Australian padawan steals lightsaber, embracing dark side

Australian padawan steals lightsaber, embracing dark side

2026-08-13

Star Wars enthusiast Makoto Tsai has been making realistic-looking lightsabers for over two decades, but recently he met a Sith lord for the first time. Tsai had lent a friend in Australia a red lightsaber to be used by a group of Star Wars enthusiasts, but one Australian national ended up stealing the lightsaber. The man even broke the Jedi code when he bragged about his act on social media, saying, “Reels blowing up right now, feeling pretty blessed.”

Over in Australia, these two force-sensitive men are swinging and spinning their lightsabers. This scintillating duel features a Jedi versus a Sith lord, who’s the one holding the red lightsaber. After borrowing the laser sword, the blond-haired man refused to give it back and even told famous lightsaber maker Makoto Tsai to send him a private message. The man’s reply to Tsai showed that he’d already embraced the dark side.

The Australian national blocked Tsai and even sent an insidious photo of him giving the middle finger. Tsai is still having a hard time accepting the fate of the stolen lightsaber, which cost NT$11,000 to make.

Makoto Tsai
Famous lightsaber maker
Geez. It’s ridiculous. How can somebody like this even exist? I lent that lightsaber to that group, for anyone there to use. But then, during a gathering, he ended up slyly stealing it, or you could say borrowed it without asking. And then he ends up never coming back. So my friend wanted to get that saber back, and that’s when we realized his lightsaber was taken, that the man insisted on not giving it back.

The social media accounts of the Sith lord with sticky hands got slammed by negative messages, yet the man has clearly embraced the dark side. On Instagram the man wrote, “Reels blowing up right now, feeling pretty blessed,” which clearly broke the Jedi code.

Makoto Tsai
Famous lightsaber maker
He dug in his heels, telling my friend in Australia “Why do I have to give it back to you? You gave it to me.” But this is ridiculous. He even posted a story, in which he said “when you yell at me it makes me happy, because it just increases my reach.” Geez. I’ve never met somebody this shameless.

Tim
Friend of Makoto Tsai
He was an apprentice that I felt had a lot of potential. And he never behaved like that in the past, so all of us had a lot of trust in him.

Makoto Tsai, whose government name is Tsai Jung-chou, is so passionate about the Star Wars universe that he developed a way to make lightsabers that look just like those in the beloved sci-fi series. Star Wars enthusiasts around the world love his lightsabers, which can be customized. They’re also entirely made by hand in a process that takes at least 10 hours. The attention to detail might explain why many of his lightsabers are owned by entertainers, such as Fast & Furious actor Sung Kang, a friend of Tsai who came to Taiwan for Tsai’s marriage registration. But not all lightsaber enthusiasts can resist the dark side, including this Sith lord from Down Under.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#StarWars #lightsaber #darkside #notcoolbro #stickyhands #buydontborrow

"星戰光劍"遭外國男拿走不還囂張傳不雅照還封鎖鑄劍師

2026-08-13

台灣知名光劍鑄造師「馬可多」，憑藉著對「星際大戰」的熱愛，打造出和電影裡幾乎一樣的光劍，受到全球星戰迷的喜愛，沒想到，他卻碰上一名外國男子，拿了他的光劍不還，而且態度囂張，要求馬可多親自和他聯絡，結果，這名男子竟然傳了不雅照給他，然後封鎖帳號，讓馬可多氣炸了。

手握光劍快速揮動，俐落迴旋，兩人在澳洲的光劍社團近身交鋒，非常精彩，不過，拿紅色光劍的外國男子，把光劍借走之後，索性不還，要求製作這光劍的知名鑄造師馬可多本人密他，只是密了之後…

不只封鎖，還回傳一張不雅照，價值1萬1千多的光劍就這樣被拿走，馬可多忍無可忍。

[[知名光劍鑄造師馬可多]]
“天啊，好誇張，怎麼會有這種人，這把劍是我借給他們社團，公用劍，大家都可以用，然後，他就是在社團活動中偷偷帶走，或偷偷借走，然後他就一直不來了，然後，我朋友就想把劍要回來，才會有發現說，他劍被拿走，他一直不還這件事”

拿劍不還的男子被網友群起砲轟之後，甚至還在IG上講說"我的REELS現在爆紅了，感覺超幸運"，讓人傻眼。

[[知名光劍鑄造師馬可多]]
“跟我澳洲的朋友硬拗說，我劍幹嘛還你，你要送我的啊，但是這個太誇張了，他還會發限動說，你們罵我，好開心，增加我流量，天哪，我真沒遇過這麼不要臉的人”

[[馬可多朋友 Tim]]
“他也是我算是有天賦的學生，然後，也從來沒有任何的那種不適當的行為，所以我們也是非常信任他”

台灣光劍鑄造師馬可多，本名蔡榮洲，憑藉著對"星戰"的熱愛，打造出和電影裡幾乎一模一樣的光劍，受到全球星戰迷的喜愛，可以客製化，每一支都是純手工，一支至少得花10個小時才能完工，許多藝人也擁有他的光劍，在電影「玩命關頭」飾演「韓哥」的好萊塢巨星，甚至特地來台幫他證婚，展現友好情誼。沒想到這回遇上這麼厚臉皮的人，掀起一陣討論。

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A 60-year-old man surnamed Yang took a handheld grinder to a speed camera pole on a road in Hsinchu. Then, in a fit of rage, he hacked away at it in the dead of the night. He was allegedly afraid of being caught speeding and angry at all the other speeding tickets he had already accumulated. Police arrived at the scene on Provincial Highway No. 3 after the incident was reported. The man initially claimed he was sawing a tree, but eventually confessed. He’s now facing potential criminal charges. Let’s find out more.

