China: The USA trying to create a Taiwan Strait crisis by comparing Taiwan to Ukraine

Wang Wenbin Ministry of Foreign Affairs China spokesperson

March 28, 2022March 28, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment China, USA-Taiwan

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin claimed today that some people in the United States are deliberately making an analogy between Taiwan and Ukraine with “sinister intentions” in an attempt to “create a new crisis” in the Taiwan Strait. The Financial Times reported on the 25th that Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino during a visit to Australia warned in an interview that as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is gradually increasing pressure on Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the

armed robber seen running away after bank robbery

Crime and Criminals

March 27, 2022March 27, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment armed-robbery, bank robbery, Kaohsiung City

A man was arrested in Nantou County today in connection with an armed robbery in Kaohsiung City two days ago. At around 3:30 pm on Friday, March 25, a man dressed in a Food Panda uniform shirt, wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet, and armed with a pistol and a can of pepper spray, walked into a branch of Sanxin Bank on Chenggong South Road, Qiaotou District, as the bank was closing for business. The man pointed the pistol at a

Traffic Accidents

March 27, 2022March 27, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment battery-fire, electric vehicles, New Taipei City, Tesla Motors

A drunk driver was pulled out of a Tesla by passersby before the car went up in flames, following a single-vehicle crash in New Taipei City in the early hours of this morning, Sunday, March 27. The 53-year-old driver, named Lee, is believed to have lost control of the vehicle in rainy conditions at the intersection of Wenshan Road and Xinguang Road in Shenkeng District at around 4:00 am. According to the investigation the car hit a traffic island and

art installation featuring phallic cactus and yonic shell

Events

March 24, 2022March 24, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Yilan County

An art installation at this year’s Yilan Green Expo has drawn media attention due to resemblance to male and female genitalia, but organizers dismissed criticisms with the Taiwanese adage “don’t think too much.” The installation, titled “Made in Heaven” in the Orchid Corridor consists of a combination including dolls posing around a phallic cactus planted beside a yonic sea shell. The chairman of the Yilan County Orchid Art Association told Liberty Times that the special shape does leave room for

composite image showing gas cylinder launching from back of truck

Health and Safety

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment explosion, gas cylinder, Kaohsiung City

An acetylene cylinder being carried on a truck suddenly exploded and flew the height of a five-storey building before plummeting back to the ground outside a gas station in Kaohsiung City yesterday, March 21. The truck was stopped behind cars at an intersection on Jiangong Road in Sanmin District at around 2:00 pm when the cylinder suddenly launched itself like a missile, emitting flames and smoke as it flew into the air. The cylinder crashed back onto the truck before

composite image showing plane nosediving and site of crash

Aviation Regional

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment China, plane crash

Video footage from a security camera at mining operation around one kilometer away from the site of a plane crash that killed all 132 passengers and crew aboard in Guangxi Province, China, showed that the airliner nosed dived to the ground from an altitude of 9,000 meters. According to data from Flightradar24, the Boeing 737-800 belonging to China Eastern Airlines plunged “cliff-like” from an altitude of 9,000 meters before disappearing from radar at 900 meters at around 2:50 pm today,

composite image showing forest fire and piece of wreckage

Aviation Regional

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment China, plane crash

A China Eastern Airlines passenger plane that went missing from radar earlier today has been confirmed to have crashed in a mountainous area of Guangxi Province, China, according to Chinese state media. CCTV reported that a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 flight number MU5735 carrying 123 passengers and 9 crew took off from Kunming at 1:15 pm bound for Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. At around 2:50 pm the plane disappeared from radar screens over Wuzhou, Guangxi Province. At 4:30 pm, the

composite image showing car damaged after accident and cyclists affected in fatal hit and run

Traffic Accidents

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Bali District, drunk driving, foreign workers, hit and run, migrant workers, New Taipei City

A thirty-two-year-old Philippines national died after being hit by a drunk driver who fled the scene of the accident in Linkou District, New Taipei City this morning, Sunday, March 20. According to reports in United Daily News, the deceased was one of four Filipino migrant workers employed at a factory in Luzhu District in Taoyuan City who were on their way to join a long distance road cycling race starting at Liao Tianding Temple in Bali District, New Taipei City.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and other dignitaries pose with humanitarian aid supplies bound for Ukrainians displaced by war

International Relations

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan can help, Ukraine

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs this afternoon sent a shipment of more than 7,500 boxes of humanitarian aid destined for Ukraine and countries hosting refugees, and donations to a special account reached NT$678 million (US$24 million) today, March 17. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release stated that Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, Polish Office in Taipei Director Cyryl Kozaczewski, Slovak Economic and Cultural Office Representative Martin Podstavek and Deputy Representative Michaela Sulakova, Ukrainian expatriate, Daria Zheng, and Russian

Regional

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Japan

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan at 11:36 pm Wednesday, March 16, rocking the capital Tokyo, and triggering a tsunami warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake struck at a depth of 60 kilometers, 57 kilometers east northeast of the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture. The earthquake was felt over large areas of northern and eastern Japan with shaking of up to 6+ on a scale of 7 felt in Fukushima and

Culture

March 15, 2022March 15, 2022 Press Release 0 Comment books

Seventeen-year-old Taiwanese author Hermione Lee’s second book in the Otherworld trilogy was released on March 7th. It is a sequel to her debut novel, In the Name of the Otherworld, a young adult fantasy adventure book published last year by World Castle Publishing. In the Name of the Otherworld has received many accolades in various international contests, placing first in two categories in the prestigious 2021 Critters Annual Readers Poll—namely Best Sci-fi and Fantasy Novel and Best Young Adult Book,

China: The USA trying to create a Taiwan Strait crisis by comparing Taiwan to Ukraine

Suspect arrested two days after armed bank robbery

Drunk driver pulled out of Tesla before car consumed by fire

Art installation makes people blush? Expo organizer: “don’t think too much”

Gas cylinder explodes on back of truck and launches like a missile in Kaohsiung City

Video shows Chinese airliner nosedived from an altitude of 9,000 meters

Missing Boeing 737 with 132 on board confirmed crashed in China

Philippine cyclist killed in drunk-driving hit and run accident in New Taipei City

Taiwan sends 5.5 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine: US$24 million raised in donations

7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, Tsunami alert issued

Taiwanese teen releases second book in young adult fantasy trilogy