Wanted woman chased by police, crashes into pond

composite image showing vehicle in pond and suspect arrested

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Banqiao District, New Taipei City, police-chase

A woman wanted for fraud attempted to evade a police check, leading to police shooting at the tires of her vehicle, and a chase that ended in a pond in Banqiao District, yesterday, February 21. At around 4:30 pm, police identified a minivan stopped at an intersection on Yumin Road in Tucheng District, driven by a 27-year-old woman named Zhang, who is wanted on charges of fraud. When police approached the vehicle and asked the woman to show her ID,

Fire

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Banqiao District, gas explosion, New Taipei City

An elderly woman died, and her caregiver and a neighbor were injured, after a gas explosion tore through an apartment in Banqiao District today, February 21. New Taipei City Fire Department received reports of a blast followed by a fire in a first floor apartment in a lane off Xianmin Boulevarde at 12:39 pm. Twenty-five vehicles and 68 personnel were dispatched to the scene. A 34-year-old foreign caregiver and a 20-year-old Taiwanese man were found injured and rushed to hospital.

Bulk carrier Xiang Fu aground at Port of Taichung, Taiwan

Marine and Fisheries

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Port of Taichung, ship aground, shipping accident

A Panamanian-registered bulk carrier was successfully refloated after mooring lines broke, causing it to drift and collide with another vessel, before running aground in shallow water yesterday, February 20. The 27,792-gross-ton Xiang Fu was docked and unloading cement clinker at Pier 44 at the Port of Taichung when 50 knot (Beaufort Scale 8) winds, described as the level of a moderate typhoon, caused the cable lines to break, and the ship to lose its moorings. The Xiang Fu collided with

M41A3 Walker Bulldog tanks in action in live fire military drills on Kinmen Island, Taiwan

Military Affairs

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment army, ROC military

Military officials have announced that a decommissioning ceremony will be held later this week to retire the aging M41A3 “Walker Bulldog” tank after 63 years of service in the ROC Army. The M41A3 was developed by the US military immediately following World War II. Mounting a 76 mm main gun, the light tank was designed for close infantry support and rapid airborne deployment. With 5,000 units manufactured, the M41A3 played important roles in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The M41A3

composite image showing laughing gas, nitrous oxide cylinder and car being driven on sidewalk

Drugs

February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment laughing gas, nitrous oxide, police-chase, Taoyuan City

A man who was seen inhaling laughing gas while driving refused to stop, and led police on a chase in Taoyuan City yesterday, February 19. Taoyuan City Police Department received a report at 2:50 pm that a man was seen sucking on a balloon, and suspected to be inhaling laughing gas while driving a white Mercedes Benz erratically in Taoyuan District. When police attempted to pull the driver over, the man, named Lu, refused to stop. Lu continued to drive

food opened, crushed, and dug through in search for contraband

Society

February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 Phillip Charlier 2 Comments COVID-19, human rights, mass formation psychosis, quarantine, virus mania

A college student complained that food delivered by her family while she resided in a quarantine facility was opened, dug through, and crushed by quarantine personnel, making her feel that she was being treated like a criminal, but the Minister of Health and Welfare said that this was “necessary.” The college student revealed the information along with pictures on the student-oriented social media platform “D-card,” on February 17th. The pictures showed that packets of snacks such as potato chips were

police attempt to administer alcohol breath test on driver

Traffic Accidents

February 19, 2022February 19, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment drunk driving, drunk-driver, Kaohsiung City

A driver who crashed into motor scooters, injuring two people in Kaohsiung City today, was too drunk to perform an alcohol breath test, and had to be sent to hospital for a blood test instead. At around 3:00 pm, the 57-year-old man, named Shih, crashed head-on into three motor scooters waiting at a red light at the intersection of Benguan Road and Jinding Road. Two of the scooter riders were injured and sent to hospital. The most seriously injured suffered

Traffic Accidents

February 19, 2022February 19, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment fatal accident, Hualien County

Three people died and two were injured in a single-vehicle high-speed crash on the Xincheng section of Highway 9 in Hualien County this morning, February 19. According to reports, a car carrying 5 people went out of control while overtaking a gravel truck and slammed into a tree at high speed at around 10:00 am. Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to cut the occupants out of the mangled wreck of the vehicle. Three people lost vital signs at the scene

Culture

February 18, 2022February 18, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Asia Pacific, Austronesian, indigenous people

A documentary series exploring the origins of the Austronesian speaking peoples starting in Taiwan, and expanding as far away as New Zealand and Easter Island, premiers on National Geographic tonight, February 18, at 9:00 pm. The three part series will explore language, shipbuilding, tattoos, architecture, and arts and crafts, and will be aired in more than 40 countries in the Asia Pacific region. The second episode will air on February 25, and the final episode on March 4. The National

Taiwan army CM-33 Clouded Leopard and Skoda Fabia after minor collision

Military Affairs Traffic Accidents

February 17, 2022February 17, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment army, military exercises, New Taipei City

A Taiwan army CM-33 “Clouded Leopard” armored vehicle had a minor collision with a Škoda Fabia during urban combat drills in New Taipei City today, just six days after a similar incident in Taoyuan City. At around 2:00 pm, the 8-wheeled, 22-tonne domestically-produced CM-33 driven by a 24-year-old army sergeant from the Guandu Division, hit the rear of the Czech-made supermini car in front of the Zhuwei MRT Station in Tamsui District. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the accident, and

composite image of Jesus Balloon Shop ad and laughing gas bottles being seized by police

Drugs

February 17, 2022February 17, 2022 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment laughing gas, New Taipei City, nitrous oxide

A 31-year-old man was arrested and 137 cylinders of nitrous oxide were seized in New Taipei City, following an investigation into laughing gas being sold under the brand, “Jesus Balloon Shop.” The New Taipei City Police Criminal Investigation Corps began an investigation after finding an internet user advertising flavored laughing gas on social media sites at a price of NT$4,500 per bottle. Flavors advertised included cola, sarsaparilla grape, mango, and honeydew melon. Police investigators traced the posts to a man

Wanted woman chased by police, crashes into pond

Residential gas explosion leaves 1 dead, 2 injured in New Taipei City

Bulk carrier breaks moorings, collides with container ship, runs aground at Port of Taichung

M41A3 “Walker Bulldog” tanks retired after more than 60 years of service in Taiwan

Driver high on laughing gas leads police on slow-speed chase in Taoyuan City

Quarantined residents treated like prison inmates: food delivered searched for drugs and contraband

Driver involved in accident too drunk for breath test

Single-vehicle crash on east coast highway leaves 3 dead, 2 injured

Documentary series on Austronesian origins in Taiwan premieres on National Geographic

Testing of made in Taiwan armored vehicle vs European cars continues: Last week a Volvo, this week a Škoda

Man arrested for selling Jesus-brand flavored laughing gas