The UFO Files Of Taiwan And Alien Activity In The Far East

Most of us are familiar with UFO sightings in such countries as the United States, Canada, Brazil, Russia, and throughout Europe, but perhaps a location that might sneak under the radar in terms of UFO activity is Taiwan. However, there is ample UFO activity there and has been for decades at the very least.

The Taiwan Unidentified Flying Objects Association (TUFOA), headed by chief investigator Ho Hsien-jung has investigated many of these sightings, both directly and retrospectively. What’s more, many of these sightings are seemingly backed up with photographic evidence.

Furthermore, sightings of strange objects in the skies over the Far East have been taking place for years, with some accounts even dating back centuries. And when we examine these incidents and accounts, we once again begin to see similarities and matching variables that might suggest rather than being random one-off events, they might very well be much more widely connected.

Many Sightings With Corroborating Photographic Evidence

One of the earliest UFO images ^[1] captured over Taiwan occurred in 1961 when a distinctive disc-shaped object was captured moving over Taitung City by Wang Shi-lin. Wang was simply walking one afternoon when he suddenly noticed the bizarre object ahead of him. Given that he had brought his camera with him on his walk, he thought quickly enough to take a photo of the apparent object. You can see that picture below.

The picture appears to show a glowing or reflecting object in a definite disc shape. However, few other details can be made out.

Around the same time, a similar object was captured on camera by Tsai Chang-hung in Yuanshan Park. Ho would state that this particular photograph was “the most famous photo of a UFO in Taiwan”, adding that many thousands of people who have seen it “believe that it is a UFO”.

Incidentally, Tsai Chang-hung is a relative of respected scholar, Tsai Chang-hsien, the former head of the Taipei City Observatory, which perhaps gives his sightings and picture a little more credibility. You can view that picture below.

Ho also draws attention to the fact that the picture captured at Yuanshan Park is near an apparent UFO hotspot named Yangmingshan. According to Ho, “sightings of UFOs have been a common occurrence for hundreds of years” in this region.

Even more interesting, is a megalith on top of Chihsing Mountain nearby that Ho claims was placed there by ancient people in order to serve as a message of sorts to extraterrestrials above, something that several local historians also conclude, while mainstream historians remain divided and uncertain as to its purpose. It is perhaps interesting to note that many ancient astronaut researchers believe ancient megalithic structures in other locations around the planet also served a similar purpose.

Credible Sightings Investigated Retrospectively

Sightings of strange objects, of course, are on record in much more recent times and are still taking place today. In December 1999, for example, a motorist on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway, Li Chun-hsiung, witnessed a strange fireball-like object rocketing upward in the skies as he sat waiting in traffic, even managing to capture a photograph.

When investigators from TUFOA examined the picture and took details of the sighting from the witness, their conclusion was that the object was likely the “afterburner belonging to an alien spaceship leaving the Earth’s atmosphere”.

Although it didn’t come to light until February 2001, an incident that occurred almost a decade and a half earlier is also of interest to us here. According to the report, on 25^th August 1987, a retired schoolteacher, Li Sung-yi, was waiting at Shulin train station in Taipei County at around 7 pm. As they were stood on the platform, they noticed a bizarre light in the sky that appeared to have emerged from behind Tatung Mountain.

They watched the glowing object, at first believing it to be an airplane. However, after several moments, “the shape of the object became apparent”. They would describe it as having a lemon shape to it and was certainly an aircraft that the one-time schoolteacher was unfamiliar with.

Li continued to watch as the object began to “fly back and forth over the summit of Tatung Mountain”. As it did so, “the lights (on the object) were flashing very brightly”. As Li looked around the platform, it was clear that others there were also viewing the object overhead. Li turned his attention back to the craft, just in time to see it begin “gyrating incredibly quickly” before it disappeared with alarming speed.

