor said that transgender women are not entitled to menstrual leave, because transgender women don’t have a uterus, and therefore do not menstruate. Under Taiwan’s Gender Equality in Employment law, women are entitled to take one day off per month, with a maximum three per year not counting towards days off for sick leave. The employee is not required to provide supporting documents, and the employer cannot refuse or allow the absence to affect such aspects as

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Crane overturns on metro construction project in Taoyuan City

overturned crane
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A large mobile crane overturned while working on an MRT construction project in Taoyuan City yesterday, but fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. According to reports, the crane was being used to lift steel molds during the dismantling of formwork on the construction site of station G13 on the Taoyuan MRT Green Line on Zhongzheng Road in Luzhu District when it tipped over at 1:25 pm. The crane’s boom hit the truck carrying the steel molds, damaged traffic signal

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Female appointed Taipei Main Station Station Master for first time in history

Taipei Main Station stationmaster handover ceremony
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

For the first time in its 135-year history, a female has been appointed as station master at Taipei Main Station, and began duties after a handover ceremony today, February 7. During the ceremony to appoint the 25th station master of Taiwan Railway Administration’s largest train station, outgoing station master Tu Wei-ting (涂維庭) handed responsibility for the management of Taiwan’s largest railway station over to 43-year-old Hu Yongzhi (胡詠芝). Hu holds a master’s degree in transportation and logistics management from National

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Road fatalities in Taiwan exceeded that of Japan’s last year: Basic traffic safety law proposed

composite image showing four traffic accidents
Health and Safety Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

A group of legislators from the opposition KMT party is calling for the establishment of a basic traffic safety law in order to reduce the number of fatal traffic accidents, after statistics showed that Taiwan’s traffic accident death toll exceeds that of Japan – a neighboring country with a population more than five times that of Taiwan. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) representative Yeh Yu-Lan (葉毓蘭) told Taiwan’s Central News Agency that the number of traffic fatalities in Taiwan in 2020

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