Northeast tuna season opens with first bluefin sold for more than NT$1.8 million

The first Pacific bluefin tuna caught off Taiwan’s northeast coast this year sold at auction for a total price of NT$1,897,000 million at Nanfang Harbor, Port of Su’ao, in Yilan County this morning, April 21. The 271 kilogram fish opened with starting bid of NT$5,600 per kilogram, and was finally sold at NT$7,000 per kilogram to Taipei restaurant Sando House. The price was considerably lower than the NT$8,600 per kilo paid for the first catch last year, also purchased by

Read more

Snake on a train: passengers evacuated after boa constrictor appears on luggage rack

Passengers were evacuated from a train car after a boa constrictor was spotted slithering along the luggage rack on a Taiwan Railways limited express train this morning, April 18. The conductor on the Ziqiang Class limited express No. 272 from Miaoli to Hualien received a report of a snake on the luggage racks of car No. 12 as the train arrived at Ruifang Station, New Taipei City at 8:19 am. The conductor ordered passengers out of the car and notified

Read more

Art installation makes people blush? Expo organizer: “don’t think too much”

An art installation at this year’s Yilan Green Expo has drawn media attention due to resemblance to male and female genitalia, but organizers dismissed criticisms with the Taiwanese adage “don’t think too much.” The installation, titled “Made in Heaven” in the Orchid Corridor consists of a combination including dolls posing around a phallic cactus planted beside a yonic sea shell. The chairman of the Yilan County Orchid Art Association told Liberty Times that the special shape does leave room for

Read more

Indonesian caregiver sentenced to 1 year in prison for injuring employer who withheld her passport & air tickets

An Indonesian national employed as a caregiver in Yilan County was sentenced to serve one year in prison followed by deportation, after she held a knife to an elderly woman’s neck, causing injury, in an attempt to get her passport and air tickets back so that she could go home. According to the findings of the Yilan District Court, at around 3:30 am on August 8, 2021, 31-year-old Puji Lestari threatened the 81-year-old woman, named Wu, with a knife .

Read more

Offshore earthquake rattles residents of northern and central Taiwan

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Yilan County on Taiwan’s northeastern coast was felt as a level 3 in parts of Yilan and Hsinchu counties, and a level 1 as far away as Chiayi County. At 9:05 pm, the tremblor struck 33.3 kilometers northeast from the Yilan County Government Office at a focal depth of 106 kilometers. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, the quake was felt with magnitudes as follow: [Level 3]: Niudou in Yilan

Read more

Passersby spooked by banana bags at night

A resident of Yilan County uploaded pictures to social media after feeling spooked by what appeared to be ghostly human figures suspended in midair on a rural roadside in Wujie Township. The pictures were shared to the Facebook group “Yilan Knowledge +” as a warning in case people passing through the area at night get a fright. The spooky effigies turned out to be banana bunch covers used by a banana farmer to protect the ripening fruit. Banana bunch covers

Read more

720 KG amphetamine haul intercepted at Yilan County fishing port

Coast guard and police officers arrested three men after boarding a fishing boat and uncovering a 720 kilogram shipment of amphetamines at Wushi Port, Yilan County this afternoon, November 1. According to reports in United Daily News, the Taipei City Police Department Criminal Investigation Division received intelligence several days ago that the fishing vessel Zhenwang No. 2 was suspected to be involved in a smuggling operation. The police informed the Coast Guard Administration, and the vessel was kept under surveillance

Read more

6.5 magnitude quake felt island-wide: no major damage reported

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan County was felt island wide and caused minor delays in rail and metro services Sunday afternoon, but no major damage or casualties were reported. The quake struck at 1:11 pm at a depth of 68.6 kilometers, 22.7 kilometers south of the Yilan County Hall, according to data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB). The maximum magnitude was felt as a magnitude 4 in Yilan County, Greater Taipei, Taoyuan County, and Hualien County.

Read more

Execution style killing the 5th shooting case in Yilan in recent months

One man died and another was injured after an execution-style shooting in Yilan County in the early hours of the morning today, October 19, and it is the 5th shooting case in the county in a little over two months. According to the investigation so far, at around 2:00 am this morning, a 23-year-old man, named Liu, followed a car driven by a 22-year-old man, named Luo, with whom Liu had a dispute over a debt. At the intersection of

Read more

Train driver sentenced over derailment that took 18 lives, injured more than 200

The driver of a train that derailed in Yilan County, Taiwan, in October 2018, was sentenced to a four-year, six-month prison term after being found guilty of professional negligence causing death, by the Yilan District Court today, Monday, October 18. The court found that Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲) was responsible for the inspection and passing of the Automatic Train Protection System (ATP), which Yu admitted he had turned off before the accident. The ATP was designed to automatically slow the train

Read more

Police chase ends with suspect shot in Yilan County

Police shot and injured a suspect after he attacked a police officer following a car chase in Yilan County. Yilan County police were on a routine patrol at around 10:00 pm when they spotted a Nissan March bearing a suspected stolen license plate on Huludu Bridge in Yuanshan Township. When the officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver sped up and tried to escape. Police chased the suspect car for more than 10 minutes, and several kilometers, to Jinshan

Read more