American Kills Himself in Court After Marijuana Conviction

American man Marhanka being led to court by police
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

An American cram school teacher killed himself in a courthouse in Changhua County this morning after being sentenced to a four year prison term for growing marijuana. Upon hearing the judges decision, 41 year-old Tyrel Martin Marhanka, Chinese name 李瑪翰 (Li Mahan), pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket and stabbed himself in the neck. Marhanka was rushed to hospital but the damage to blood vessels and his windpipe was too severe and doctors were unable to save

Read more

Live Tiger Shark Pups Rescued in Taitung: Valuable for Research

A tiger shark pup is measured
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Fishermen operating out of Chenggong fishing port in Taitung County, Taiwan, brought in two dead pregnant female tiger sharks in two consecutive days, from which 75 live baby sharks were rescued. The tiger shark pups were taken to be tagged and released by the Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Research Institute. The first shark was brought in on Monday, June 13, and another Tuesday, June 14. Video broadcast by news networks shows a fish trader at the port cutting open the

Read more

Plum Rain Pummels Northern Taiwan

flood in Taiwan
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Heavy, persistent rain in Taiwan’s north has caused flooding in Hsinchu and Taoyuan Counties, leading to road closures and train delays. Taiwan Rail’s western line has been reduced to single track traffic due to flooding at Hukou. At Taoyuan International Airport water leaks and a five minute power outage caused minor inconveniences for travelers. The power outage was caused by an overload switch being triggered when water pumps were turned on to drain floodwater. Locals call the seasonal summer monsoon

Read more

Elderly Man Stabbed to Death on Tiger Mountain: 18 Year-Old Man Arrested

Zhou Jianshen is paraded before media after confessing to a brutal murder in Taipei City
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

An 88 year-old man was found dead today after being reported missing by family when he failed to return home after a bike ride in the Four Beast Mountain area of Taipei City the previous day. A forensic examination found he had been stabbed more than 20 times in a vicious knife attack. The body of Mr Lee was found shirtless in an abandoned pavilion on Tiger Mountain. Police arrested an 18 year-old man this evening, Monday, June 13, in

Read more

Wet Weather Causes Floods, Landslides, Traffic Accidents

Scooter riders in torrential rain
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Heavy rains caused flooding in Taiwan’s south along with landslides, while wet roads contributed to a spate of accidents across the island Monday, June 13. The Council of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service issued a red alert for 85 landslide-prone areas and a yellow alert for 252 others. Evacuation of residents in affected areas in Kaohsiung began last night and as of this morning up to 1900 residents have been relocated to safer areas. In Taichung city, the municipal government prepared

Read more

Taiwan’s Oldest Nuclear Reactor May Be Restarted: If Safe…

Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The premier of Taiwan said he supported restarting the first reactor at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, if it is safe to do so. The comments were made Sunday June 5, as Taiwan faces a power crisis caused by limited supply and high demand, as the nation cranks up air-conditioners to cope with record high temperatures for June. Problems with the reactor, at Taiwan’s oldest nuclear power plant caused it to be shut down for maintenance in December 2014. The

Read more

Girl Found Alive After Flash Flood Four Dead, One Still Missing

A girl is rescued after flash flood
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A 15 year old girl survived a flash flood after a group of six people on a river tracing expedition were caught by a flash flood in the Pinglin District of New Taipei City yesterday. The girl managed to survive by clinging to a piece of driftwood. She spent the night resting on a rock. At dawn, the river level had fallen enough for her to wade to shore, where she approached the home of a resident, who called authorities.

Read more

Torrential Rain Lashes Northern Taiwan: Flash Floods, Landslides and Lightning Strikes Cause Havoc

Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Planes were grounded at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport this morning June 2, as a lightning strike damaged a radio navigation system, and blackouts and floods affected operations at the airport. A total of 104 flights were affected when flights were suspended a little before 9:00am. Flights resumed before noon, after the navigation system was repaired. In other areas of northern Taiwan, thunderstorms brought torrential rain causing local flooding. At 11:45 a rock-slide blocked traffic in both directions on the Su-Hua

Read more

Student Protest at Fu Jen University Escalates into a Hunger Strike

Students swear to maintain a hunger strike at a university in Taiwan
Protest 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

The president of a student union at Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City swore on a string of rosary beads to immediately begin, and maintain a hunger strike until school authorities commit to improving regulations governing the supervision of female students in school dormitories. Students have been protesting against a curfew on female students entering the dormitories between 12:00am and 6:30am. No such restrictions are placed on residents of the male dormitories. Protesters today argued that the regulations

Read more

Taiwan Swelters in Record June Temperatures

map of taiwan showing surface temperature June 1, 2016
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Record high temperatures for June has brought the risk of brownouts as Taiwan’s electricity grid strains to keep up with demand. In Taipei, the weather bureau recorded 37.9 degrees Celsius at 12:54, marking the previous record temperature for June previously reached in 1954 and 2001. At 13:34, the temperature measured 38.2. The municipal government instituted road sprinkling operations using recycled water to cool asphalt on city roads. Taipei City EPA said the asphalt can reach 50 degrees, and sprinkling can

Read more