INDEPENDENT: Frank Hsieh said that he was not against holding a referendum on unification with China as this would show the world that the nation is against it
By Flora Wang
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday that writing a new constitution would not mean changing the "status quo" because Taiwan is already an independent country.

[ FULL STORY ]

PROPAGANDA: The pomp over the 80th anniversary of the PLA came with the standard signs of political machinations -- and a distracted Jiang Zemin
China called its growing military strength a force for peace and Communist Party rule on the 80th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday as a senior commander warned Taiwan against risking war.

[ FULL STORY ]

The nation's benchmark index suffered its biggest decline in more than three years as fresh Wall Street concerns over the US home loan market sent the region tumbling, dealers said.

[ FULL STORY ]

STUDY HELP: The program covers free education for preschoolers and an annual subsidy of NT$20,000 to NT$34,000 for high school to college-level students
By Jimmy Chuang
The Cabinet has approved plans that would see 658,000 children from poor families across the nation receive help in their education.

[ FULL STORY ]

Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co for US$5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a new crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Charles Snyder
A month after the Legislative Yuan broke a four-year deadlock over the purchase of a package of advanced US weapons, the US State Department is actively blocking the sale from going through to warn President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) against holding a referendum on Taiwan's entry into the UN, one of Washington's leading commentators on Taiwanese affairs said.

[ FULL STORY ]