PRESSURE: Taipei sent a delegation to South Korea's presidential inauguration, but its leaders were asked not to attend after China threatened to pull its representative
By Flora Wang AND KO SHU-LING
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) confirmed yesterday that National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) missed yesterday's inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak because of pressure from China.

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CONDI-MILI DUET: Both Condoleezza Rice and David Miliband criticized next month's referendums on UN membership during separate visits to China
By Jenny W. Hsu
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed regret over the US and UK's reiteration of their opposition to Taiwan's planned referendums on its UN membership bid.

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Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino called yesterday for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over a kickbacks scandal, saying she had lost the moral right to remain in office.

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Malawi, which broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan last month in favor of Beijing, won't allow Chinese traders into the country, said James Kaphwereza Banda, general manager of the Malawi Investment Promotions Agency.

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China told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday that it was willing to resume a human-rights dialogue with Washington, a move that could be aimed at defusing criticism surrounding its hosting of the 2008 Olympics.

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China is striving to rein in violent security guards with new rules that will prevent them from beating up people or otherwise abuse their positions, state media said yesterday.

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