Li looked around the platform, noticing the looks of confusion on many of the witnesses’ faces. He would recall how many were “looking at each other, not knowing what they had just seen”. Li, though, was certain that the vehicle was most definitely a craft of unknown, and likely non-terrestrial origin.

A Bizarre Playground Discovery

Another UFO incident occurred around the same time as the Shulin train station sighting although it was only investigated by TUFOA in the early 2000s, and ultimately appeared in print in the 26^th March 2001 edition of the Liberty Times newspaper. ^[2]

According to the account, a student from a Touchou primary school in Hsinwu in Taoyuan County was playing in the school’s playground when she discovered a strange object, approximately 30 cm wide, on the floor. She promptly picked it up and took it to one of her teachers for inspection. The teacher in question was largely unimpressed and believing it to be nothing more than a child’s toy, allowing the student to take the object home with her. However, when the student arrived home, she and her brother made a remarkable discovery.

Between them, they cut into the object to see what was inside. They would discover, just under the outer layer, a “flesh-like substance”. A little spooked by their discovery, they left the object outside the house. Within several days, it had rotted away to almost nothing.

How accurate or authentic this account may or may not be is open to debate. However, the fact that the teacher and the main witness’s brother also saw the object is perhaps a nod toward credibility. Of course, what the object was is completely open to debate. Might the “flesh-like” substance be a sign, as some UFO researchers have suggested, that these strange crafts are actually living organisms? It is certainly an intriguing case.

A Desire To Operate Outside Of The Public Arena

Despite the wealth of reports, they have gathered and the many cases they have investigated, the TUFOA looks to stay away from publicity wherever possible, and this might tell us more of Taiwan’s official stance on such matters than anything else.

For example, although they have collected numerous reports from airline pilots of strange objects in the skies, the aviation authority of Taiwan refuses to recognize the accounts. In fact, Ho claims that these denials often have a feel of being given a warning to them. Also of concern is that ultimately, the larger population would not take them seriously should they court publicity around each and every case they suspect to be genuine.

This is a precaution also taken to protect potential witnesses, particularly those sought out to corroborate UFO sightings in the region when photographic or video evidence is not present. As Ho explains, when they have to seek out corroborating witnesses, not only can this take time but “many of those involved don’t particularly want attention either”.

If we return our attention to the sighting of Li Sung-yi at Shulin train station in August 1987 we will find it is a good example of why Taiwanese UFO investigators and witnesses look to avoid publicity regarding such events. Li was invited to speak of the incident on a television show not long after the events had played out. Although there were over a dozen witnesses to the event, only Li agreed to speak publicly about it on the show. It was a decision he would regret.

He recalled how it was clear that “the people on the show thought the whole thing was a joke”. He had essentially been asked to speak on the show to entertain the viewers as opposed to analyzing the possibility of extraterrestrials visiting the Earth.

Incidentally, over the days and weeks that followed the incident, a string of UFO sightings were reported over Taipei, Shanghai, and Kyushu in Japan.

Persistent UFO Activity In The Far East

Not only in Taiwan but the entire region has seemingly been awash with UFO activity for decades, if not longer.

One of the earliest UFO photographs on record – taken in 1911 – comes from the city of Tianjin in China. A Japanese journalist managed to capture what appears to be a disc-shaped object in the skies above a busy street. You can see that picture below.

Sightings in this region of the world, though, have seemingly been taking place for some time. Including across the water in a province of China.

Can-Shaped Object Over And Apparent Alien Entities In The Fujian Province, China

Although the date is uncertain, at some point in 1989 multiple witnesses saw a bizarre can-shaped object in the Fujian Province of China, which resides less than 300 miles from Taiwan. The anonymous witness who reported the sighting claimed that they first believed the dark object they were seeing was a satellite. However, the closer it got he soon realized he was witnessing something more otherworldly.

The object was moving at an approximate speed of around 30 miles per hour and was at an altitude of around 2,000 feet. What the witness found particularly strange was that the object appeared to make so sound whatsoever. In total, over 40 people witnessed the strange, can-shaped craft before it disappeared into the distance.

