Scooter rider runs for his life as gravel truck almost runs over him

A man riding a motor scooter in Taoyuan City abandoned his vehicle and ran for his life after he found himself in the blind spot of an articulated dump truck making a U-turn, yesterday, May 30. In surveillance camera footage that quickly went viral on Taiwanese social media sites, the middle-aged man is seen pulling out of a gas station on Yongchang Road in Daxi District, intending to go left. The scooter rider stops and gives way when a tractor-trailer

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`Roid rage? Champion bodybuilder smashes up convenience store, injures two police officers

Media outlets and social media users have dubbed a man “Taiwan’s version of the Hulk” after he went into a rage in a convenience store in Taoyuan City, damaging property, and attacking a clerk and police officers who attempted to calm him down. According to reports, the 28-year-old champion body builder and fitness coach, named Zhu, entered a 7-11 convenience store in Zhongli District, dressed only in shorts at around 9:00 am this morning. The convenience store clerk called police

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Parts of northern Taiwan on flood alert as rainy season front arrives

Heavy rain began falling in the early hours of the morning in northern Taiwan today, causing floods and power outages in Hsinchu County and Taoyuan City. The Hsinchu County Government declared a level three emergency response after the Central Weather Bureau issued a heavy rain disaster warning at 4:30 am this morning. From 2:00 am, rainfall in 10 cities and townships in Hsinchu County exceeded warning levels. From 3:25 am the maximum hourly rainfall in Hsinchu City reached 106 mm

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African baboon caught after more than 17 days on the loose in northern Taiwan

A baboon believed to have escaped from a zoo was finally caught today after leading search teams on a cat and mouse chase through rural districts of Taoyuan City over a period of around 9 days. The olive baboon was first sighted outside a factory in an industrial area in Pingzhen District March 10. After another sighting March 18, the head of Zhenxing village sought help from the nearby Leofoo Village Theme Park Zoo. While Leofoo Village has more than

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Baboon on the loose in Taoyuan City

A baboon first spotted in a southern district of Taoyuan City March 10 is still on the loose 13 days later, despite the efforts of local residents, and employees from a nearby zoo. Initial reports assumed that the olive baboon had escaped from the nearby Leofoo Village Theme Park Zoo. However, zoo staff conducted a careful headcount of their animals and concluded that none are missing. Hsinchu Zoo also denied the animal was theirs, stating that they had no baboons

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Civilian driver seriously injured after crashing into tank during military exercises on public road

A man remains under observation in an intensive care unit three days after his car slammed into the back of a army tank during a military exercise in Taoyuan City Monday night, March 20. According to media reports, the 33-year-old driver of a black sedan crashed into the back of a CM11 tank occupying the outer lane of Provincial Highway 31 in Yangmei District at around 11:30 pm. The civilian vehicle was severely damaged and Deng was rushed to Yangmei

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Army, Navy joint military exercises at key strategic beach on Taiwan’s northwest coast

A Taiwan ROC Navy Tank landing ship maneuvered close to a beach in Taoyuan City identified as a key strategic landing beach if the PLA were to launch an invasion, during joint army-navy combat drills yesterday, March 8. Zhuwei Beach, adjacent to Zhuwei Fishing Port, is one of 14 beaches labeled as “red beaches” in Ian Easton’s 2017 book, The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia. The beaches mentioned in Easton’s book include Jinshan (North), Jinshan

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National rowing champ dies after crashing scooter, falling into 14-meter-deep sewer construction pit

A 28-year-old athlete who won gold at the 2018 Asian Games was found dead at the bottom of a sewer construction pit five hours after he crashed his scooter in Taoyuan City, yesterday, February 16. Construction workers arriving at the work site on Guoji Road at around 8:30 am Thursday morning found signs that someone had crashed through the construction fence. After noticing that the anti-fall safety net was also broken, the workers immediately started pumping water out of the

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15 passengers slightly injured after tour bus crash on freeway

Fifteen people were injured, none seriously, after a bus driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed on National Highway 3 in Taoyuan City today, Monday, August 1. Taoyuan City Fire Department said that it received reports about a tour bus crashing and flipping onto its side in the southbound lanes of the Daxi Section of the freeway at 12:20 pm. TCFD dispatched five firetrucks, five ambulances, and 20 personnel to the scene of the accident. Fire fighters assisted the

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Huge warehouse fire produces volcano-like plume seen up to 20 kilometers away

A fire at a logistics center belonging to one of the largest supermarket chains in Taiwan destroyed more than 66,000 square meters, and produced a plume of smoke that could be seen as far as 20 kilometers away, Monday, March 14. The Taoyuan City Fire Department received reports about a fire at the Carrefour Yangmei Logistics Distribution Center in Yangmei Youshi Industrial Park at 7:33 am. TCFD dispatched 35 vehicles and 73 personnel to the scene of the fire. The

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Tesla on Autopilot involved in fatal freeway crash

The driver of a Tesla involved in a traffic accident that left one dead and two injured was using the Autopilot feature at the time the car crashed, according to reports in United Daily News and Liberty Times. The Tesla slammed into the back of a road maintenance vehicle near the Daxi Interchange on National Highway 3 at 9:48 pm yesterday, March 7. The 46-year-old driver suffered an injured hand, and the badly damaged Tesla was left blocking the outer

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