An air-conditioning (AC) unit fell from a 17th-floor apartment’s window and killed a university student, causing consternation.
An AC unit attached to the wall of a tall building could fall for several reasons. If heavy objects hit it from above, the unit could fall. If its brackets were damaged by strong winds, a tragic accident could happen. In Taipei, it is not unusual to see AC units precariously supported by worn-out brackets.
Whenever I see an AC unit above my head, I give it a wide berth or walk through a pedestrian arcade. More improvements must be made to protect people’s lives.
The Taiwan Electrical Appliance Association has stipulated areas of concern regarding safety and regulations for the installation of AC units. It requires business owners to provide an AC security cage when a unit is to be installed on a tall building. This way, workers’ safety is protected and the possibility of the unit accidentally falling from the window is minimized.
Regrettably, some consumers still choose brackets rather than a security cage. They believe that this saves money, and their view from their window would not be blocked by an iron cage.
Moreover, to compete with others, some business owners lower the cost of installing AC units, and use steel brackets that are cheaper, but less solid. This problem has yet to be addressed.
Without legislation to regulate the brackets of AC units and ensure they do not become worn out, pedestrians’ safety would continue to be jeopardized.
The government must deal with the situation by changing the law, making it mandatory for all AC units to be installed with security cages. If the government fails to pay greater attention to this problem, a tragedy might occur again.
Inadequately supported AC units are like a ticking time bomb, putting lives at risk.
Dino Wei works in the information technology industry.
Translated by Emma Liu
A foreign colleague of mine asked me recently, “What is a safe distance from potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Taiwan targets?” This article will answer this question and help people living in Taiwan have a deeper understanding of the threat. Why is it important to understand PLA/PLARF targeting strategy? According to RAND analysis, the PLA’s “systems destruction warfare” focuses on crippling an adversary’s operational system by targeting its networks, especially leadership, command and control (C2) nodes, sensors, and information hubs. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, noted in his 15 May 2025 Sedona Forum keynote speech that, as
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) concludes his fourth visit to China since leaving office, Taiwan finds itself once again trapped in a familiar cycle of political theater. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has criticized Ma’s participation in the Straits Forum as “dancing with Beijing,” while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) defends it as an act of constitutional diplomacy. Both sides miss a crucial point: The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world. The disagreement reduces Taiwan’s
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is visiting China, where he is addressed in a few ways, but never as a former president. On Sunday, he attended the Straits Forum in Xiamen, not as a former president of Taiwan, but as a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman. There, he met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Presumably, Wang at least would have been aware that Ma had once been president, and yet he did not mention that fact, referring to him only as “Mr Ma Ying-jeou.” Perhaps the apparent oversight was not intended to convey a lack of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) last week announced that the KMT was launching “Operation Patriot” in response to an unprecedented massive campaign to recall 31 KMT legislators. However, his action has also raised questions and doubts: Are these so-called “patriots” pledging allegiance to the country or to the party? While all KMT-proposed campaigns to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have failed, and a growing number of local KMT chapter personnel have been indicted for allegedly forging petition signatures, media reports said that at least 26 recall motions against KMT legislators have passed the second signature threshold
RSS