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Police seized an angle grinder from the under-seat storage of his scooter on the spot. Faced with the undeniable evidence, the man had no choice but to confess. Police investigations revealed that the man was from Taoyuan. After borrowing a friend’s heavy motorcycle he then suspected it had been snapped by a speed camera.Fearing the license plate would be suspended and feeling the weight of his own accumulated speeding fines that totaled over NT$100,000, he was pushed over the edge. He borrowed his wife’s scooter, removed the license plate, bought an angle grinder, and, figuring he might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb, sawed down the hated speed camera to vent his frustration.

Liu Jo-min
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Maintenance workers arrived early in the morning to carry out repairs. What started out as an attempt to dodge a speeding ticket ended up with the man getting caught red handed by the police for sawing the speed camera. His impulsive act not only failed to quell his anger, but he may also have to pay compensation and face legal trouble.

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

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MOFA minister Lin Chia-lung speaks to big group of youth ambassadors

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung carved time out of his schedule to speak to a special group of young people, who are either in this year’s class of International Youth Ambassadors or part of the TaiwanICDF’s first ever group of Campus Youth Ambassadors. These diplomats of tomorrow are about to head abroad to Taiwanese allies, where they’ll get first-hand experiences of diplomacy in action.

Through song and dance, this group of youth ambassadors are demonstrating the vitality of youth.

These musicians playing traditional instruments and singing Hakka hill songs will be going to visit diplomatic allies; also going abroad are TaiwanICDF campus youth ambassadors, who seem to be quite excited about the opportunity.

Yu Ting-hsuan
Campus Youth Ambassador
I started to understand that this opportunity is not only just about going abroad; it’s about meeting people, listening to their stories, understanding their cultures, and seeing how Taiwan and Saint Lucia can connect with one another.

Tsai Wan-yin
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To be able to become a campus youth ambassador, representing the TaiwanICDF and going to a diplomatic ally, I feel that this is truly an incredible honor. For me right now, I’m really excited and looking forward to creating brilliant things with the locals there.

This year is a two-part mission, with Palau being the destination of the first batch, who are the first group of Taiwanese youth ambassadors to include experts in drone technology. The second group will be going to Caribbean countries, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung waved the Taiwanese flag and presided over the ceremony in which the youth ambassadors were conferred their certificates.

Lin Chia-lung
Foreign minister
First, be confident when you go abroad. You represent Taiwan: a free, democratic, innovative, and open society. Second, be humble: listen carefully, respect different cultures, and learn from the people you meet.

Lin Chia-lung called on the youth ambassadors to exude a spirit in which anyone can be a diplomat, and to showcase the democracy and resilience of Taiwan.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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Taiwan puts wartime readiness to the test in urban resilience drill

Taiwan is putting its emergency preparedness to the test. The 2026 Urban Resilience Exercises got underway in Northern Taiwan Thursday, simulating everything from the distribution of essential supplies to wartime medical operations. President Lai Ching-te and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih inspected the drills, which also drew representatives from the US, Israel and Canada. The exercises are aimed at ensuring that even in a crisis, essential government and public services can keep running.

She scans the ID card and checks the list, before putting the supplies in a bag. It’s quick and easy. Northern Taiwan held its urban resilience drill on Thursday, which included an inspection of a supermarket distribution station by President Lai Ching-te and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih. This year’s exercises are being closely watched by the international community. At the scene was de facto US ambassador Raymond Greene, as well as diplomats from Israel and Canada.

Lai Ching-te
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Virtue never stands alone. It is bound to have neighbors. We are not alone in facing regional geopolitical challenges. The international community is with us. But we cannot afford to be unprepared. We cannot afford to rely only on outsiders. Each exercise we hold is a boost to our resilience.

Hou Yu-ih
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It’s best to be over-prepared for 100 years without calamity, than to be caught unprepared a single day. Being ready is extremely important.

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Shih Chung-liang
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Yilan youth band performs in US, charms expats with classic song

The M&Ocean Youth Band from Yilan’s Yue-Ming Elementary and Junior High School consists of 17 young musicians. After raising travel funds through their own performances to go perform in the US, they finally fulfilled their dream in late July by embarking on a 12-day exchange trip to California. When they performed the classic song Longing for the Spring Breeze, three to four hundred overseas Taiwanese came just to see them, and many were moved to tears.

Donning Taiwan baseball jerseys to showcase Taiwanese baseball culture, the M&Ocean Youth Band of 17 students from Yilan’s Yue-Ming Elementary and Junior High School traveled all the way to California to deliver brilliant performances.

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Tender voices singing Longing for the Spring Breeze brought three to four hundred attending expats to tears. Established in 2020, the M&Ocean Band saw students independently rehearse and design their own stage setups, starting from local markets in Yilan and eventually progressing to Taipei 101, government agencies, and major ticketed stages. Accumulating experience and travel funds along the way, they finally made their dream come true this summer by performing in the United States.

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