Intriguingly, when the witness reported the encounter, he also revealed several other sightings of strange objects and even apparent occupants in the region. For example, he would claim that not long after the sighting of the can-shaped object, while sleeping at his grandmother’s house, he would recall how his grandmother had awoken to see a strange creature, approximately around 10 feet tall, stood by her bed. She remained quiet, not turning on the light until the creature seemingly vanished.

On another occasion one evening in 1996 his cousin saw a similar creature, around seven feet tall while making his way to the outside bathroom. He noticed that the creature “had a tail” – which perhaps evokes images of a reptilian entity – and that it disappeared in a matter of seconds, as if it vanished into thin air.

Military Pilots Regularly Spot UFOs Over Bangladesh

On the evening of 12^th April 2005, a pilot flying on a training mission over Bangladesh at an approximate altitude of 12,000 feet would spot a bright, glowing object in the sky. He quickly ruled out it being a star or a planet, as well as any kind of ground reflection, not least because of the thick haze below him. You can a picture the pilot managed to capture below.

Interestingly, the pilot claimed he and other pilots have seen strange objects on several occasions in this same region, with one sighting featuring six glowing orbs moving across the sky together. Another sighting of a similar glowing object was witnessed by 12 people and was clearly visible for a minute before disappearing.

In fact, the pilot would state when reporting the sighting to UFO investigators that they should perhaps consider Bangladesh a UFO hotspot given the number of strange objects that have been witnessed.

UFOs Over Hong Kong

Perhaps some of the most intriguing UFO encounters of recent times in the Far East have occurred over Hong Kong. And we might be well served to examine some of the more detailed accounts, not least as it is barely 500 miles from Taiwan and features sightings that share very similar details.

We start with a sighting that was witnessed by a businessman, who witnessed strange lights overhead during the New Year’s celebrations of the new millennium.

Strange V-Formation Of Lights Over Hong Kong During Millennium Celebrations

On New Year’s Eve 1999 (going into 2000), somewhere between 8 pm and 9 pm, a British ex-pat witnessed several golden orbs in the skies overhead as Hong Kong welcomed in the new millennium.

The witness, a company director of his own business in Hong Kong, admitted to having an interest in UFOs before the sighting but also stated that he didn’t “have anything to gain” from reporting it, other than to contribute it to the public record.

On the night in question, the witness, along with three of his friends, was on a junk boat celebrating the upcoming new year when they saw several strange lights in the sky. The lights appeared similar to those shown in the Phoenix Lights sighting of 1997, according to the witness the lights were in a “V-shaped formation of amber-colored orbs”. He would continue that:

It (the V-shape) was joined by four further V-shaped formations. These V-shaped formations move without sound and very slow.

The witness elaborated that the formations were “flying around a beam of light” that came from the IFC 1 building. The witness, and his three friends, would watch the strange lights for several hours, sometimes noticing how the lights changed from the amber color to a “bright gold”.

They would estimate that the lights were approximately at an altitude of 800 feet and that the width of the V-shape itself was around 1000 feet, perhaps more.

He also noticed how many of the indigenous population were largely uninterested in the lights, although he had the feeling they were “superstitious” of them as if they perhaps knew something of the nature of their existence and origin.

Although the main witness was eager to report the sighting, his friends did not share his enthusiasm, instead fearing ridicule from their friends and work colleagues.

Incidentally, the witness would also recall how disappointed he was that he did not have a camera or video camera with him (remember, this sighting occurred when mobile phones didn’t automatically have cameras on them).

Interestingly or not, there were several UFO sightings ^[3] over mainland China at around the same time as the sightings over Hong Kong. In an article in the 11^th January edition of the New York Times, Elizabeth Rosenthal claimed that “dozens of sightings” of “strange shining objects” were witnessed by hundreds of people in locations such as Wuhan, Dalian, Xian, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai.

