NEW MAN: Chen Ming-tong sought to divorce himself in his new role from a draft constitution he helped draw up as a National Taiwan University professor
By Jewel Huang
New Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) yesterday said his proposal for a "second republic" constitution would not affect council policy.

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SHOOTING FROM THE LIP: The vice president said the legislative speaker and premier owed the public an apology and had harsh words for Ma, Su and Hsieh
By Ko Shu-ling
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday denounced the leadership of both the ruling and opposition parties, demanding that the premier and legislative speaker apologize for failing to pass this year's government budget.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday tried to defend himself after facing attacks from former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) over the performance of his Cabinet team.

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By Loa Iok-sin
A proposed amendment requiring presidential candidates to pass the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) was dropped in the legislative Home and Nations Committee yesterday.

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TIGHT-LIPPED: Though saying they should work together, the legislative speaker would not elaborate further when quizzed by reporters
By Mo Yan-chih
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday met former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), but refused to discuss the possibility of his pairing up with former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in next year's presidential election.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) youth members yesterday called on the party to reserve four of its legislators-at-large seats for disadvantaged and academic representatives as a means of upholding the party's core values.

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JURISDICTION: A move by Taipei City Government to standardize textbooks has set the stage for a fight between the central and local education authorities
By Mo Yan-chih
A battle over school textbooks raged yesterday between the Taipei City Government and the Ministry of Education.

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By Shelley Shan
Liu Kung-chung (劉孔中) yesterday said there was a major flaw in the administrative order issued by the Executive Yuan that temporarily suspended his capacity as member of the commission after it accused him of illegally hiring a family member as his personal driver.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
After two government officials were suspended for hiring family members to be their personal drivers, Premier Su Tsang-chang (蘇貞昌) was accused by a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday of committing the same sin.

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By Loa Iok-sin
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋菫) and environmental groups yesterday asked the government to stop development projects in Changhua County, saying they may cause heavy pollution and the extinction of a rare marine species.

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GOVERNMENT INEPTITUDE: Charity workers urged officials to heed the advice of experts on 'empowering' trafficked persons instead of treating them like criminals
By Max Hirsch
Once billed as merely a challenge to the government, human trafficking has snowballed to the point of "threatening national security" amid a surge in the number of foreigners who go missing after arriving in Taiwan, immigration experts said yesterday, adding that the crisis will likely worsen as the government fumbles in its efforts to fight it.

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REPTILIAN REVENGE: Doctors said there was a good chance Chang Po-yu would be able to keep his arm after it was ripped off by a crocodile that was playing possum
Doctors said yesterday that a veterinarian at Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung City who had his left forearm bitten off while trying to treat a crocodile on Wednesday has an 80 percent chance of keeping his surgically reattached limb.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Lawmakers across party lines yesterday slammed newspapers for carrying a photo of a zoo veterinarian's severed arm in the mouth of a crocodile.

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LOST IN TRANSLATION: With spellings like 'piver' and 'rark,' it's no wonder foreign tourists frequently get lost in the county, Hsieh Chih-deh says
By Yu Ming-chin
Error-laden English road signs in Ilan County have recently faced harsh scrutiny from one of the county's councilors.

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