TRANSIT: The Presidential Office said that Chen Shui-bian was willing to endure `humiliation' to carry out his mission of visiting the nation's Central American allies
By Charles Snyder and Ko Shu-ling
The Presidential Office confirmed yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would stop over in Alaska on his way to and from Central America.

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RUMOR MILL: The Presidential Office dismissed as speculation media reports that Chen Shui-bian had decided on his nominees for Judicial Yuan president and vice president
By Ko Shu-ling
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has not yet decided on his nominees for the posts of grand justices as well as head of the Judicial Yuan, the Presidential Office said yesterday.

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The Ilan Prosecutors' Office is dealing with a case involving the illegal entry of a Chinese dissident, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said on Friday.

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By Mo Yan-chih
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday mocked President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for copying his campaign ideas and adopting them as government policy.

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Taiwan is willing to negotiate on the issue of the 2008 Olympic torch relay route with Beijing if it shows sincerity and goodwill, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said on Friday.

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GREEDY GRABBER: Three chicks of the protected species are believed to have been taken for sale on the black market, where one such bird can sell for around NT$80,000
By Mo Yan-chih
Four Formosan blue magpie chicks have been stolen from a nest near Taipei's Neigou Creek (內溝溪), sparking concerns for the safety of the national bird.

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WORKING TOGETHER: Saudi Arabia's director-general of health insurance Fahad Jalwi Lzahr said that the two nations were planning to launch a series of joint projects
Saudi Arabian officials have completed a six-week program in Taiwan that gave them an opportunity to learn from the nation's experiences in setting up and operating the National Health Insurance program. Saudi Arabia intends to introduce a similar program in the future.

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By Loa Iok-sin
A Malaysian student in Taiwan could face charges back in his home country for posting a video of a rap song on YouTube, criticizing Malaysian police and politicians to the tune of the Malaysian anthem.

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By Shelley Shan
Owners of large-engine motorcycles took their complaints to the streets again yesterday, in spite of the fact that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced this week that their motorbikes can be operated on expressways starting in November.

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By Max Hirsch
The nation still lacks support services for the surging number of immigrant spouses, who typically face an uphill battle in adjusting to life here, immigration experts said at a forum on cross-border families yesterday.

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By Shelley Shan
Heavy rains are expected to continue across central and southern Taiwan until tomorrow, caused by a front moving in from the southwest, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.

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NO CONTACT: Sheng Pei-huang's requests to see the woman, who is suspected of killing her three children, have been rejected because she is a citizen of Finland
Taiwan's representative to Finland said on Friday that he would persist in his requests to meet with a Taiwanese woman detained on suspicion of murdering her three children in suburban Helsinki.

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Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) is studying the feasibility of building another runway at Wuliting Airport in Hengchun (恆春), Pingtung County, CAA Director General Billy Chang (張國政) said yesterday.

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Dispersing the homeless people who gather at the Taipei Railway Station will not help solve the problem as they will only return, a Taipei City Government official said yesterday.

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■ POLITICS
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