Author: Phillip Charlier

Taiwan’s ambulances sport new look designed for visibility, safety

Taiwan ambulance with Battenburg markings
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

Taoyuan City received its first new ambulance painted in a distinctively new style designed to enhance visibility and safety, today, December 28. Taoyuan City Fire Department received the ambulance as a donation from the Taoyuan Charity Golf Association, noting that it was the first in the city to be painted with Battenburg markings. The distinctive pattern was designed in the UK in the 1990s, and have quickly spread to many countries who use the patterns to mark emergency vehicles. The

Read more

Snow falls in high altitude areas of Central Mountain Range

snowman at Songsyue Lodge
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Pictures courtesy of Songsyue Lodge. Affected by a continental cold air mass, snow fell in high mountain areas of northern, central, and southern Taiwan this morning, including Mount Hehuan, Wuling Farm and Jiaming Lake. At Songsyue Lodge in Taroko National Park, more than five centimeters of snow was recorded. The first snow this winter was recorded at Mount Hehuan at around 8:00 am yesterday when it snowed for just two minutes. As the temperature dropped during the night, snow began

Read more

Drunk driver plows into pedestrians on zebra crossing, leaving 1 dead, 3 injured in Kaohsiung City

composite image of accident scene and arrested driver
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

One person died and three were injured after a drunk driver hit a family of 4 using a pedestrian crossing in Kaohsiung City this evening, December 26. Witnesses said that a BMW sedan was travelling very fast when it hit the three women and one man in an area crowded with people who had just left a Christmas market on the banks of the Love River in Qianjin District at around 7:20 pm. A 37-year-old woman, named Fan, lost vital

Read more

Taiwan sends 2 air force transport planes of material relief to Philippines typhoon disaster zone

composite image of air force c-130 and typhoon damage
Regional Typhoon 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

Taiwan’s air force dispatched two C-130 flights carrying emergency supplies to the southern Philippines after a destructive category 5 typhoon left 378 dead, and an estimated 2.4 million people in need of emergency assistance. The first flight arrived in Cebu yesterday evening, December 25, and a second flight arrived this morning. Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Odette, made landfall on December 16. According to the latest statistics from the Philippine government, the typhoon left 378 dead, 742

Read more

Container ship damaged after crashing into wharf at Port of Taichung

damaged bow of container ship Asiatic Sun
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A container ship appears to have sustained serious damage after crashing into a wharf at Taichung Port this morning, Sunday, December 26. Taichung Port authorities said that the container ship Asiatic Sun crashed into the Taichung Port Pier 8A as it was attempting to dock at 7:33 am. The Singapore-flagged 1,049 TEU Asiatic Sun is a 143 meter-long vessel with a gross tonnage of 9,610 tons, and was built in 2008 in Busan, Korea. The Maritime Port Bureau of the

Read more

Santas on Harleys visit central Taiwan’s oldest Catholic church for Christmas

Harley Davidsons and Santa at Luocuo Church Taiwan
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Close to one hundred Harley Davidson motorcycle owners put on Santa costumes for a procession through Puxin Township, Changhua County, finishing at the Luocuo Church, known as the oldest Catholic church in central Taiwan. Organized by the “Iron Wings” Motorcycle Club, Harley riders from three counties converged on Puxin on the invitation of the town’s Mayor, who also happens to be a member of the club. Puxin Township Mayor, Zhang Chengyu, explained that the Lucuo Catholic Church usually organizes a

Read more

Monkeys with the munchies show no respect for the law: even police patrol car raided for snacks and drinks in Taiwan’s highest national park

composite image of macaques raiding cars including police patrol car
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Yushan National Park Headquarters has issued a warning to visitors to keep their vehicles locked, and to not feed the monkeys, as a troop of Formosan macaques grows increasingly bolder, recently even raiding a police patrol car parked at a popular trailhead. National park administrators warned that a group of macaques called the “Tataka Troop” have been carrying out depredations on tourists visiting the park, and even police officers on patrol are not immune. The key to stopping these attacks

Read more

Police shoot suspect in the leg after raid on underground gunsmith

composite image of suspect police and ambulance
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Police arrested three people during a raid on a gun-making workshop in New Taipei City this morning, and shot one suspect who fled the apartment armed with a pistol. Police Swat team officers broke down the door of an apartment on the fourth floor of a residential building on Fuhe Road in Yonghe District at 7:00 am, December 23, in the pursuit of a suspect believed to be making modified firearms. The 45-year-old man, named Chen had an extensive criminal

Read more

Taiwan donates US$500,000 to Philippines for disaster relief in the wake of Typhoon Rai

Typhoon Rai Philippines composite image showing path and destruction
Typhoon 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan donated US$500,000 to the Philippines to assist with disaster relief after a category 5 typhoon swept through the country, leaving at least 375 dead, and 400,000 displaced or homeless. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that Taiwan and the Philippines were neighbors who “shared weal and woe” and that Taiwan will stand with the Philippines. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release this evening, December 22, that Typhoon Rai had hit the Philippines with a devastating force,

Read more

Explosion, fire in house exposes illicit drug factory in Tainan City

house exterior and interior composite image
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Firefighters called to a fire in a house in Tainan City last month, uncovered an illicit drug manufacturing operation, police revealed today, December 22. Nearby residents reported an explosion and fire in the house in Jiali District at around 4:00 pm, November 24. The Tainan City Fire Department dispatched 15 vehicles and 31 personnel to the scene of the fire. Firefighters found the house unoccupied, and bare of furniture, but filled with chemical containers and laboratory equipment. The fire was

Read more

Parts of Tainan City plunged into darkness after 4.6 magnitude earthquake causes power outage in southern Taiwan

earthquake map and blackout composite image
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

More than 10, 000 households were affected by a power outage following a 4.6 magnitude earthquake in Tainan City this evening, but no other damage was reported. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, the tremblor struck 36.4 kilometers east-northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 9.4 kilometers at 6:59 pm. The highest intensity was felt in Nanxi, and Xinhua districts of Tainan City at a level four. A power outage followed due to a trip at the Nanhua

Read more