A safe in Changhua County’s Fenyuan Township (芬園) that had baffled locksmiths has been opened after the township office raised the reward for opening it from NT$5,000 to NT$10,000.
The safe was cracked by an 80-year-old locksmith from Taichung surnamed Wang (王), who used a skeleton key that he said he has been using for 30 years.
Sitting on a folding seat in front of the safe, Wang alternated between working the combination lock and tapping the safe in different areas with a mallet. He managed to open the safe after 40 minutes, but found it to be completely empty.
Photo: Tang Shih-ming, Taipei Times
“There had been rumors in the township that the safe contained gold bars, so some people were quite disappointed that this was not the case,” township Mayor Lin Shih-ming (林世明) said.
After the office doubled the reward, news spread fast.
Wang said that friends and relatives approached him, telling him to take on the challenge.
He said he expected it would be no easy task to open the century-old safe, and brought a variety of tools to try, including a file, needle oiler, a mallet and his skeleton key.
After getting the safe open, he immediately made a video call to his daughter to share the news, he added.
He has been working with locks and safes since he was 13 years old, and has unlocked many safes and ATMs, Wang said, adding that he has a safe at home similar to the one at the township office.
“Nearly 10 people tried to unlock this safe before Wang, but they all failed,” Lin said. “Although people were disappointed that there was no gold or money in the safe, it was still a joy to see the inside of it after all these years.”
The safe, which had been used by the township office during the Japanese colonial era, had been exhibited with other historical items used by the office.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man