Starlux takes delivery of second airliner: CEO flies it home

Starlux Airlines Airbus A321neo
Aviation 
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Starlux Airlines took delivery of its second Airbus A321neo in Hamburg, Germany, December 19, and Chairman Chang Kuo-wei personally took the helm and flew it back to Taiwan, arriving at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport this morning, December 23. The aircraft, registered as B-58202, is the second of three A321s expected to start flying on three routes from January 23. Hands-on chairman Chang led a team to inspect the aircraft, seeing it through a test flight December 18 before taking delivery

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Suspected bomber shot 3 times and arrested after 12-hour stand-off with police

Police SWAT team members, and suspect down in apartment
Violent Crimes 
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A Kaohsiung City Police SWAT team officer today shot a suspect three times in a raid to take down a man suspected of planting an explosive device in Tainan City two days ago. At around 1:00pm Thursday, December 12, a suspicious bag, containing around four liters of liquid in two bottles, a quantity of white powder, wires, and a possible detonator or timer, was spotted against a wall of the Kuomintang (KMT/Chinese Nationalist Party) headquarters in Houbi District, Tainan City.

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7 dead after arsonist sets fire to Buddhist commune

a fire engulfs a building housing members of a Buddhist commune in Tainan City
Fire 
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Seven people died and three were injured after a deliberately lit fire engulfed a building housing members of a Buddhist sect in Tainan City in the early hours of the morning today, December 14. The Tainan City Fire Department received reports of the fire in the rural Yujing District at around 1:20am. Eleven fire appliances and 21 personnel were dispatched to the three-storey building housing 46 members of a Buddhist commune. The fire was brought under control at around 3:15,

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Taiwan and Japan coast guards, police, cooperate in 600kg amphetamine smuggling operation bust

Taiwan coast guard logo
Drugs 
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At least three Taiwanese suspects were arrested yesterday, after Japan Coast Guard officers and police intercepted a vessel in Kumamoto Prefecture attempting to smuggle 600 kilograms of amphetamine into Japan. Taiwan Coast Guard Administration officers in Kaohsiung tipped off their counterparts in Japan after receiving information on a transnational narcotics smuggling operation headed by a Taiwanese national named Huang. According to reports, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) had been investigating the case for several months, and after notifying Japan’s National

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Three charged after serial cat abuser beaten up in vigilante attack

Injured Mr Peng with animal protection volunteer
Animals 
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Three men in Hsinchu County were charged with violating the Social Order Maintenance Act, after a report was received that a man recently charged with animal cruelty offences had been beaten up. In late October this year, a man named Peng was charged with animal cruelty offences and released on NT$30,000 bail with the provision that he be restricted to his residence, after pictures and videos surfaced showing that Peng had tortured to death at least nine cats, four of

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Police release video to refute drunk driver’s claims of excessive force after shots fired at vehicle

bullet holes in car
Crime and Criminals 
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Taipei City Police released video footage of an incident, and held a press conference today, to refute claims made by a man charged with drunk driving that officers had fired shots at him, and had beaten him during the subsequent arrest, after he failed to stop at a police roadside drunk-driving checkpoint. According to reports, Mr Chen, a 41-year-old real estate agent, drove his Mercedes Benz sedan through a police checkpoint on Chang’an East Road in Zhongshan District at around

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Little girl found alive two hours after truck plunges into ravine, one dead, driver drunk

rescue workers at accident site
Traffic Accidents 
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Firefighters pulled two men out of a wrecked truck, after it left the road and plunged 50 meters down a mountainside in Nantou County yesterday, while other rescue personnel searched for a 6-year-old girl who had fallen out of the vehicle. Witnesses called emergency services after seeing a loaded truck speeding downhill, then crashing through a guardrail on a bend at the 2 kilometer mark of the Hehuan Mountain section of Highway 14 at around 5:10 pm, Saturday, December 7.

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Police seek suspected arsonist after fire in Taipei City sees 4 injured, 500 people evacuated

fire on Linsen North Road, Taipei City
Fire 
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Taipei City police are attempting to identify a man suspected of arson after a fire engulfed four ground floor businesses in a 12-storey mixed commercial and residential building in Taipei City this morning, December 7. According to reports, around 500 people were evacuated, 134 were rescued by firefighters, and four people were treated in hospital after a fire broke out on Linsen North Road at around 8:45am. Taipei City Fire Department dispatched 35 fire appliances, 7 ambulances, and 107 firefighters

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Two police officers, suspect under escort injured in freeway crash

injured driver of police car seen in wrecked vehicle
Traffic Accidents 
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Two police officers and a handcuffed suspect were sent to hospital after being pulled out of a police car that left the freeway and rolled over following a collision with another vehicle today, December 7. Officer Zhang (張), 34, suffered head lacerations and a broken jaw. A suspect named Zhu (朱), 21, had a suspected forearm fracture, and lacerations and bruises to both hands. Zhang and Zhu were taken to Tainan Sin-Lau Hospital for treatment. Officer Hong (洪), 31, was

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Police will summon foreigner and issue a fine of NT$300 after dangerous skateboard stunt in Taipei City goes viral

skateboard stunt performed in Taipei City
Health and Safety 
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Police will identify and summon a man who performed a dangerous skateboard stunt in Taipei City recently, and he will be fined NT$300 (US$9.84) for breaching traffic regulations, according to reports in Taiwan’s Chinese language media today, December 4. Red Bull skate squad members 23-year-old Jamie Foy, Zion Wright, 20, and Alex Midler, 21, visited Taiwan some time in the last year as part of a trip exploring skate spots around the world. The trio spent around one year putting

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Sub-machine gun, pistols seized in Taoyuan City Casino raid

mk9 submachine gun
Crime and Criminals 
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Police charged two men with weapons offences after guns were seized during a raid on an underground casino operating in Taoyuan City, December 1. Miaoli County, and Taoyuan City police units had been keeping a suspect known to be armed, and suspected of using a car wash and repair shop as a front for a casino, under observation since early October. On December 1, an ad-hoc team, including SWAT officers armed with MP5 submachine guns received a search warrant and

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