SWEET AND SOUR: President Chen Shui-bian wouldn't have liked what he heard from John Negroponte on Monday, but sources in Washington say it wasn't all bad news
By Charles Snyder
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's decision to vent high-level US anger in a Chinese TV interview at President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) plan for a referendum on UN membership was intended to convey separate messages to Taiwan, Chen and China at a critical point in trilateral relations, according to several sources in Washington.

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REFERENDUM RUCKUS: Northern Taiwan Society figures accused members of the Cabinet committee of voting along party lines when reviewing proposals
By Flora Wang
The pro-independence Northern Taiwan Society yesterday called on the government to abolish the Cabinet's Referendum Review Committee.

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President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) did not leave his airplane when it made a transit stop in Anchorage, Alaska, on the way back to Taipei yesterday. Instead he received Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, on board the aircraft.

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PARTY PEACEMAKER: The KMT presidential candidate came out in support of the legislative speaker and called for unity ahead of elections
By Mo Yan-chih
In an effort to end party infighting, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday voiced his support for Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and urged party members to make unity a priority.

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`NORMAL COUNTRY': DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung said that following the Gregorian calendar is a world trend and that it is `no big deal' for Taiwan to also do so
A passage stipulating that the Republic of China (ROC) calendar be phased out and replaced with the Gregorian calendar will probably be included in the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) newly drafted "normal country" resolution, party sources said yesterday.

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The Ministry of Economic Affairs is set to open up six sea areas off the country's coast for wind turbine installations, with an estimated power generation capacity of 300,000kw in the first stage of its "offshore wind power development guidelines," government sources reported yesterday.

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STAY HOME: Health authorities said on Tuesday they had notified 1,100 TB patients that they are subject to travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease
By Angelica Oung
A new system to prevent travelers in the "open," or infectious phase of tuberculosis (TB) from boarding international flights more than eight hours long will go online next month, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) official said yesterday.

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By Rich Chang
The Ministry of Justice is investigating the claims of a man who said that he stood in for a number of criminals by appearing for them at trial and serving their prison sentences.

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By Loa Iok-sin
Non-governmental organizations (NGO) and concerned individuals yesterday urged media organizations to be socially responsible when reporting on suicides and gender-related news.

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By Jimmy Chuang and Shelley Shan
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday criticized Minister of Transportation and Communi-cations Tsai Duei (蔡堆) for a spate of incidents involving the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA).

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Although most local retirees say Hualien would be the "most desirable place" to retire because of its natural scenery, most respondents to a survey rated Kinmen County and Taipei City as the "best places" to retire to for practical reasons, a local magazine reported.

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PRESENTATION: Cheng Wen-lon left for Brisbane yesterday in the hopes of attracting some foreign entrepreneurs to launch businesses in Kaohsiung
The Kaohsiung City Government will seek the right to host the 2009 Asia Pacific Cities Summit, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆) said.

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■ CULTURE
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