Taipei officials on Friday removed a potted plant installation in Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園) after receiving complaints that the trouser-shaped planters were frightening visitors after dark.
Inspired by a popular installation in Busan, South Korea, the creator used recycled materials to make the planters, the Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office said.
The pairs of pants with flowers sprouting from the waist were installed early this month in different postures among hedges in the park.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
They quickly gained attention online as people shared photographs of the disembodied trousers and discussed how frightening they are in the dark, with some saying they thought they saw an apparition or even a murder scene.
Others appreciated their creativity and came to think that they were cute — after overcoming the initial fright.
The planters came at no cost to the city, as the materials came from a concluded flower show at the Chiang Kai-shek Shilin Residence in Shilin District (士林), the office said.
However, due to the public response, it decided to remove them, it said.
In related news, officials in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平) have called for the return of a sculpture that was on Thursday found to have gone missing.
To promote the district’s agricultural products, the Taiping District Office more than a year ago commissioned a pair of sculptures to be installed in a riverside park.
Princess Loquat and Prince Longan stood about 1m tall on top of matching benches and cost about NT$100,000 each to create, office Director Hsu Kuei-fang (許貴芳) said.
However, at about 10am on Thursday, park cleaners discovered Princess Loquat missing and reported it to the Guangming Borough (光明) warden.
The screw that had fastened the statue onto a bench was apparently sawed through, Hsu said, adding that only the description plaque remains.
As the statue is public property, the culprit has clearly contravened the law, he said, adding that police were immediately informed of the theft.
Taiping Precinct Pinglin Station chief Chen Chang-cheng (陳嫈正) said that security camera footage from 6pm on Wednesday to the time the statue was discovered missing has not revealed any suspects.
As the office is not sure when the theft took place, Chen said it would continue reviewing footage.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
RSS