1,000+ scramble for Pikmin Bloom tours for Chiayi mini walk

1,000+ scramble for Pikmin Bloom tours for Chiayi mini walk

2026-04-29

If you’re one of the thousands of people playing Pikmin Bloom on your phone, take note. This year’s Chiayi Arts Festival is collaborating with the augmented reality game to host a mini walk that’s proven to be popular far beyond expectations. Travel agencies had tried to take advantage of the trendy game, by launching Pikmin-themed tour buses with tour guides that share gameplay tips and strategies. In less than a week, more than 30 groups have signed up. Operators say another 1,000 Pikmin fans have also signed up, mostly aged between 20 and 40.

The price of a one-day itinerary starts at NT$500, which has made it a hit with budget travelers. And if one day isn’t enough, there’re also two-day itineraries which feature rides on a slow-moving train to let fans maximize the rewards in the game while enjoying the scenery. Another travel agency has gone even further, offering a 5-day trip to South Korea, to take part in their own Pikmin Bloom Tour in Seoul.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#pikmin #pikminbloom #chiayi #seoul #trendy

促進國旅! 皮克敏專車上線一週破30團千人搶到嘉義打蘑菇

2026-04-29

嘉義藝術節和皮克敏官方合作，吸引不少玩家想到場朝聖。旅行社看準熱潮，推出皮克敏專車，還附上領隊，教戰攻略。上線一周，已經超過30團確定成團！破千名皮友搶報名，而且全都是20到40歲的年輕人，業者笑說，真的有被嚇到，沒想到這麼夯。

一日遊行程，團費最便宜500有找，小資族狂歡，課金玩家也能選兩日行程，搭觀光慢速火車，賞風景、玩皮克敏兩不誤。而另一家旅行社，更趁韓國皮克敏活動期間，推出5天自由行，都快完售了。

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Seniors use chopsticks, leaves to keep spot in line for free lunchbox

Pedestrians walking on a street in Kaohsiung recently came upon a bizarre sight: a long row of odd items, including chopsticks, bottle caps, and even leaves, were lined up neatly along the side of the road. They were there because a nearby monastery was about to hand out free lunchboxes. To avoid waiting in line, seniors used this unique method to hold their spots.

A row of items is neatly lined up along the side of the road. There are cigarette boxes, chopsticks, bottles, even bottle caps, all lined up neatly by the edge line. Passersby weren’t sure what was going on.

- Are these your chopsticks?
- Yeah.
- Have you used them?
- They’re not for eating.

This isn’t litter—they’re placeholders. The funniest was this oven, but there are also lots of straws, and even fallen leaves.

- They’re using these things to keep their place in line. They’re even using leaves.

- Does it work?
- I don’t know. One gust of wind and the leaves will blow away.

These peculiar placeholders stretched on for a few hundred meters, forming a strangely inanimate jockeying for position that left onlookers chuckling. The nearby monastery in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District hands out a limited number of free lunchboxes every month. Since these seniors can’t handle standing for that long, they use all kinds of objects to keep their place. But everyone has a tacit agreement: You just have to show up by the 11:30 handout time.

Staff
Monastery
We give out 200 lunchboxes at a time. This is how they line up. In a bit we’ll send out staff to keep things orderly.

Person in line
Used to it
It’s always like this. Those who want to will find something to argue about.

Even though their things do the waiting, when the time comes, everyone has to show up in person. And with the handout happening every month, this quirky placeholder parade is already commonplace.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#Kaohsiung #freefood #placeholder #liningup #oddity #seniors #waitinggame #monastery #charity

2026-04-29

Yunlin head says trade deal will devastate peanut farmers

Yunlin’s commissioner says a trade agreement with the US will be devastating to farmers in the county. The ART deal will allow Taiwan to import US peanuts tariff-free, which Chang Li-shan says will destroy farming. But Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih isn’t so pessimistic. He says the central and local governments should just work together to boost farmers’ incomes. Let’s hear more.

