Pilot whale delights tourists on Taiwan’s east coast

pilot whale close to tourists on shore at Sanxiantai, Taitung County, Taiwan

August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Taitung County, whale

Tourists were both delighted, but also nervous when a pilot whale approached the shore at Sanxiantai in Taitung County recently. Hundreds of tourists were on the shore, some wading ankle deep, when the whale swam within a few meters of the beach on Monday, July 29. The whale circled around and came back to shore, leading one woman, fearful that the whale intended to beach itself, shouting, “don’t come back, don’t come back!” After completing a circle, the whale swam

Typhoon

August 4, 2019August 5, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Tropical storm Lekima, typhoon

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau upgraded tropical storm Lekima to typhoon status this afternoon, August 4, and said that northern and eastern Taiwan may feel effects as the storm passes to the east on Thursday and Friday, August 8 and 9. The CWB observed that at 2:00pm, August 4, Lekima was located at 17.4 ° north latitude and 131.9° east longitude traveling at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour north west. The central air pressure measured 998 hectopascals with maximum

Society

August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment child-abuse, domestic violence, vigilante, Yunlin County

Around 50 police officers were dispatched to a township in Yunlin County last night after social media users threatened to hunt down a man who was seen violently kicking a small girl outside a residential community. A video was uploaded to Facebook showing a couple with two small children on a street outside a building in Xiluo Township, when the man suddenly hit and kicked the girl, who appears around 5 years old. The couple and children then left in

suspect's vehicle after more than 40 shots fired by police

Crime and Criminals

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Nantou County, police shooting, shooting, Taichung City

A man is suspected to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot after a 4 hour chase ended with his car surrounded in Nantou County last night, July 28. At around 6:00pm yesterday, a man driving a white Mercedes Benz SUV pulled up outside a residence in Xinping Street, Taiping District, Taichung City, and fired three shots at the garage door. Police investigating the incident identified the driver of the car as a 32-year-old man named Lai, with previous convictions for

Formosan black bear rescued in Taitung County

Animals

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Formosan black bear, Taidong, Taitung County

A Formosan black bear cub was rescued and handed over to wildlife protection workers after it wandered into a village in Taitung County and was chased by dogs. Wildlife protection officials said that the bear cub was less than a year old, and appears to have become separated from its mother. The cub was sent for a check-up, and to receive care in preparation for release back into the wild. Mr Wang, the owner of a fishing pond in Haiduan

man arrested for fare evasion and biting train conductor

Violent Crimes

July 27, 2019July 27, 2019 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment fare-evasion, Pingtung County, Railway Police Bureau, Taiwan Railway Administration

A man was arrested in Pingtung County this morning after biting a train conductor who asked him to show a ticket. Mr Zhuang, 51, at first hid in a toilet cubicle after the train conductor asked him to show a ticket. At around 10:50am, as the train arrived at Chaozhou Station, Zhuang opened the door, and bit the conductor on the arm before fleeing. Zhuang then boarded another train on the opposite platform, but was arrested by officers of the

Society

July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment MRT, New Taipei City, Taipei Metro

A man was taken to hospital to receive stitches to his head after an altercation over leg space led to a fight on an MRT train this morning, July 18. At around 8:00am, two men boarded a train at Yongning Station on the MRT Blue line, and took seats beside each other. As the train headed toward Taipei City, Mr Shi, 53, became irritated by 42-year-old Mr Zeng’s “domineering, wide-open legs” (ET Today) pushing up against his thighs and taking

phosphorous bomb burning in New Taipei City

Military Affairs

July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment New Taipei City, unexploded ordnance, world war two

Hot weather is suspected to have caused a piece of unexploded World War Two ordnance to begin emitting smoke in a residential backyard in Danshui District, New Taipei City yesterday, July 16. At around 5:00pm, the 56-year-old owner of the house called 119 after finding a bomb embedded beside a path on a slope behind the house emitting a pall of white smoke. Firefighters evacuated nearby residents and cordoned off an area to a radius of 90 meters around the

Violent Crimes

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment knife-attack, police shooting, Taipei City

Police officers shot a suspect twice in the legs as he attempted to escape after injuring two officers with a knife in Taipei City last night, July 14. Two police officers, Wen (溫), 32, and Lee (李), 20, were on patrol when they noticed a man behaving suspiciously at the corner of Juguang Road and Zhonghua Road at around 11:30pm. Police approached the suspect and identified him as a 30-year-old wanted man named Shen (沈). As the officers were preparing

Violent Crimes

July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment homicide, Kaohsiung City, murder, stabbing

A man was arrested today, just 5 hours after a woman was stabbed to death in the parking lot of the Jinlong fruit and vegetable market in Kaohsiung City this morning, July 13. A woman named Wang (王), 46, accompanied by her 20-year-old daughter, had just arrived at the market at around 8:10am, when her daughter’s boyfriend, a 21-year-old man named Han (韓), approached them and requested Wang’s daughter to leave with him. Ms Wang refused to let her daughter

farmers watch a mud volcano consume a rice field in Pingtung County, Taiwan, July 8, 2019

Environment

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Mud volcano, Pingtung County, Wandan Township

A mud volcano in Pingtung County erupted yesterday, July 8, in a field adjacent to the site of the last eruption last year. Fortunately for the affected farmer, the field had already been harvested, but the Wandan Township government urgently dispatched an excavator to divert mud away from neighboring cropland. Mud spewed out to a height of over one meter during yesterday’s eruption. Farmers expressed the hope that the government would set up a system of subsidies for farmers affected

Pilot whale delights tourists on Taiwan’s east coast

Tropical storm Lekima may affect Taiwan weather later this week

Police dispatched to head off vigilantes after child abuse video uploaded to social media

Gunman believed to have killed himself after cops block escape

Bear cub rescued after wandering into village, chased by dogs

Railway Cops arrest fare-evader after he bites train conductor

Manspreading incident leads to punch-up on the Taipei Metro

Unexploded WWII phosphorus bomb ignites in New Taipei City

Two officers slashed, suspect shot in Taipei City

Man arrested for fatal stabbing at Kaohsiung City morning market

Wandan mud volcano erupts again on Pingtung County farmland