CORRUPTION?: The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) appeared divided over whether its chairman should stay on as mayor or quit to facilitate an investigation
By Mo Yan-chih, Flora Wang and Shih Hsiu-chuan
While some members of the pan-blue camp yesterday came forward to defend Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and stressed their belief in his integrity, several members of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) highest decision-making committee -- the Central Standing Committee -- suggested he should step down.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Ministry of Audit was left with egg on its face on Tuesday after prosecutors questioned Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over the administration of his special expense fund, despite the ministry having previously assured the public that there were no irregularities.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) yesterday accused Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of spending his special expense fund on his living expenses, and using false receipts to seek reimbursement from the fund.

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NON-COMMITTAL: Although US officials won't confirm that an APEC-wide FTA is part of their agenda for the APEC summit, they say such a deal would be `a good topic'
By Charles Snyder
US President George W. Bush left Washington on Tuesday en route to the APEC forum summit meeting in Hanoi, where some analysts have speculated he plans to push the idea of an APEC-wide free trade agreement (FTA) that could include Taiwan.

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By Ko Shu-ling and Jimmy Chuang
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) and Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) yesterday bade farewell to their respective legislative committees after the pair announced their resignations on Monday.

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By Ko Shu-ling
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday expressed concern over the impact of the US mid-term elections on the long-stalled US-sourced arms procurement package and the US' commitment to help defend Taiwan.

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OSTRICH POLICY: The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said that it hasn't been notified of the arrests of two local businessmen on spying charges, and had no comment
China said it detained two Taiwanese businessmen on espionage charges, three months after it confirmed it had executed a high-ranking Chinese pension fund official for spying for Taiwan.

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By Jimmy Chuang
National Council of Physical Fit-ness and Sports Chairman Chen Chuan-shou (陳全壽) yesterday said he would resign if Taiwanese athletes don't bring home at least 15 gold medals from the 15th Asian Games in Doha.

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By Shelley Shan
Lawmakers from the legislature's Transportation Committee walked out of a meeting yesterday morning in protest at the failure of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Co (THSRC) to abide by the committee's resolution forbidding the bullet train to take passengers before all safety inspections were complete.

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WHAT NEXT?: The Ruifang Fishing Association has informed the Straits Exchange Foundation about the matter and is waiting for information
By Rich Chang
Two Taiwanese fishermen were feared to have been kidnapped by Chinese fishermen while at sea on Monday.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday asked the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to work harder to prevent human smuggling.

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USEFUL TOOL: While enforcement officials said that the law had come in handy on Double Ten, rights activists feared that it gave authorities too much power
By Max Hirsch
Academics and human rights activists wrangled with law enforcement officials at a legislative hearing yesterday on whether to scrap the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法).

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By Ko Shu-ling
A legislative committee yesterday failed to reach a consensus on upgrading the legal status of the National Space Organization (NSO) amid allegations that the space center had colluded with contractors to waste taxpayers' money.

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By Angelica Oung
No scientific evidence links the anti-viral drug Tamiflu with delirium and abnormal behavior, despite recent reports of alleged cases in Japan, said Lin Ting (林頂), deputy director-general of the Center for Disease Control.

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