In fact, the sightings were so widespread even the official news media of the country featured them in their television news reports, newspapers, and even television documentaries.

A former Foreign Ministry official and (then) president of the Beijing UFO Research Society, Sun Shili, claimed that “the level of interest and acceptance” of UFOs and their possible origins was rising in the country, with even the normally “very serious and careful” media taking a serious interest in them.

V-Shaped Craft Appears Out Of Nowhere Over Apartment Building

Seven years later, in August and September 2007 respectively, two more distinctive UFO incidents unfolded over Hong Kong.

The first occurred in the early hours of 26^th August, at a little after 2:30 am, when a local resident happened to be looking out of their bedroom window. Much to their disbelief, they saw a strange, triangular object moving across the sky. He viewed it for just short of 10 seconds. It stood out specifically due to the mountain range in the distance.

The witness noticed that there were “three white lights” seemingly on the underside of the object which clearly defined its shape. He also noticed that the edges of the triangle appeared to be rounded. Although it was only in his sight for seconds, he could recall how it moved with “rapid, erratic movements”.

Just short of a month later, on the evening of 12^th September 2007 at Pok Fu Lam, a V-shaped object was witnessed for several seconds flying overhead. Once more, the object was only in sight for less than 10 seconds, but the witness recall several intriguing details.

On the night in question, at around 8 pm, the witness was on the balcony of their 13^th-floor apartment which overlooked the sea, with his teenage son, his wife, and a friend and his wife, who were their guests for the evening. He and his son were looking out into the distance as they flicked his son’s laser beam on and off, watching it cut through the clear night sky.

Suddenly, a V-shaped craft appeared “out of nowhere” directly above them. They immediately noticed the object had orange-brown lights on the underside which had a solid glow about them. The witness, who had reported a sighting of an identical object in 2000 to MUFON, shouted out to alert his wife and guests to look upward. They did and all witnessed the object as it moved off into the distance, disappearing seconds later.

Interestingly, the witness would report that it appeared to “vanish” in front of their eyes as opposed to disappearing into the distance. However, because of the speed it was moving, this could have been an optical illusion. That the craft was there, though, was without doubt to those who saw it.

He estimated that it was flying at an altitude of 800 feet (similar to the sighting a month earlier) and appeared to be “over a mile” wide. Once more, like the sighting over Hong Kong on New Year’s Eve 1999, the object reminded the witness of the Phoenix Lights.

Sightings Of The Philippines

It is perhaps also worth our time examining some of the many UFO sightings that have occurred of the Philippines, which is located to the south of Taiwan, but again, in relative terms, is just a stone’s throw away.

We will start with several sightings that took place at the military facilities around the country.

Incidents Around Military Facilities

The are several UFO sightings on record that have taken place at various military facilities of the Philippines. And what’s more, they stretch across several decades.

For example, one evening in 1963 or 1964, a member of the Air Police at Clark Air Force Base received a sudden call that a Strike Team should attend the end of the runway due to the radar having picked up a large object there. The witness, although not part of the Strike Team, would observe what took place. He saw the unit arrive, although when they did, they reported nothing was there.

However, a short time later, another call came from the radar team. They had again noticed a large unidentified object on their radar screens, heading toward the runway from the jungle. Once more a unit arrived at the area, but no visual sightings were confirmed. This is perhaps interesting in that radar picked up the object but the many potential witnesses failed to see it. Was this perhaps because of some kind of cloaking device?

Three years later, in July 1966 at Subic Bay Naval Station, a witness onboard the USS Holder that was based at the bay witnessed a metallic, white disc-shaped object flying overhead, its exterior shining brilliantly in the daytime sun.

As the witness attempted to capture the object with his camera, two jet fighters appeared out of nowhere. The witness recalled how they were climbing steeply as if attempting to intercept the strange craft. He turned his camera to the jet fighters and snapped several shots.

