By Melody Chen
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) spent his second day in Japan meeting old friends and touring famous destinations in Nagoya, as China repeated its "strong protests" against Tokyo's decision to allow Lee's trip.

[ FULL STORY ]

MUM'S THE WORD: Officials from the foreign affairs ministry gave a lot of background, but little information about an alleged special meeting
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) declined to comment yesterday on media reports that the US has recently sent a special envoy to Taipei to meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

[ FULL STORY ]

By Charles Snyder and Jimmy Chuang
The Bush administration is not concerned at this time over two recent Chinese official actions that seemingly set the stage for a potential Chinese military attack against Taiwan, Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Jewel Huang
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday urged the public to help deter the vote-buying culture which has been a lingering scourge in local elections, since the current legal system seems to not be able to efficiently reduce corruption, as evidenced by the outcome of the legislative elections.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Huang Tai-lin
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday asked the international community to be mindful of China's military expansion, which she said was emerging as a real threat to the entire world.

[ FULL STORY ]

`FLEXIBLE ENTRY': In a bid to encourage tourism, the Executive Yuan has approved a measure to cut down the waiting time for people invited to authorized conferences
By Ko Shu-ling
The visa-application process for nationals of certain countries, including China, will be expedited if the purpose of their visit is to attend authorized international activities, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

LUNAR NEW YEAR: The vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council said that airlines could still organize cross-strait flights if China insists on refusing to discuss the issue
By Joy Su
Just weeks before the Lunar New Year, the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body yesterday said that even if official talks with China do not materialize, it is not too late for airline carriers to secure charter flights on their own.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Huang Tai-lin
Reiterating the government's commitment to dedicate 2005 as "Marine Year in Taiwan," President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday expressed the hope that the public would work together with the government to further cultivate the nation's marine culture.

[ FULL STORY ]

TOXIC METALS: A new NT$2 million analyzer will be used to map out a clear picture of the distribution of mercury in the environment, as well as its effect on people's health
By Chiu Yu-Tzu
A new, advanced analyzer will make it much easier for the Environ-mental Protection Administration (EPA) to study mercury levels in the environment, as well as the metal's effects on public health.

[ FULL STORY ]

Authorities were trying to locate about 100 fishermen working on 35 Taiwanese-registered fishing boats near the Thai resort of Phuket that were either picked up by tsunamis and dumped on land or have disappeared at sea.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ Politics
[ FULL STORY ]