MODEL COUNTRIES: The president lauded Taiwan and South Korea for holding major elections without violence, despite the high levels of controversy surrounding the polls
By Jenny W. Hsu
The democratization of one country can ignite a wave of democracy in the region, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday, stressing Taiwan has the obligation to share its democratization experience with the world's emerging democracies.

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By Flora Wang and Shih Hsiu-chuan
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said the party was considering whether to propose an amendment to the Referendum Law (公投法) to prohibit referendums from being held in conjunction with legislative and presidential elections.

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SHOWING OFF: The new building for the nation's representative office is complete with exhibition halls to share a variety of Taiwanese creative arts
Taiwan's representative office in Italy moved to a new building on Wednesday as part of efforts to promote the nation abroad.

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By Meggie Lu
A staffer of Democratic Progressive Party legislator-elect Yu Tien's (余天) campaign office was indicted yesterday on charges of threatening supporters of the opposition camp before the Jan. 12 legislative elections.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for rejecting his idea of appointing someone with a background as a top business executive to serve as premier.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Peng Sheng-lu (彭盛露), who ran over a TV cameraman last month as supporters and opponents of the government's decision to alter the plaque at the National Democracy Memorial Hall clashed near the memorial, was indicted yesterday for attempted murder, vandalism and interfering with police.

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CONTAINMENT: The cleanup will cost NT$3 million and the excavated soil will be sealed in concrete for 20 years to contain the toxin that causes cancer and birth defects
The Tainan City Government began an operation on Thursday to clean up dioxin-contaminated soil around the site of the defunct Anshun factory of the Taiwan Alkali Industrial Corp (TAIC, 台鹼公司).

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ONE-STOP SERVICE: The CDC traveler clinic will cease operations on Feb. 1 and the hospitals nationwide will pick up where the clinic left off
By Angelica Oung
Eight hospitals around the nation have opened clinics for travelers, taking over duties performed by the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) travelers' clinic.

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When Yang Chi-hua (楊紀華) was helping out at his father's restaurant as a teenager learning to make steamed dumplings, he never imagined that the family business would one day earn worldwide fame.

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TAPERING OFF: Though the number of foreign laborers has increased by about 20,000 over last year, officials expect numbers to drop as major projects are completed
The number of foreign laborers approached the 360,000 mark by the end of last year, but over the long term, the figure will gradually decline, the Council of Labor Afrairs (CLA) minister said on Thursday.

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■ ENVIRONMENT