So I get to Zhongxiao Fuxing station tonight and I’m waiting for the train going westbound. I see it pull in and then a stampede of people rush out of the cars like I had never seen before. I thought to myself, there must be another stabbing or possible stabbing or something of the like. Then all of the sudden I hear the most blood curdling scream I have possibly ever heard in my life. I then get the impression that something is seriously wrong. I was still on the platform waiting to see what was happening. Part of me was ready to run, another part was extremely curious to know what was going on and yet another part of we was ready to stop or fight off any possible attackers. People were still running and there was only one man, a disheveled looking mentally disturbed man, lurching forward. Everyone cleared out of his way. I watched him go up the escalator and again heard that blood curdling, high pitched scream. It was just this guy, screaming at the absolute top of his lungs and putting his entire body into it. I heard him scream a few more times and then saw MRT workers running after him. He was just making his way to transfer on the brown line. They caught up to him nearby the escalator to transfer to the brown line. They just stopped and talked to him and then he just started making his way up the escalator and they detained him.
Certainly was quite a fright, especially after hearing that scream, thought it was a woman screaming in horror or something. Everyone panicked and it was quite a scene. Hundreds of people were there during the 7pm hour tonight. Seems the stabbings and other incidents are still fresh on everyone’s minds.
A couple days ago I got off an MRT train and reboarded a few cars down because there was some unhinged nut yelling in the car I was in.
A few years ago I saw MRT staff disarm and tackle some mentally disturbed guy brandishing a long wooden staff. He had tried to escape by jumping onto a train whose doors were about to close, but the driver kept the doors open for the MRT staff. A couple days before that I had seen the same man sitting in Taipei Main Station.
Good on them. We’re slowly evolving from people who live in our cell phones to people who actually pay attention to the world around us. This is Darwinism, survival of the most attentive.
I saw that movie in Taiwan and totally loved it. I was really surprised a few weeks ago to hear that it got a lukewarm reception in the US and many people were bored by it. Different viewing habits indeed.
I saw that movie in Taiwan and totally loved it. I was really surprised a few weeks ago to hear that it got a lukewarm reception in the US and many people were bored by it. Different viewing habits indeed.[/quote]
Maybe they didn’t get the references -Mazinger (mecas in general a la Robotech) or the kaiju/monster from the depths/Godzilla/Ultraman echoes. Funny those things were really hot in Europe, Latin America, for a certain generation. Dunno now.
And in general, US box office is being overwhelmed by the overseas one, many lackluster films in the US triple or more their performance outside of the borders.
Plus honestly, I was not enthusiastic about this one -and I am nuts about this kind of stuff- because the trailer was not that inspirational. Marketing in general was all over that awful Batttleships -came out more or less same time. Big stars! Tie ins! Bla bla bla!
We get people like that all the time. You will se the cops trailing the fellow two or three steps behind. If they get out of hand, they are escorted out -first floor area is supposedly open to the public, public building and all that kjazz- but I am always surprised how they get in initially.
Which leads to my question: how do these obviously not quite here people have the mind to step into the MRT system? Swipe the card? There are many homeless in the Main Station, but usually stay outside, too crowded in the passenger areas.
[quote=“Icon”]We get people like that all the time. You will se the cops trailing the fellow two or three steps behind. If they get out of hand, they are escorted out -first floor area is supposedly open to the public, public building and all that kjazz- but I am always surprised how they get in initially.
Which leads to my question: how do these obviously not quite here people have the mind to step into the MRT system? Swipe the card? There are many homeless in the Main Station, but usually stay outside, too crowded in the passenger areas.[/quote]
There’s a particular place in the Taipei Main Station MRT Station where people of questionable mental stability tend to camp out.
Thanks for posting. Almost a shame nobody got footage of him screaming and the stampede that happened (myself included) but given what was happening pulling out a phone to record could have been a very costly mistake. Luckily it wasn’t anything serious. Although they could probably pull it up from security cameras.