Chang Li-shan
Yunlin County Commissioner
Our country is sacrificing the rights and interests of our farmers. The policy will essentially destroy farming. How can you tell farmers to keep farming?

Chen Junne-jih
Minister of Agriculture
She’s the head of an agricultural county, and talking down Taiwan’s agriculture like that is something I don’t agree with. If you actually care about Taiwan’s agriculture and farmers, we should be sitting down to discuss how to raise their incomes.

Chuang Jui-hsiung
Legislator (DPP)
We have to acknowledge that the deal will have an impact on farmers. So what the government has to do is plan ahead and increase support for the agricultural sector as a whole, especially peanut farmers. It’s extremely important.

Huang Chin-tsan
Peanut farmer
I’ve always said that, as farmers, what we want isn’t compensation for losses. It isn’t. What we want is to sell our products, and for our products to be liked by a lot of consumers.

The Ministry of Agriculture says it will promote measures such as purchasing peanuts, establishing joint drying centers and expanding production areas to boost domestic peanut production. Taiwanese peanuts present several advantages in comparison with imported ones as they are fresher and have a smaller carbon footprint. They currently account for about three-quarters of the domestic market. The government says it will assist with marketing local products and increase differentiation between imported and domestic peanuts.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#peanuts #trade #us #taiwan #farming

2026-04-29

Envoys of Israel, Germany urge restraint on Nazi comparisons in Taiwan politics

A Holocaust Remembrance Day event was held on Wednesday in Taipei, and it was attended by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, and the representatives of Israel and Germany. The envoys of both countries used to occassion to urge the Taiwanese public and political figures to refrain from using Nazi references when criticizing political opponents. Most recently, such comparisons were made by opposition party chairs which led to the mass recall elections last year.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim lights the last candle to commemorate victims of the Holocaust at a remembrance event.

Representatives of Germany and Israel in Taiwan are also present.

Hsiao Bi-khim
Vice President
We are gathered here today to honor the memory of the people who perished in the Holocaust, stand in solidarity with the survivors and pay tribute to the courageous heroes who selflessly risked their lives to help.

The vice president also mentioned that Taiwan is continuing on the path of transitional justice and restoring truthful history. Meanwhile, the two de facto ambassadors both urged the Taiwanese to refrain from lightly using Nazi comparisons in Taiwan politics.

Maya Yaron
Representative of Israel
When I hear people—including here in Taiwan—use words like “Nazi,” like “dictatorship” too casually, too lightly, as if this is another comparison that they can use, my body reacts to this. Very recently, there were numerous uses of hate speech and hate symbols here in Taiwan, made also by top leaders, is a sign that must be noticed.

Karsten Tietz
Representative of Germany
We should all refrain from using such Holocaust and other Nazi comparisons lightly. We should not call a political opponent a Nazi just to express our gut feeling that he has some very bad ideas. To all my friends from Taiwan from all political parties, I would like to say, I have not met any politician in Taiwan yet who deserves this label. Using it feels like a slap in the face to the victims of Nazi tyranny that we came to honor here today.

Last year, especially leading up to the mass recall elections of opposition legislators, leaders of both the KMT and TPP had compared President Lai Ching-te to a Nazi. For the countries that actually experienced Nazi terror, Taiwanese politics are no comparison. Instead, using Nazi comparisons lightly is triggering to actual victims of Nazi Germany.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#holocaust #rememberanceday #taiwan #politics #nazi

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Driver accidentally reverses off embankment, swims to safety

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Cars take corrosive foam shower after parking fail in Taoyuan

A parking fail caused the cars in an underground facility to get a foam shower on Monday in Taoyuan. A driver was attempting to park a white SUV in the parking garage when the car bumped against a piece of fire safety equipment mounted on the wall. That was enough to trigger the fire safety system, which started sprinkling foam everywhere from the ceiling. The driver fled the scene, but this may not be the end of the story. Fire-suppressing foams often have corrosive chemicals, so the driver could potentially face compensation claims for damage.

