BEYOND THE FLIGHTS: The chairman of the Taipei Tea Exporters Association also called on the DPP presidential candidate to lift the ban on tea exports to China
By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Joyce Huang
The long-delayed issues of cross-strait direct flights and opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists will soon be settled, no matter who wins the March 22 presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday.

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By Mo Yan-chih
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) unveiled his cultural policies yesterday, pledging to establish a Ministry of Culture and Tourism and to increase the budget for the cultural sector from 1.3 percent of the general budget to 4 percent if elected president.

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A MATTER OF OPINION: Given the KMT's majority in the legislature, the president will ask the KMT who could lead the caretaker Cabinet
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said he intends to consult with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on the possible candidates to succeed outgoing Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), adding the appointment would be "sorted out" by Monday at the earliest, the Presidential Office said yesterday.

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Former Mexican president Vin-cente Fox has decided not to join the first Global Forum on New Democracies to protect the interests of the Mexican government, which is involved in anti-shoe dumping negotiations with Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last night.

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A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator-elect yesterday decided to postpone his registration with the Legislative Yuan for a month, but the move was met with stinging criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party.

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By Flora Wang
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday called unconstitutional the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) invitation to Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) to head the DPP's reform taskforce.

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OLD RHETORIC: The US State Department repeated its support for `meaningful participation' by Taiwan, a position that Chen Shui-bian rejected as 'meaningless'
By Charles Snyder
The US on Wednesday declined to explain its vote to support a China-backed rule governing implementation of the WHO's International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 -- a move seen in Taiwan as a denial of Taiwanese rights under the regulations.

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MISSING SWEETENER: Malawi newspapers said Minister David Katsonga had pocketed `billions in kwachas' China meant to give the president for breaking ties with Taiwan
By Jenny W. Hsu
A Malawian official who played a key role in the government's decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China has fled the country after pocketing the million-dollar "sweetener" Beijing had originally intended for the president, media reports in Malawi said.

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By Jimmy Chuang
The Army and the Navy showed off their defensive capabilities during two days of military drills in Kaohsiung starting on Wednesday.

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By Jenny W. Hsu and Hsu Shu-ming
Police are looking for a Chinese tour group leader who was reported missing shortly after arriving in Taipei on Tuesday.

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■ DIPLOMACY

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