He would largely forget about the incident until several years later when he was viewing the pictures with a slide projector. When he came to view the pictures taken that day in July 1966, he noticed “two distinctive round white dots” and the jets were indeed heading toward them.

Interestingly, the witness would recall that stationed at the same dock was a nuclear attack submarine, with their own vessel also carrying nuclear anti-submarine rockets. Might this be another example of UFOs taking an interest in nuclear weaponry as has been noted several times before by many UFO researchers?

Around a decade earlier, in 1975 or 1976, a military serviceman who was part of a team responsible for refueling grounded aircraft at Clark Air Force Base recalled a bizarre incident he was informed of during a shift changeover at the base.

Those in the unit preparing to clock off for the evening informed the witness of how they had witnessed a “glowing orange ball” approximately three feet in width while they were driving around the base in the truck. The glowing orange ball trailed the vehicle for several minutes, descending to a relatively low altitude. Then, as quickly as it had arrived, it disappeared.

On the same night, a Security Policeman at the base also witnessed something out of the ordinary. The witness was directly in front of the control tower when he suddenly looked upward. Overhead was a disc-shaped object that glowed a brilliant orange color. The officer would estimate that the object was around 100 feet across. It would remain, motionless for several moments before suddenly ascending and disappearing into the night sky with a second.

Interestingly, when the officer reported the incident to his superior his first response was to ask if he had written of the incident in the logbook – as was standard procedure. When he responded that he hadn’t he was told not to, and that it was best if he simply forgot about the incident.

Another sighting occurred at Clark Air Force Base during 1988 when the son of a military airman stationed at the base witnessed a glowing object while with a friend sitting in front of the military housing at around 9 pm one evening.

The glowing object appeared to be at a relatively high altitude and was “executing loops and tight turning maneuvers”. The pair watched the object for several minutes, contemplating what the strange glow might be. When it flew across the full moon, though, they could clearly see that it was distinctly circular, with no wings, and no obvious signs of propulsion.

The pair continued to watch the craft as it disappeared into the distance and out of sight. They remained outside for another hour or so in case the object reappeared before the witness left her friend and set out on her journey home at around 11 pm.

However, before he could set off, a “streak of light” suddenly appeared streaking across the sky overhead. The light was at a particularly low altitude. Even though it was only in sight for several seconds, the two teenagers could see how it “blinked out”, eventually meeting the tree line and seemingly disappearing once more. Because of the low altitude, the witnesses dismissed that it could be a meteorite or a falling star. What’s more, as opposed to descending, the light appeared to be purposely flying in a controlled manner.

Now, a little nervous about what else might appear, the teenager placed a call to her father to collect him, which he duly did. Whether there is a connection to the orange-disc sighting we examined above remains open to debate and further investigation.

The Calamba City UFO Sighting

During the summer of 1994, at around 2:30 pm in Calamba City, Laguna, a local resident witnessed multiple metallic discs with a “whitish” glow in the skies overhead. The witness, who was with ten other work colleagues at a factory at the time of the sighting, stated while stood outside they saw around “21 shiny objects” directly overhead.

The sky was a clear blue at the time, so the objects clearly stood out. Because the factory was near to a parachute target area, the factory workers at first believed they were watching parachutists descending out of the sky. However, when the objects were still in the sky in the same place several hours later they realized they were witnessing something more extraordinary than people descending to the ground with a parachute.

The witness would estimate was around 35,000 to 40,000 feet in the air and remained at that altitude for the duration of the sighting. They also noticed how the objects hovered in a V-formation.

After some time, the witness and his coworkers grew tired of watching the objects and headed home. However, when the witness turned on the news on television, they were running a report of the strange lights. According to their report, other witnesses in Baguio City had also witnessed the objects.

