Highway police take delivery of new BMW 520i “red zebra” patrol cars

new BMW 520i patrol cars
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan’s National Highway Police Bureau took delivery of 34 new BMW 520i patrol cars recently, and the vehicles were put into service after a ceremony yesterday, September 18. NHPB said the new cars are replacements for vehicles that have been in service for more than seven years, and were purchased for NT$2 million each, with a total budget of NT$68 million. The bureau said that the BMW 520i patrol cars have the same excellent performance as they do in the

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Taiwanese company denies explosive pagers made in Taiwan

Gold Apollo display
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

The CEO of an electronics company at the center of allegations that its pagers were used in an attack that injured thousands of people and killed 11 in Lebanon, Tuesday, September 17, has denied manufacturing the devices, and said that they were not made in Taiwan. Hsu Chingkuang, Chairman of Gold Apollo, said that the pagers were merely branded Apollo Gold under contract, and that they were manufactured by a European company. Hsu said that the pagers were not manufactured,

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Exploding pagers used in attack on Hezbollah allegedly made in Taiwan

composite image showing scenes of attack and Apollo pager
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

Multiple news outlets today are claiming that exploding pagers that injured thousands of people in a covert attack against Hezbollah were made by a Taiwanese company based in New Taipei City. The New York Times reported that Israeli operatives hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were exported to Lebanon via Iran. NYT cited American and other officials who had been briefed on the operation as the source for the information. The claims arose after thousands

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Tropical Storm Pulasan may affect Taiwan’s weather later this week

Central Weather Administration forecast path for Tropical Storm Palusan
Typhoon 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A tropical depression east of the Philippines intensified into a tropical storm last night, and is forecast to track north of Taiwan later this week, potentially affecting the weather as early as Wednesday evening. Tropical Storm Pulasan, the 14th named tropical storm in the northwest Pacific this year, was generated from tropical depression TD16 at around 8:00 pm Sunday evening. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, Pulasan is currently located 2,450 kilometers east-southeast of Hengchun Peninsula, and is moving in

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Chinese man arrives in Taiwan after crossing the Taiwan Strait in a rubber boat

man in inflatable boat
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

A Chinese man is being treated for severe dehydration after landing on a beach in northern Taiwan in a rubber boat early this morning, Saturday, September 14. According to reports, the 31-year-old man, named Wang, was spotted by anglers when he was around 100 meters from the shore in Linkou District, New Taipei City, at around 6:30 am. Coast guard officers from Zhuwei Fishing Port and firefighters from the New Taipei City Fire Department responded to reports, and helped the

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Pilot rescued after ejecting before fighter jet crashes into the Taiwan Strait

pilot rushed to hospital on stretcher wearing neckbrace
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An air force pilot was plucked from the water two hours after ejecting from his stricken fighter jet off the coast of northern Taiwan, last night. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun was piloting a single-seater Mirage 2000 on a routine night training flight after taking off from Hsinchu Air Base at 8:05 pm. The aircraft was returning to base when it lost power around 16.7 nautical miles southwest of Nanliao, Hsinchu County, at 8:35 pm.

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Driver who hit and injured turtle ordered to pay damages, but pet owner also at fault

gavel and law books
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

A Taichung City resident was ordered to pay 80% of medical costs for the repair of a turtle’s shell, after she hit the animal while driving out of a parking lot in October, 2023. The pet owner was also found partially at fault. According to evidence presented to the Taichung District Court, a man named Hsu was walking his pet turtle in a car park when a woman, named Lee, driving a light truck, hit the animal, causing cracks to

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4 dead after 3 truck crashes on National Highway 3: pile-up in tunnel causes commuter headache

car sandwiched between two trucks
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Four people have died in three separate traffic accidents on National Highway 3 since late last night, and a 15-vehicle pile-up caused a major traffic jam in the northbound lanes in Taoyuan city this morning. Drunk driving suspected in container truck crash Police and firefighters responded to reports of a single-vehicle accident involving a container truck near the Daxi exit in the southbound lanes of National Highway 3 in Taoyuan City at around 11:20 pm yesterday. Firefighters rescued the 34-year-old

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Guns disguised as everyday objects seized in Yunlin County

modified gun made from trekking pole
Crime and Criminals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Police in Yunlin County arrested a man after a search of his workshop uncovered guns disguised as everyday objects such as trekking poles and ballpoint pens. Yunlin District Prosecutor’s Office issued a press release today saying they ordered an investigation into a 58-year-old suspect named Chen on suspicion that he was involved in manufacturing illegal weapons. Police from Taichung City and Dounan Township conducted a search of a ironworks factory owned by Chen on September 1. The search uncovered a

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Taiwan’s Little League Baseball Dream Falls Just Short in World Series

Taiwan little league baseball team at world series final
Sport 
Lyon Chiang 0 Comment ,

Lyon Chiang, New York On August 26th, Taiwan’s Guishan Elementary School (龜山國小) baseball team faced Florida, representing the U.S., in the championship of the 2024 Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Taiwan took an early lead by scoring a run in the first inning, but the U.S. team equalized in the bottom of the sixth, pushing the game into extra innings. In the eighth inning, a bunt from the U.S. side led to a critical error by Taiwan,

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Three men sentenced over Taiwan’s largest cat-smuggling case

cats smuggled in cat cages
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Three men, including a former coast guard officer, were found guilty and sentenced for attempting to smuggle 154 cats from China to Taiwan in 2021. Taiwan’s Supreme Court sentenced Zhang Fangyi and Zheng Changjia to one and a half years in prison, while Guo Minhao was sentenced to one year and two months suspended for four years. According to evidence presented to the court, on August 19, 2021, the fishing boat Shunfa 88 departed from the Badouzi Fishing Port in

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