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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ SOCIETY

Lu's bodyguard dismissed

One of Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) bodyguards is to be discharged after he allegedly took photographs of a female secretary at the Presidential Office while she was in the bathroom, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said the office dealt with the matter as soon as it learned of the incident. "Our position is clear: The person in question must receive the harshest punishment possible," Lee said. The bodyguard in question has received a major demerit and been sent back to the National Security Bureau, Lee said, adding that the person would receive an early discharge by the end of the month. Lee made the remarks after a report in the Chinese-language Next magazine.



■ CULTURE

Wanted: best Taipei shops

Ahead of the Lunar New Year, the Taipei City Government has invited the public to recommend their favorite shops for traditional foods and products for a shopping Web site. The city's Department of Economic Development said the annual "Big Street New Year Shopping Festival" would include five streets well-known for traditional products during the holiday season: Dihua Street (迪化街), Ningxia Street (寧夏街), Huayin Street (華陰街), Taipei Underground Street and the shops directly north of Taipei Main Station. The department will also establish a "2008 Taipei New Year supplies Web site" this year to place shopping orders online. It invited the public to recommend the best shops for traditional products by Jan. 5 online at www.tcooc.taipei.gov.tw/buy/.



■ POLITICS

Changes at Democracy Hall

Ministry of Education Secretary-General Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) announced yesterday that the main hall of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall would be reopened next Tuesday following some changes. "The main hall with a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) will be reopened on Jan. 1," Chuang told a press conference at the ministry. "While the statue will remain, a rigid frame will be constructed around the statue where photos, names and the stories of victims of political repression will be displayed." Chuang said the move was to show historical facts and to "dispel the myth behind Chiang Kai-shek." The exact time of the reopening would be announced at a later date, he said.



■ politics

Hsieh backs flight expansion

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that if elected, he would expand cross-strait charter flights and allow round-trip, multiple destination flight services. Hsieh also pledged to lower entertainment taxes, except for golf, and to review the necessity of similar forms of taxation. Visa fees should also be relaxed, he said, adding that there should not be any problem allowing more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan. He said that cross-strait charter flights were implemented during his term as premier, but was unilaterally suspended by Beijing. He thought it was a good idea to connect cross-strait flight services with tourism, adding that round-trip, multiple-destination flight services would be a good way to skirt the controversial issue of international or domestic routes.
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