Couple found dead 9 days after car crashes over edge of remote mountain road

A husband and wife who were reported missing March 8, after failing to return from an outing March 5, were found dead in their car at the bottom of a 30-meter-deep ravine in a mountain district of Nantou County, yesterday, March 14. According to reports, the retired middle-aged couple, named Chen, left their home in Changhua County for a drive to a scenic area in Nantou County, Sunday, March 5. After they failed to return, and did not respond to

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Two suspects charged for killing, burying Formosan black bear

Two men have been charged on suspicion of shooting dead a bear, removing the satellite tracking collar, and burying the animal in an attempt to hide the evidence in a remote mountain district in Nantou County earlier this month. Forestry Bureau staff monitoring the bear’s movements via a satellite tracking device went searching for the animal after the signal disappeared on May 6 in the vicinity of the Wujie communitiy in Renai Township. After searching the area where the signal

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Dashcam captures driver fleeing seconds before landslide would have buried him alive

A dashcam video circulating on social media sites shows the moment a driver running back to his car and reversing to safety just seconds before the hillside collapses onto the spot where he had parked his car, today, May 16. Taiwan has seen many rockfalls and landslides after several days of heavy rain under the influence of a rainy season stationary front. At around 1:30 pm this afternoon, Monday, a man named Lin was driving on a backroad used by

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Crocodile hunt launched in Nantou County after caiman spotted in farm pond

Reptile experts have been hired to catch a caiman, after reports emerged yesterday that a crocodile had been spotted in a field of water bamboo in Puli Township, Nantou County. When a post appeared on social media saying that a crocodile was seen in a zizania pond readers were incredulous. “My mother said that there are crocodiles in the bamboo shoots field,” someone posted on the Facebook group “Puli People,” with an accompanying photograph. “It’s probably fake,” one reader responded.

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Paragliding accident leaves one man dead in Nantou County

Three paragliders from a group of four successfully made emergency landings after hitting turbulence while paragliding in Nantou County, Saturday, December 4, but one man crashed and died. According to a police report, the 48-year-old paraglider, named Wang, launched from Hutou Mountain in Puli Township at around 1:00 pm. At around 3:00 pm, the group were near Nanfang Village on Dongyang Mountain when they hit strong turbulence. Three of the paragliders made emergency landings in a streambed, but Wang’s wing

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Invasive giant toad species found in Taiwan

On of the top 100 invasive species in the world – the cane toad (Rhinella marina), has been found in Nantou County, Taiwan, according to the Nantou Forest Management Office. An amphibian conservation volunteer team recently discovered the toads in a vegetable garden in Caotun Township, Nantou County. The team undertook a search and removed 27 individuals from the garden. The Nantou Forest Management Office contacted Professor Yang Yiru of National Dong Hwa University, and in cooperation with conservation volunteers

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Pastor grapples with waiter over COVID dining rules

The pastor of a church in Nantou County lost his temper and physically attacked a waiter at a restaurant who insisted his party separate into two socially-distanced groups to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID doomsday virus. Pastor Lu, the minister of a church in Puli Township went to a local steak restaurant with four friends for lunch on October 12. The 18-year-old waiter, named Ho, insisted Lu’s party of five comply with the restaurant’s COVID-19 prevention regulations, and

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Suspect shot by cops arrested after night hiding in forest

Police arrested a suspect in Nantou County today after the man had been shot while escaping from a police roadblock yesterday afternoon. Police from Renai Township set up a road block in Wushe yesterday, August 17, to intercept suspected wood poachers in the mountain district. At around 5:40 pm, officers attempted to stop two men in a black sedan, but the driver suddenly reversed his vehicle, attempting to ram the officers, hitting a police car, parked scooters, and a residential

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Cops raid family funeral and issue fines after neighbors inform of illegal gathering

Police in Nantou County raided a funeral and issued fines to eleven family members, Saturday, June 5, after neighbors informed the police of an illegal gathering. Chen Zhiwen, deputy sub-director of the Puli Police Station said that police had received a report Saturday that “twenty to thirty” people had gathered in Guoxing Township, against epidemic alert Level 3 mandates that limit gatherings to a maximum of five people indoors, and 10 people outdoors. Police rushed to the scene to find

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Firefighters airlifted to central mountains, hike 5 hours to fight forest fire

A team of firefighters was flown to a landing point in a remote area of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, and faced a further 5-hour hike to reach a fire on Dashuiku Mountain today, May 16. Chiayi Forest Management Office dispatched the team after a fire was reported at around 4:00 am this morning from the Yushan (Mt Jade) Weather Station. As it would normally take three days to hike to the remote location, it was decided to dispatch a helicopter

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Lone hiker robbed, kidnapped, and dumped in remote area in Nantou County

A pleasant hike in a popular scenic area in Nantou County turned into a 12-hour ordeal when a man was confronted by two men, robbed, tied up, carjacked, and dumped a remote mountain area, Friday, March 19. According to reports, the 30-year-old man named Hsia, was resting in a pavilion on Jinlong Mountain in Yuchi Township at around 11:00 am when two men approached him, and demanded his money. Hsia was physically intimidated by the men, and forced to hand

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