Police in the eastern county of Hualien recently discovered a man sleeping on the roadside and asked the bleary-eyed man why he didn't prefer his own bed — to which the man answered, “It is illegal to drive while drunk.”

A series of four moderate earthquakes jolted Hualien County in East Taiwan early Friday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

Both lanes of the Suhua Highway yesterday reopened to traffic at 5 a.m. after over a month of reconstruction work.

Hotel owners in the eastern county of Hualien said Sunday the closure of Suhua Highway has resulted in a 50 percent cancellation of reservations, dampening their hopes of increased business during the peak year-end season.

A Japanese man was found dead yesterday morning after falling into a 100-meter-deep gorge of the east section of the Swallow Grotto trail in Taroko National Park, according to the police.

A group of 10 American seniors, who are on a motorcycle tour of Taiwan, arrived in the eastern county of Hualien on Saturday on the fourth day of their trip.

The Hualien District Court yesterday ordered the detainment of a woman and her boyfriend in connection with the suspected murder of the woman's mother.

Nineteen Tri-Service Honor Guard members under the Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday visited a shelter home for physically and mentally challenged people in Hualien City after being invited to perform by a resident in the shelter.

Fifteen people suffered minor injuries when a bus carrying a tour group from South Korea overturned in the scenic Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan on yesterday, transport officials said.

The tourism department chief of the Hualien County Government was allegedly caught in a scandal of taking bribes of over NT$1 million from contractors during the past two years, forcing the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office and the Taipei branch of the Investigation Bureau to take prosecution actions.