TOUGH CROWD: The bluntness of the AIT director surprised both pan-greens and pan-blues, while independent Legislator Li Ao called for Young to be deported
By Jewel Huang, Shih Hsiu-chuan and Ko Shu-ling
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Stephen Young yesterday urged the legislature to pass the arms procurement budgets by the end of this fall, noting that Taiwan should not continue to allow its security to be held hostage by partisan concerns.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday raised a volley of questions about Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin's (郝龍斌) integrity, saying that Hau's inability to answer the questions proved his incompetence to run the local government.

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By Ko Shu-ling
Reforms intended for the retirement packages of teachers, soldiers and civil servants who are entitled to an 18 percent preferential interest rate on their savings should be canceled and the Ministry of Civil Service must draw up new reforms within two months, a legislative committee resolved yesterday.

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By Jimmy Chuang
An opposition lawmaker yesterday expressed concern over the Ministry of National Defense' budget for next year, saying that it was skewed in favor of the air force.

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By Mo Yan-chih
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) councilors who serve on Taipei City's transportation committee failed to protect the rights of residents and should resign over their decision to approve six major proposals from the city's transportation department without first conducting a thorough review, a city councilor said yesterday.

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INTERNATIONAL EFFORT: The project, which has been underway for four years, was a collaboration led by a local scientist and included researchers from five nations
A Taiwanese-led research team has discovered a self-sustaining community of bacteria 2.8km below the surface of the Earth in South Africa, proving that life forms can exist in inorganic environments, academic sources said.

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By Mo Yan-chih
Treasure Hill, a historical community in Taipei, will undergo a two-year reconstruction facelift starting in December, the Taipei City government announced yesterday.

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WINTER WARNING: Almost half the infants sampled in a research project had intermittent asthmatic symptoms, while 30 percent were diagnosed with persistent asthma
By Angelica Oung
As asthmatic symptoms worsen with the onset of winter, parents with infant children were yesterday urged to watch out for coughing and wheezing -- symptoms that can indicate the early development of asthma.

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By Max Hirsch
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has completed draft amendments to the Senior High School Law (高級中學法) and Vocational School Law (職業學校法), adding for the first time clauses that allow for disciplinary measures against incompetent or miscreant principals.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday promised Kaohsiung residents that the government would build an underground railway system and a convention center in the city.

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Vice Chairman of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) yesterday issued a statement, saying that he did not give any exclusive interview to the press while in the US nor had he made any comment that he was "disappointed with Taiwan" and was considering "leaving the country forever." Koo is currently on a two-month Eisenhower Fellowship program in the US and is not scheduled to return until Nov. 18. Prosecutors are currently probing Chinatrust Financial's controversial investment in Mega Financial Holding Co. The Taipei District Court ordered the detention of three top Chinatrust officials early this month. Koo is the only key figure in the case who has not yet been subpoenaed by prosecutors. Koo denied telling a friend that Chinatrust's investment in Mega Financial was a "political affair," as the Chinese language Business Weekly magazine reported.
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The legislature's Home and Nations Committee yesterday agreed to halve next year's budget for Double Ten National Day ceremony expenses, from NT$50 million (US$ 1.56 million) to NT$25 million. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏) proposed canceling the ceremony's budget for next year altogether, citing a suggestion by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that the ceremony be scrapped. However, Lin's proposal was opposed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Jao Yung-ching (趙永清), as well as lawmakers within Lin's own party, who said that the budget should be slashed but not completely scrapped. In the end, a bi-partisan compromise was reached whereby the budget would be cut by 50 percent.
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Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) visited the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday to push for criminal charges against independent Legislator Li Ao (李敖) for discharging a canister of teargas during a meeting of the legislature's Procedure Committee on Tuesday. Lei asked prosecutors to determine whether Li should be charged with obstructing public functions and/or interfering with rights of assembly. Li sprayed the teargas from the podium of a conference room where the committee members were discussing which bills should be put on the agenda for deliberation at a plenary session today. Lei also told reporters that she reserved the right to file a slander suit against the Li for calling her an "ugly woman" during a heated exchange on Tuesday at the legislature.
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Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday chaired a meeting on diplomacy at the Presidential Office. Participants included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Council and the Government Information Office. Lu said the nation's diplomatic efforts faced three hurdles: suppression from China, alienation from the international community and -- most importantly -- public indifference. Lu said the nation also needed to debunk myths surrounding the number of its diplomatic allies, the impossibility of overcoming China's oppression and the nature of the relationship between Taiwan, China and the US. Lu proposed that diplomatic staff make good use of non-governmental organizations and strengthen communication channels with international associations to expand the nation's presence on the world stage.
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