The trees, known in Chinese as fenghuangmu (鳳凰木), usually bloom from May to July. Their bright orange-red flowers have made them a familiar sight in southern Taiwan.

Although the Japanese word itself has no insulting meaning, the phrase has developed in Taiwan into slang roughly meaning someone who is clueless, annoying, incompetent or “not quite right.”

Six big rigs smashed into each other on National Freeway 1 Monday morning, dumping a steel coil onto the road and grinding northbound traffic to a crawl.

Some hope the renovated park’s upgraded lawn could be used for camping-style activities, markets, and small unplugged evening concerts.

The Southern Region Water Resources Branch said the latest rain was helpful but not enough to end the water shortage pressure. Forecasters expect another possible plum rain front in early June, but officials said conditions remain uncertain and water dispatching would continue to be adjusted based on rainfall and reservoir levels.

Officials said the red-and-white stop area and the red octagonal “stop and proceed” marking both require drivers to bring their vehicle to a complete stop, check that the intersection is safe, and only then continue. Simply slowing down is not enough, the department said.

Chen said Cishan’s Gushan Park (鼓山公園) reflects both the district’s strengths and its current limitations. While the area has a rich historical background, he said, its overall tourism theme remains somewhat scattered.

The same dataset showed that several other parts of Taiwan were also shrinking. Kaohsiung was listed at 2,713,913, down 0.32 percent, while Tainan was listed at 1,849,281, down 0.25 percent.

(WARNING! The video is graphic) A video circulating online shows residents standing near the roadside with trash bags as they wait for a garbage truck. A vehicle then appears to move onto the shoulder at high speed to pass traffic before hitting the woman and throwing her into the air.

According to the airport, AirAsia (亞洲航空) is scheduled to launch a Kuala Lumpur-Kaohsiung-Osaka route on June 15, with seven flights per week. T’way Air (德威航空) began operating a Kaohsiung-Busan route on March 29, also with seven weekly flights. Spring Airlines (春秋航空) is scheduled to open a Kaohsiung-Ningbo route on July 4, with two flights per week.