TIME TO PROCEED: The legislative speaker said in Washington that the US government should trust the assessment made by defense professionals and approve a stalled arms deal
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said in the US capital on Sunday that he was fully confident that the administration of US President George W. Bush would proceed with arms sales to Taiwan after the Beijing Olympics.

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SPORTS ONLY: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that some allies won’t send any officials, while others will send only those involved in sports affairs
The nation’s 23 diplomatic allies will not send heads of state or vice presidents to the Aug. 8 opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said yesterday.

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By Loa Iok-Sin
The Citizens Congress Watch (CCW) yesterday invited all citizens above the age of 18, including academics, political analysts and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to take part in the group’s lawmaker evaluation at the end of next month.

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IN THE FRONT LINE: Politicians are no strangers to violence in Taiwan, as Annette Lu, Chiang Ching-kuo and Hsieh Tung-min, among others, have discovered to their cost
By Ko Shu-Ling
FEATURE: The physical assault on former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last week was not the first time political figures or commentators have been attacked for their views. The incident highlights the vulnerability of public figures.

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By Flora Wang and Shih Hsiu Chuan
Two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday urged the Control Yuan to investigate former civil service minister Chu Wu-hsien (朱武獻) after a media report alleged that his mismanagement had led to massive losses from the Civil Servants Pension Fund (退撫基金).

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GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD: The chairman of bicycle maker Giant said yesterday Taiwan could pattern itself after Denmark and the Netherlands to boost bicycle use
The government was urged yesterday to expand the number of cycle-only lanes around the country to help turn Taiwan into a “bike island.”

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By Hsieh Wen-hua
If you happen to see cars or scooters on streets bearing images of cartoons, manga or online computer game characters, it’s quite possible that the driver is a fan of itasya (痛車).

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WHO’S SORRY NOW?: The director-general of the Central Weather Bureau and his deputy could not say who wrote an apology said to have originated from their bureau
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Government officials yesterday failed to give a clear account of who was behind the release of a story by the state-owned Central News Agency (CNA), which said early yesterday morning that the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) was sorry for causing Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to misunderstand its weather forecast.

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By Jimmy Chuang
The Ministry of National Defense said yesterday that purchasing submarines from the US remained a priority for the military, amid reports by local media that Taiwan was positioning itself to manufacture its own vessels.

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■ FOREIGN AID

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A brief that ran in our July 28 issue, (“Suicide jump kills passer-by,” page 3) stated incorrectly that a woman who jumped from a Chungho City rooftop had survived the suicide attempt but killed the passerby she landed on. The jumper died but the passerby, though seriously injured, survived. The material was sourced from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and the Taipei Times regrets the error. [ FULL STORY ]