Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/02
By: Pan Yi-ching, Wang Shu-fen, Liu Kuan-ting, Lu Kang-chun and
Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) A bridge in Yilan that collapsed Tuesday, killing at least five people, was found three years ago to have damaged expansion joints, according to a maintenance report released Wednesday by the transportation ministry.

The 2016 report on the state of all bridges in Yilan said that the expansion joints on the Nanfang'ao Bridge were "obviously warped, damaged and sagging."

Motorists could easily feel the difference in the levels on the two sides of the bridge between the joints, which are designed to hold parts together while safely absorbing temperature-induced expansion and contraction of building materials, said the maintenance report that was commissioned by the Yilan County government.

The report, compiled by Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology, advised that the joints be replaced.    [FULL  STORY]

COMPENSATION: TIPC said it would give NT$5 million to the families of each fisher who died, while the people who were hurt would receive NT$10,000 to NT$36,000

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 03, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Three more bodies of migrant fishers missing after the Nanfangao Bridge (南方澳橋) collapsed on

Tuesday morning, crushing three fishing boats, were found yesterday, bringing the death toll to five, with one person still missing, authorities said yesterday.

Two bodies were recovered from the waters near the collapsed bridge in Suao Township (蘇澳) at about 11pm on Tuesday, the Yilan Fire Bureau said in a statement.

A third body was found at about 1am yesterday, the fourth at 8:40am and the fifth at 2:27pm, it said.

The victims were identified as 29-year-old Wartono, 32-year-old Ersona and 28-year-old Mohamad Domir, all Indonesians, and two Filipinos, 44-year-old Andree Serencio Abregana and 46-year-old George Impang, the Yilan Emergency Operation Center said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan English News
Date: October 1, 2019 
By: Phillip Charlier  

A bridge spanning a harbor in Yilan County collapsed this morning, October 1, crushing fishing boats moored below it, and leaving crew members trapped or injured.

At around 9:30am, a fuel tanker was passing over the 140 meter long Nanfang’ao Bridge when the bridge suddenly collapsed. Video footage of the incident shows the tanker passing the center of the bridge when a suspension cable suddenly snaps and the deck collapses.

The bridge collapsed onto three fishing boats moored below, leaving crew members injured or trapped.

Early reports stated that more than 20 people were injured in the incident, but by early afternoon it was clarified that at least 12 people were injured, including 11 fishing boat crew, and the tanker driver. Most of the injured fishing crew are of Indonesian and Philippine nationality.    [FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 01 October, 2019
By: Paula Chao

The government says those who refuse to evacuate coastal areas during typhoons could face a hefty fine. Under the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act, violators could be fined up to NT$250,000 (US$8,300).

The Central Weather Bureau has already lifted land and sea warnings against Typhoon Mitag after the storm hit Taiwan on Monday.

A coastal patrol guard asked a fisherman to get off his boat on Monday after sea and land warnings for Typhoon Mitag were issued. He responded to the call to evacuate but not everyone was cooperative. Two other fishermen didn’t care at all, saying there was nothing to be afraid of.  
[FULL  STORY]

Where should one begin to understand Tsai Ming-liang? From the beginning.The News Lens
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Brandon Kemp

For many directors, there seems to be something intensely personal about their first films. Malaysian-born filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang’s (蔡明亮) Taipei trilogy feels like that. In those films, he explores youthful anomie, unspoken longings, and familial dysfunction in ‘90s Taipei. By his admission, much of his inspiration comes from his own experiences.

Knowing where to begin with any director can be a challenge, particularly with one as deliberately paced as Tsai. For him, though, it really is best to begin at the beginning. To do so is to watch Tsai struggling to find a cinematic language, just as his recurring cast of characters struggle to find their place in a fast-changing world. No one can maintain that level of vulnerability, personally or artistically, over a lifetime. But that’s why it’s beautiful when one dares. By shedding many of the conventions of New Wave predecessors like Edward Yang (楊德昌) and Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Tsai freed himself to depict love and loneliness for a new generation and cement his place among the great auteurs of the century.

Tsai’s first feature, Rebels of the Neon God (1992), tells the story of a restless youth called Hsiao-kang (played by perennial friend and muse Lee Kang-sheng (李康生), who stars in all of Tsai’s subsequent works). At the film’s opening, Hsiao-kang is unable to focus on his studies, instead impaling a nearby cockroach with his compass. His superstitious mother is convinced her son is the reincarnation of the mischievous god Nezha, who in Chinese mythology detests his father and ultimately returns his flesh and bones to his parents, due to Hsiao-kang’s strained relationship with his father.