A white car was parking when… Oops! It bumped against the fire equipment on a pillar and activated the system. White foam started drizzling down, turning the floor white. The driver scurried away, leaving all other cars enjoying their foam bath.

People in the underground car park were stunned.

Member of public
Would check the tapes
If it were my car, I’d try to find the driver. If they think it’s not their problem, I might ask staff to check the CCTV footage.

Member of public
Would ask staff for help
I’d be shocked and I’d ask management about how to handle it, since we don’t know what’s in the firefighting foam.

The incident occurred at an underground parking facility near the Taoyuan Arts Plaza. Many hours later, the ground is still covered in dried residue, and the red fire equipment is lopsided on the pillar. Netizens say that similar things happened to them before. Refilling the foam and cleaning it all up can cost NT$100,000. What’s worse, the driver could have to compensate for damage, as firefighting foam often contains acidic or alkaline substances that can cause corrosion if the foam gets into car crevices.

Mr. Cheng
Car wash operator
The foam can be acidic or alkaline. If it gets stuck in the crevices of the car, it can corrode the body. If you wash the car and wax it as quickly as possible, it should be fine and not cause severe damage.

The parking fail left many cars in a foamy shower, which could cost the driver a hefty sum.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#parkingfail #carpark #foam #carwash #parking

2026-04-29

Repeat stalker of underaged girls assaults elders protecting latest target

A 41-year-old man surnamed Yu, who was only released from prison recently will likely go back behind bars again. On Tuesday afternoon, Yu stalked an 18-year-old high school girl on her way home in Luzhou, New Taipei. The girl noticed that she was being followed, so she called her 72-year-old grandmother for help. When the grandma arrived and confronted Yu, he punched the elderly woman hard, bruising her face and her eyes, breaking her nose and causing her liver to rupture in the process. Shortly afterward, the local 69-year-old borough chief arrived on the scene, and he too was attacked by the man.

The police arrive on the scene, where a man in short sleeves sits lazily on the roadside. Earlier, he stalked a high school girl and beat up her 72-year-old grandma. The borough chief, who arrived shortly afterwards to stop him also got beaten.

Local residents helped the police restrain the suspect and put him in handcuffs.

More shockingly, the police found that he was carrying a craft knife.

Eyewitness
Commenting on incident
It looked pretty serious. The grandma was on the ground and had blood all over her body. The borough chief was punched in the eye and had to be sent to the hospital.

The footage caught on camera just minutes before the police arrived shows that the 41-year-old man, surnamed Yu, relentlessly followed the teenage girl who had just gotten off school. The girl can be seen trying to shake him off, but Yu persisted. She later called her 72-year-old grandma for help. The grandma came down from their home to protect her and scolded the man, and that’s when he started hitting the grandma, who was left with bruises on the face, trauma on her eyes, a broken nose bridge and liver rupture. The 69-year-old borough chief, who intervened later, was left with a laceration on the right eyelid and a damaged nasolacrimal duct.

Kuo Teng-fang
Xinyi Borough Chief
I asked him why he’d hit the grandma, and he landed me with punches. I didn’t have time to hide. He punched me in the eye. The injury probably won’t fully recover. We’ll see in six months.

The borough chief sounds pretty distraught about the attack. He had to get an emergency operation for the injury. It’s also not the first time for Yu to commit such a crime.

Lin Pi-lien
Spouse of borough chief
Two years ago, he targeted two young girls, who were in middle school at the time. All of us worked together to capture him over there on Xinyi Road. He was only recently released from prison, but he started stalking young girls again. He’d sometimes grope them in the elevator. People would call his mother to complain, but she’d only say that there’s nothing she can do and that it’s just the way he is.

Yu was previously jailed for stalking, and now he’s even assaulted elders such as the grandma and the local borough chief, making him a suspect of aggravated assault and stalking. In terms of civil law, he may also have to compensate the victims’ medical costs.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#law #crime #stalking #assault #repeatoffender

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Giant hornet ends up as garnish in bento box from Sanchong shop

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Banquet evokes historic French bombardment of Tamsui

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