WASTE OF TIME?: The party's vaunted cross-strait policy debates were candceled after most of the participants withdrew, saying they were pointless
By Jewel Huang
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun yesterday announced that the debates on China policy which the party was planning to hold next weekend would be canceled.

[ FULL STORY ]

The Vatican has not entered into negotiations with Beijing on the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, Taiwan's ambassador to the Holy See said on Thursday.

[ FULL STORY ]

STUBBORN: Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Chairman Liu Te-shun said that China was unlikely to change the way it treated Taiwan any time soon
By Chang Yun-ping
The cross-strait issue facing Taiwan is a structural one and it was unlikely that China would agree to a modus vivendi, or a temporary accommodation of a disagreement between parties pending a permanent settlement, as a basis for negotiation, a senior official said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

A Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official expressed opposition yesterday to Beijing's plan to develop China's Fujian Province into a "peaceful cooperation experimental district on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait," known in its shortened form as the "Haixi District development plan."

[ FULL STORY ]

The 25-state EU would not address in the first half of this year a proposal to lift the ban on arms sales to China, German officials said on Thursday.

[ FULL STORY ]

OUTRAGED FAMILY: Relatives of rail employee Lee Shuang-chuan blamed his recent death by suicide on investigators who told the media he was a suspect
By Jewel Huang and Jimmy Chuang
Family members of derailment suspect Lee Shuang-chuan (李雙全) yesterday harshly criticized pro-secutors investigating the March 17 incident, saying that Lee had been hounded to death after they released details of their probe to the media.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Jean Lin
Gay rights activists gathered yesterday to call for the legalization of homosexual unions at a public hearing, saying that gay people should receive equal treatment and rights.

[ FULL STORY ]

Whether Taiwan should accept a pair of giant pandas that China has offered as so-called "gifts" hinges on whether China will respect Taiwan as a sovereign state, the vice chairman of the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

GRACEFUL FIGURE: The artist, who was famed for her passionate dedication and work with the Cloud Gate troupe, succumbed to cancer after a five-year struggle
After a five-year battle with lung cancer, renowned dancer Lo Man-fei (羅曼菲) died early yesterday morning at the age of 51.

[ FULL STORY ]