When an older punk gets in a row with his cab-driver father by lopping off his mirror before speeding off, Hsiao-kang decides to follow this stranger who has just emasculated the family patriarch. The nature of this fascination is never spelled out, but there are hints: After failing to befriend the older teen in their lone interaction, Hsiao-kang vandalizes his idol’s motorcycle at one point with the word “AIDS,” a projection, perhaps, of his own buried feelings.    [FULL  STORY]

Rescue services unwilling to confirm statement

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Two foreign workers have been found dead under the collapsed bridge in the Yilan County town of Nanfang’ao, Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) announced Tuesday (October 1) evening, though rescue teams were unwilling to confirm the statement by press time.

The identity and the nationality of the two victims were not yet known, the Central News Agency reported, though the minister said they had been found on board the Hsin Tai Sheng 266.

Four other people, believed to be either Indonesians or Filipinos, were still missing.
However, after Hsu was widely quoted in the media, rescue services said they were unable to confirm his statement, indicating that they still listed six people as missing.

Three trawlers had been hit by the collapsing bridge, with one towed away during the afternoon. The search for survivors was being complicated due to oil from the fishing boats, according to the report.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/10/01
By: Wu Ruei-chi and Joseph Ye

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) pledged Tuesday that the government will thoroughly probe a bridge collapse in Yilan earlier in the day, stressing that the authorities are doing their best to rescue those still trapped and will clear the debris as soon as possible.

The landmark bridge above the entry to the port town of Nanfang'ao in Yilan County collapsed at around 9:30 a.m., crushing three fishing boats under the bridge and an oil tanker truck just about to exit the bridge.

The Taiwanese driver of the tanker truck and nine injured foreign nationals working as fishermen in the three vessels were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals.

Another six migrant fishermen, however, remained trapped in the debris of the collapsed bridge and damaged fishing boats, according to rescuers, who were still trying to rescue them as of press time.
[FULL  STORY]

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 30 September, 2019
By: Natalie Tso

Typhoon Mitag closed offices and schools in northern Taiwan on Monday. It also brought winds of 126 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 162 kilometers per hour.

The Shihmen Reservoir supplies hydroelectricity and water to more than three million households in northern Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau said on Monday that since from 10:30am Monday morning, it has been releasing 360 cubic meters of water a second due to the typhoon.

The bureau said winds and rains will continue in northern and central Taiwan until Tuesday morning
[SOURCE]

The News Lens
Date: 2019/09/30
By: Daphne K. Lee

A looming typhoon and heavy rainfall did not deter thousands of people from joining Taipei's rally in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

Taipei is one of the 40-plus cities to participate in a global anti-authoritarianism rally this weekend. Protests are also held in Japan, Australia, Germany, and the United States, among others. The rally organizers in Taipei estimated a total turnout of 100,000 by the end of the march.

Shortly before the demonstration, however, Hong Kong activist Denise Ho (何韻詩) was splashed with red paint while speaking to the press. A masked man surnamed Hu was arrested along with an accomplice surnamed Liang. At a later press conference, Legislator Freddy Lim said the suspects were related to China Unification Promotion Party, a fringe pro-Beijing group in Taiwan.

"I really don't wish to see that one day even Taiwanese people have to wear face masks when they walk out on the streets or when they want to say something about democracy," Denise Ho said at a press conference after the incident.    [FULL  STORY]

Five individuals arrested, over NT$20 million in products seized

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/09/30
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Five people were arrested by Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) earlier in September for illegally smuggling contraband e-cigarettes and related products into Taiwan, the CIB announced on Monday (Sept. 30).

The arrests happened on Sept. 19 in Taichung City after an investigation into a man surnamed Jiang (江), which began back in April. In the raid on the black market e-cigarette operation, authorities seized 7057 canisters of nicotine and various products valued at over NT$20 million (US$645,000).

According to a CNA report, the group developed a method to smuggle nicotine-containing products into the country and to re-purpose the nicotine for use in e-cigarettes, which were smuggled in separately. A task force was formed in April involved officers from the CIB, the Taichung Police, as well as officials from the Food and Drug Safety Office of Taichung City (台中市食品藥物安全處).

The group involved in the operation was reportedly importing contraband from both China and the United States. They had developed a sophisticated operation, mixing their own flavors and pigments, and branding their products with the name “Tea Road” (茶道).    [FULL  STORY]