HIGH-LEVEL TALKS: The president told visiting US academics that a `two-plus-two' mechanism to facilitate contact would help resolve differences and misunderstandings
By Ko Shu-ling AND FLORA WANG
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged Washington to strengthen high-level dialogue with Taiwan and said he hoped to see the two countries establish a "two-plus-two" mechanism through which foreign and defense ministers can meet regularly.

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By Nadia Tsao
If the Bush administration desires an end to Taiwan's development of indigenous missiles like the Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) IIE, the US must be consistent in its commitment to Taiwan, said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, in a special commentary piece in Defense News.

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`DIRTY TRICKS': The KMT candidate said people had warned him that the DPP may use a fake US passport to bolster their allegations he holds dual citizenship
By Flora Wang
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday alleged that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) may resort to "dirty tricks" and present a fake US passport to continue their attacks against him.

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By Ko Shu-ling
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday signed a memorandum to support harmony among ethnic groups.

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TOUGH JOB: Although universal health care stopped a growing gap between rich and poor, society's privileged still outlive marginalized groups by more than a decade
By Angelica Oung
In the decade since it was launched, the National Health Insurance (NHI) has contributed to a modest reduction in the gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor sections of society, public health researchers found in a recent study.

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BY MEGGIE LU
Academia Sinica and China Medical University (CMU) yesterday signed an agreement for a joint doctoral program in cancer research and drug discovery, scheduled to begin as early as next year.

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RARE SIGHT: A set of `flying goose' stamps costs about NT$280,000 today, but for serious collectors, the stamps brought from Shanghai in 1949 may be worth the price
By Shelley Shan
More than 1,000 frames of stamps cherished by collectors will be on display at the Asian International Stamp Exhibition next month, Taiwan Post said yesterday, inviting enthusiasts to view rare stamps from the nation's history.

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WATCHFUL EYE: Since 2006, GPS units are installed in the waste disposal vehicles of all businesses that generate any substance defined as harmful to human health
By Meggie Lu
Since the mandated installation of global positioning systems (GPS) on all trucks that ferry harmful waste to disposal grounds, the amount of diseased pig meat properly incinerated has increased by 700 percent, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.

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MINOR ADJUSTMENTS: FAPA, which initiated the ad campaign, is evaluating the impact different outcomes in the presidential election would have on its policies
By Charles Snyder
The independence advocate Koo Kwan-ming (辜寬敏) played a major role in the financing of half-page advertisements in the Washington Post and the New York Times spearheaded by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), the organization's recently elected president, Bob Yang (楊英育), said on Monday.

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By Flora Wang
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said yesterday the government would cancel its intended investment in the private arms company Taiwan Goal because confidential internal documents had been leaked.

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By Rich Chang
Pan-green Taipei City councilors yesterday filed a lawsuit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), accusing him of assisting Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) in illegally profiting from its merger in 2005.

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■ DIPLOMACY

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