“Patriots” will replace “the people” governing Hong Kong, to align with Xi Jinping Thought

Statements at a press conference ahead of today’s March 5 meeting of China’s National People’s Congress suggest that changes will be made to Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure that only Chinese patriots will be eligible for election in the “Special Administrative Region.” The changes will help align the former British colony with Xi Jinping Thought. On the agenda will be “improvements” to help Hong Kong’s election system “keep up with the times,” and provide a guarantee for the comprehensive

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Rebar collapse on Kaohsiung City construction site leaves 1 dead, 4 injured

One person died, and four others are injured, one in a critical condition, after a stack of rebar collapsed on a construction site in Kaohsiung City’s Gushan District this morning, March 4. At 9:20 am, five workers were tying rebar five floors underground when a stack of three-meter high rebar collapsed like dominoes for a length of between 40 and 50 meters, leaving two people trapped. Three others were injured but managed to extricate themselves from the tangle of steel

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Australian air force plane spotted operating over East China Sea

A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was operating in airspace over the East China Sea today, according to a Chinese think tank that monitors aircraft movements in the area. China’s semi-official South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) posted a map of the aircraft’s flight trajectory on Twitter today, observing that is was “unusual to see an Australian P-8A operating over the East China Sea.” The Australian Department of Defense (DoD) announced the aircraft’s deployment in the

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Gangster dead after shootout with cops in Kaohsiung City

A suspect being investigated for a kidnapping and ransom case was declared dead in hospital after being shot several times during a shootout with police in Kaohsiung City this morning, March 2. Police from Chiayi City Police Department, the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and Kaohsiung City Police Department were investigating a 57-year-old man named Lee, who is suspected of masterminding the kidnapping and ransom of a wealthy businessman in Chiayi City in January. Lee was driving a white BMW SUV near

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Plane crash in China’s Jiangxi Province leaves 5 dead, one injured

Five people died, and one person was injured after a plane engaged in cloud-seeding operations crashed into houses in Jianxi Province, China, Monday, March 1. All five people aboard the aircraft died, while a resident of one of three houses affected by the crash suffered minor injuries. According to Chinese language media reports, a twin-turboprop Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft, registered B-10GD, belonging to Great Northern wilderness General Aviation Company (中國北大荒通用航空公司) crashed in a residential area of Ji’an County at

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Players apologize after N-word used during UBA basketball spat

National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) basketball team players have apologized after one of their team members used a racial slur against a Senegalese-Taiwanese player during a University Basketball Association (UBA) game on Saturday, February 27. At the end of the fourth quarter of a close quarterfinal game, players from NTNU and Shih Hsin University (SHU) got into a heated quarrel during which, an NTNU player, allegedly called Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga (阿巴西) “n****r.” According to EBC Sports, the game was

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Landfill fire spreads pollution over Greater Taipei Districts

A fire at a landfill site in New Taipei City’s Bali District has been burning for more than 30 hours, and foul-smelling smoke has been reported as far away as Zhonghe District. The fire was first reported at the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau landfill site at 7:00 am yesterday, and although flames have been doused, the pile of garbage continues to smolder this afternoon, March 1. Residents of Luzhou, Linkou, Wanhua, Banqiao, Yonghe, and Zhonghe districts have reported

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“Democracy does not fall from the sky:” Taiwan’s democratic achievements remembered on 228 Peace Memorial Day

President of the Legislative Yuan, You Si-kun (游錫堃) said that he hopes today’s February 28 Peace Memorial Day will revive the historical memories of the Taiwanese people, and let people understand better, and cherish Taiwan’s hard-won democratic achievements. You took to Facebook to make his plea, after attending today’s 74th anniversary of the February 28 incident. “Democracy does not fall from the sky,” You said. Comparing recent events in Hong Kong, including the enactment of the National Security Act, with

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1 killed, 2 injured by runaway truck wheel on freeway

One person died, and two were injured after a wheel came off a truck and bounced over the center guardrail into oncoming traffic on National Freeway 1 in Kaohsiung City this morning, February 27. At around 8:00 am, two wheels came off a semitrailer traveling northbound at the 364 kilometer mark. One wheel remained in the northbound lanes, while the other bounced over the center guardrail, and hit a car traveling in the fast lane southbound. In the car were

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Taiwan stocks tumble following US market rout on tech shares

The Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index (TAIEX) fell almost 500 points, breaching the 16,000 barrier to close at 15,953 points, a drop of 3.03% from the yesterday’s close of 16,452, falling below the 5-day, 10-day, and monthly moving average on the last day of trading for the month today, Friday, February 26. The trading day saw a large volume sell-off in late trading, including a single transaction that saw 34,323 shares of TSMC (TWSE: 2330) shares sold worth a total

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Taiwan’s China Airlines launches last chance farewell party flight on retiring “Queen of the Skies” Boeing 747

China Airlines is offering a last chance to fly on its 747-400 in the form of a “747 Queen of the Skies Farewell Party,” before retiring the aircraft from service. Originally scheduled for February 6, the farewell flight was postponed due to a coronavirus cluster infection in Taoyuan City in January. China Airlines today announced that the flight has been rescheduled for March 20. Passengers who were originally booked for the February 6 flight, and who are unable to make

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