For many people, dogs are the glue that holds their family together, but for a married couple in Yunlin County’s Dounan Township (斗南), their pet — a black Formosan dog nicknamed “Mei Mei” (妹妹) — went one step further by serving as their marriage counselor.
At about 10:40pm on Dec. 2, officers at the Dounan police station noticed the screen door at the precinct’s front entrance being repeatedly pushed from the outside.
The officers checked the door and recognized Mei Mei, which they know because its owner, a man surnamed Tang (唐) who lives nearby, often drops in for a chat.
Photo retaken by Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
They did not let the dog in, thinking it was just wandering around the neighborhood.
However, Mei Mei did not leave and quietly waited by the door for an opportunity to go inside.
When Dounan Township Councilor Chen Ta-hua (陳大華) and his wife entered the station, the dog seized the opportunity to sneak inside.
Lai Kuo-pin (賴國賓), the precinct’s deputy director, said that, once inside, Mei Mei had wandered around the station anxiously.
The dog stood by the door as if it wanted to go home and then sit beside a table, resting its head on a couch and staring at him with gloomy eyes, before going back to its post at the door, Lai said.
Since Mei Mei had never gone to the station alone, Lai said he began to worry that the dog was there because something had happened to its owners.
His suspicions seemed to be confirmed when Mei Mei’s ears stood up when Lai said: “Let’s stop by your house to make sure everything is OK.”
When Lai and Chen arrived at the Tang residence, they found the couple having a huge argument about a family matter, which was apparently why Mei Mei ran to the police station for help.
Lai said that thanks to his and Chen’s mediation — and Mei Mei’s timely action — the couple resolved their argument peacefully.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
RSS