MAKING A STAND: The president said during a televised interview that Taiwan had to protect its values lest it become another Hong Kong or a province of China
Taiwan is independent, but its title is changeable, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said on Friday night in response to a US claim that Taiwan is "not a state."

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BRIEF UNITY: While the two main parties saw eye-to-eye on the need to criticize the US over the statehood issue, the KMT said the DPP was ultimately to blame
By Mo Yan-chih
Both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday vowed to continue pushing for their versions of a UN referendum despite discouraging remarks by the US on Thursday denying Taiwanese statehood.

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Harsh criticism of and strong opposition to Taiwan's planned UN referendum by US officials recently could stir up even more anti-US sentiment in Taiwan, academics said in a seminar yesterday.

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The Taipei City Police Department gave a group of anti-corruption campaign advocates permission to hold rallies on Ketagalan Boulevard from next Sunday through Sept. 11 and in a public square at Taipei Main Station on Sept. 15, a department spokesman said yesterday.

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Taiwan's representative office in France has taken action over an incident involving two Taiwanese travelers who were strip-searched and detained by French aviation police for holding new and old Taiwanese passports.

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CLOSING IN: An immigration court judge in March ruled against the ICE, saying that Wang had never left the US since he had not been admitted to another country
By Charles Snyder
US immigration authorities in California asked an immigration court on Friday to reverse its decision to free fugitive Rebar founder Wang You-theng (王又曾), who is wanted by Taiwanese prosecutors for allegedly embezzling NT$60 million (US$1.8 billion) in corporate funds before fleeing to the US earlier this year.

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NEW LIFE: Taipei officials have turned the building into a weekend fashion market selling clothes and handmade items, as well as featuring live performances
By Mo Yan-chih
The first weekend fashion market at Ximending's Red House (西門紅樓) in Taipei held its official opening yesterday, with dozens of retailers setting up shop as part of government efforts to revive the area as a young urban hub and to promote creative and cultural activities.

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ILLEGAL: The substance is often added to commercial ponds to protect fish from micro-organisms, but food production use is banned because of possible side effects
By Angelica Oung
Five batches of frozen shrimp from China tested positive for the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, Department of Health (DOH) officials said yesterday.

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The country's reporters have mixed sentiments toward their job, an online survey released by a job bank yesterday revealed.

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By Rich Chang
A woman and her live-in boyfriend were arrested yesterday on suspicion of murdering the woman's three-year-old daughter.

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TOUGH ASSIGNMENT: Students had to design an automatically running car that was able to run on a designated track with several roadblocks
By Shelley Shan
More than 150 teams from all school levels in northern Taiwan joined a preliminary contest of this year's World Robot Olympiad (WRO) at Taipei's National Taiwan Science Education Center yesterday.

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BY Kevin Chen
To reflect lower fuel costs, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday it would cut domestic wholesale prices of gasoline products by NT$0.6 per liter and NT$0.7 per liter for diesel products.

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OWNERSHIP DISPUTE: Chinese authorities reportedly told Steven Wu he was being probed for crimes, but Wu believed he was being targeted after a company spat
A local business tycoon who was reportedly forbidden by Beijing authorities from leaving China returned to Taipei yesterday evening, according to a press release issued by his Taipei company last night.

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The Executive Yuan's Public Construction Commission has brought to life 72 idle public facilities which were built at a total cost of NT$15.9 billion (US$480 million), a commission official said yesterday.

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