A message circulating on social media claiming that bent bananas are sweeter and more nutritious than their straight counterparts is fake news, the Taiwan Fact Check Center insists. The idea that washing the banana skin, or wrapping foil around the stem will prolong the shelf life of the popular yellow fruit is also false, the official fact-checkers added. The Fact Check Report issued by Taiwan’s version of George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth, issued on September 15, refuted the rumor that
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Reward offered for finding motorcyclist missing in mountains
Friends and colleagues of a man who has been missing in a mountain district of Hsinchu County since Saturday have raised money to offer as a reward to anybody who finds him. The 30-year-old man named Qi disappeared after becoming separated from friends while they were riding off-road motorcycles in Jianshi Township in the afternoon of September 11. According to reports, Qi and friends met to ride on trails at Gaotai Mountain at around 9:30 am Saturday. At around 1:00
Read more400 residents of building ordered into compulsory quarantine
Around 400 residents of a building in Banqiao District were suddenly ordered into quarantine facilities this morning as authorities escalate their response to a cluster of cases testing positive for COVID-19 at a nearby kindergarten. The building is one of two forming a gated community that share an outdoor entrance and exit. The 905 residents from 209 households in the two buildings were tested for COVID-19 yesterday. Six people, all residents of building B, returned positive results. New Taipei City
Read moreCops mull fine after cyclist hits 130 kph on jet-powered bicycle in Tainan City
A resident of Tainan City fitted a bicycle with a jet engine, and received a visit from police after a video of him reaching 130 kilometers per hour on the improvised vehicle spread on social media. Mr Wang said that it was his childhood dream to have a remote controlled aircraft, but he didn’t have the financial resources until he grew up. Recently, he came up with the idea of installing a remote control model aircraft jet engine on a
Read moreiPads delivered by helicopter to kids living in stranded mountain communities
A helicopter was used to deliver iPads to a remote mountain community in southern Taiwan yesterday, as kids prepare to go back to school in villages left cut-off after roads and bridges were destroyed by floods earlier this month. Forty-two iPads were among the 600 kilogram load of essential supplies airlifted by a National Airborne Service Corp Helicopter yesterday, August 24. The iPads were purchased by the Kaohsiung City Government Education Bureau, and delivered to Zhangshan Elementary School to help
Read moreMustard Seed Mission Helps more than 1,000 Taiwan Disadvantaged Families during COVID-19 Outbreak
Press Release: Mustard Seed Mission The nationwide lockdown has caused the highest unemployment rate in 10 years and even affected the right of the child to education. The Mustard Seed Mission (MSM) conducted a survey on the impact of the epidemic on its long-served families and found that among the 3,182 valid samples, 46.9% of served families were financially affected, and about 29.3% of families have reduced income by more than 1/3, and 17.4 % of families have been experiencing
Read moreItalian man loses appeal in attempted armed robbery case
An Italian national who was sentenced to two years in prison for attempting to rob a convenience store in New Taipei City last year lost his appeal to the Supreme Court and will serve the full term before being deported, according to United Daily News. Bruno Giuliano Maicol, aged in his 30s, was sentenced in November 2020 after being found guilty of an attempted armed robbery in which he held a pair of scissors to a female convenience store clerk’s
Read moreJudo boy dies after 70 days in a coma
A seven-year-old boy who was repeatedly thrown by his judo coach and an older classmate until he was unconscious, has died after spending 70 days in a coma in a hospital in Taichung City. Doctors at Fengyuan Hospital removed life support systems in the presence of the boy’s parents yesterday evening, and the boy, named Huang, was declared dead at around 9:00 pm, June 29. See previous story: 7-year-old brain-dead after being thrown more than 20 times in judo class
Read moreMan rescued after getting stuck hanging upside down from 4th floor window
A man in Keelung City was rescued by firefighters after his foot got stuck in a fourth floor apartment’s window bars, leaving him dangling precariously late last night, June 12. Mr Wang, who is said to be in his 50s, and was reported to be very drunk, first drew the attention of police after neighbors reported a disturbance on the roof of a five storey residential building in Xinfeng Street at around 11:00 pm. Police found that Mr Wang was
Read moreMission helps vulnerable families as COVID restrictions shut down jobs, schools
Press release by Mustard Seed Mission Taiwan has experienced a severe rise in COVID-19 cases since May and a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert has been extended to June 28th. Some industries have stopped work, and schools are closed. With a network of 9,000 community partners all over Taiwan, including caring stores and partner churches, the Mustard Seed Mission (MSM) has been providing assistance to vulnerable families and people in need by launching emergency relief funds, epidemic prevention kits, and
Read moreCops raid family funeral and issue fines after neighbors inform of illegal gathering
Police in Nantou County raided a funeral and issued fines to eleven family members, Saturday, June 5, after neighbors informed the police of an illegal gathering. Chen Zhiwen, deputy sub-director of the Puli Police Station said that police had received a report Saturday that “twenty to thirty” people had gathered in Guoxing Township, against epidemic alert Level 3 mandates that limit gatherings to a maximum of five people indoors, and 10 people outdoors. Police rushed to the scene to find
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