Author: Phillip Charlier

Rare visitor: Seal appears at fishing port in northern Taiwan

seal at Bitou Fishing Port
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

In what may be a historical first, a juvenile seal was spotted at a fishing port in New Taipei City yesterday, but swam away this morning, October 25, after divers dispatched by the animal protection department attempted to catch the animal. Tourists visiting the Bitou Fishing Port in Ruifang District yesterday, Sunday, first spotted the seal swimming playfully in the harbor. At first it was speculated that the animal must be a Eurasian Otter, as seals have never been known

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6.5 magnitude quake felt island-wide: no major damage reported

earthquake map
Earthquakes 
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A 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan County was felt island wide and caused minor delays in rail and metro services Sunday afternoon, but no major damage or casualties were reported. The quake struck at 1:11 pm at a depth of 68.6 kilometers, 22.7 kilometers south of the Yilan County Hall, according to data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB). The maximum magnitude was felt as a magnitude 4 in Yilan County, Greater Taipei, Taoyuan County, and Hualien County.

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Chinese fighter jet rumored to have crash-landed on river in Henan Province

crashed J-10S fighter aircraft Henan China
Regional 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) J-10S two-seater fighter aircraft crash landed on a river in Henan Province, yesterday, October 22, according to a video circulating on Chinese social media. Reports in Taiwan’s United Daily News and Liberty Times say that the J-10S crashed on the bank of the Jialu River after the pilots ejected and parachuted into the river. The jet aircraft appeared mostly intact, but had a damaged nose according to video and photographic evidence. The pilots

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Prosecutors request heavy sentences in smuggling case that led to death of 154 cats

cats smuggled from China to Taiwan
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 3 Comments

Prosecutors in Kaohsiung City indicted nine men involved in an attempt to smuggle purebred cats into Taiwan, and recommended that four receive heavy sentences for masterminding the operation that led to the euthanizing of 154 felines. The four main suspects include a fishing company owner, Mr Cheng, 56, the owner of a pet breeding farm, named Lin, 42, a retired Coast Guard officer, named Chang, 50, and a friend of Chang’s, named Kuo, 49. The five other indictees consisted of

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Road Rage: Driver arrested for pointing BB gun at smartphone-using pedestrian’s head

composite picture: suspect arrested, gun and amphetamine pipes
Society 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

A man was arrested in Taoyuan City, yesterday, a week after he allegedly used a gun to threaten a woman who was blocking his way as he drove down a narrow street. According to Apple Daily, the 26-year-old man, named Wang, was driving down the single-lane Chaoyang Street on Wednesday, October 13, when his way was blocked by a woman who was walking slowly, and gazing at her mobile phone. Wang honked his horn and yelled out his window to

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One of two imported COVID cases fully vaccinated with three doses of BioNTech

Chuang-jen-hsiang
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) today announced two new cases of COVID-19 imported from abroad, including one Taiwanese citizen who was fully vaccinated with three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while residing in the United States. CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the woman (case #16,458) is aged in her 20s and had the third dose of the BioNTech vaccine on September 10. The woman had a negative test report taken within three days of boarding her flight

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15-year-old student suddenly collapses and dies during PE class

screenshot from news report of girl's sudden death
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 3 Comments , ,

A 15-year-old female student in Taoyuan City died, October 15, after collapsing during a PE class. Liberty Times and United Daily News reported October 18, that a 15-year-old special education student had felt unwell after jogging and walking during a physical education class Friday morning. At 9:10 am, the girl sat down in a stairwell to rest. After around 30 minutes, the girl was found collapsed and without vital signs. The school nurse was immediately notified, and performed CPR, including

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Pastor grapples with waiter over COVID dining rules

Society 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

The pastor of a church in Nantou County lost his temper and physically attacked a waiter at a restaurant who insisted his party separate into two socially-distanced groups to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID doomsday virus. Pastor Lu, the minister of a church in Puli Township went to a local steak restaurant with four friends for lunch on October 12. The 18-year-old waiter, named Ho, insisted Lu’s party of five comply with the restaurant’s COVID-19 prevention regulations, and

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Man drives wrong way in freeway fast-lane: 1 dead, 1 injured

composite image of car wrong way driving and wreck of vehicle
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A man drove seven kilometers in the opposite direction to traffic on National Highway One in Tainan City, yesterday, causing chaos, and crashes involving four vehicles, leaving one dead, and one injured. According to the police investigation, the driver of an SUV, named Ho, entered the northbound lanes of the freeway at the 281 kilometer mark north of the Xinying Interchange at 4:16 pm, and proceeded to drive southbound in the fast lane. Cars were forced to dodge the errant

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Execution style killing the 5th shooting case in Yilan in recent months

car of shooting victim
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

One man died and another was injured after an execution-style shooting in Yilan County in the early hours of the morning today, October 19, and it is the 5th shooting case in the county in a little over two months. According to the investigation so far, at around 2:00 am this morning, a 23-year-old man, named Liu, followed a car driven by a 22-year-old man, named Luo, with whom Liu had a dispute over a debt. At the intersection of

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