The Las Pinas-Antonio Israel UFO Incidents

As the twenty-first century unfolded, further UFO sightings did likewise. For example, on the 3^rd September 2000 in Las Pinas, a local resident, Antonio Israel, would claim that he had witnessed and videotaped “small balls of light dancing frenetically in the evening sky”. ^[4]

The video tape – said to be 40 minutes – was analyzed by a seven-member team of scientists who would ultimately claim that they required more information in order to provide an explanation. In the footage, you can clearly hear the shock of Israel’s neighbors as they too witnessed the bizarre events, further suggesting that the footage was not faked.

However, the story of Antonio Israel is an intriguing one, to say the least, as another incident four years later found him once more in the middle of a UFO incident.

At around 7 pm on the 28^th of August, 2004, multiple orange-reddish orb-like UFOs were witnessed once more over Las Pinas. They were first witnessed by 11-year-old Nica Canarias who, along with her two siblings, immediately knew they were something that was “not mere airplanes”. Nica would call her friend, Antonio Israel’s son, Adrian. Knowing of his father’s video footage, she wanted to alert him so he might alert his father.

After viewing the objects for himself, Adrian rushed back into the house shouting to his brothers and father that the same UFOs he had filmed were back. Israel grabbed his video camera and made his way outside. For approximately 45 minutes, Israel captured further footage of the aerial anomalies. Once more, alerted by the commotion, several neighbors also witnessed the strange lights overhead.

Parts of Israel’s videos can be seen in the video below.

Further Sightings In The 2000s

According to an article ^[5] in the 30^th December 2005, edition of the Manila Times titled Not a bird or plane? It must be a UFO; a local resident captured a disc-like object hovering over the village of Zamboanga City.

The resident was taking pictures of the scene at a garbage dump below him at around 10 am on the day in question and didn’t notice the strange object until several hours later when he was reviewing his photographs. The object itself, resembling a “dark, metallic disc” only appeared in the second of three photographs he had taken. The witness claimed the object had what appeared to be a dome on the top side, and that it can’t have made a sound, or he would have heard and noticed it at the time. The witness was unsure if any of the approximately 70 people in the garbage dump witnessed the UFO.

Just short of two years later in the early hours of 15^th September 2007, at around 1:30 am, a triangular object was witnessed over Dalaguete, Cebu. The witness, along with a friend, was by the ocean when they suddenly noticed three bright lights in a distinct triangular formation headed in their direction from the city. As they continued to watch, the object made a “dramatic 90-degree turn” and headed in the direction of the nearby mountains. They noticed that there was no noise whatsoever coming from the object, and because of the speed, they dismissed that it was a shooting star or a plane.

A little over a month later on 31^st October over Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, a “metallic whitish” object was witnessed in the middle of the afternoon at around 1 pm. Several friends were at the park when they suddenly noticed the bizarre object moving overhead. They would recall that it “zoomed” across the sky and “faded away”, and that it had lights at the front and the back. Only moments after the object had disappeared, a second object came into view, from the same direction as the first. This object was “irregularly shaped” and a dark grey in color. It too moved with great speed and faded away like the first.

Further Suggestions Of An Alien Presence Dating Back To Antiquity?

It would certainly appear, then, that Taiwan and the countries in the same (relative) location have experienced a bundle of UFO activity for decades.

We have mentioned the element of water previously, and many of the sightings here have unfolded with water nearby. We might also draw attention to the fact that many of the sightings we have examined here occur near mountains. It has been noted by many UFO researchers how many sightings occur over or near mountains previously also.

And of what of the Far East in general. Given the many ancient texts from various parts of the region, many of which are taken by the indigenous populations as fact and not myth, there would certainly appear to have been an extraterrestrial presence here going back thousands of years (much like the writings of the ancient Middle Eastern, African, and European civilizations, as well as similar accounts in the creation stories of Native Americans and various civilizations of the South American continent). Essentially, these sightings seemingly spanning centuries perhaps further corroborate an extraterrestrial presence on Earth going back thousands of years, and possibly much longer than that.

The short video below examines the footage of Antonio Israel a little further, as well as other sightings from this region of the world.