BE QUIET: KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung took the occasion to call on party members to support the Cabinet and not criticize it when talking to reporters
By Mo Yan-Chih
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) led members of his Cabinet in explaining government policies to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) highest decision-making body yesterday, seeking to strengthen communication with the KMT’s Central Standing Committee.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Ko Shu-Ling
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday assured the public that talks on further direct cross-strait transportation would bear fruit next month, in an attempt to boost confidence in the administration’s efforts to improve the economy.

[ FULL STORY ]

MONEY MATTERS: The premier said he hoped the KMT caucus would unfreeze NT$36.6 billion in budget requests for the current fiscal year
By Flora Wang
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday promised full support for 65 bills and the central government’s fiscal budget for next year as proposed by the Executive Yuan.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Shih Hsiu-Chuan and Jimmy Chuang
Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien rejected criticism by prosecutors that a Control Yuan member attempted to intervene in the probe into allegations of money laundering against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

[ FULL STORY ]

By Ko Shu-Ling
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) office yesterday declined to comment on a media report claiming that Chen’s wife had tried to kill herself over money-laundering allegations.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Charles Snyder
China’s decision on whether to allow Taiwan to gain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) next May could be a “turning point” in cross-strait relations, a leading US academic of Chinese affairs said in Washington on Tuesday, adding she was pessimistic China would act favorably toward Taiwan on the issue.

[ FULL STORY ]

SLOW ACTION: Following criticism that he had not visited disaster areas, the president yesterday visited the site of the Fengciou Tunnel collapse
By Ko Shu-Ling, Flora Wang and Shelley Shan

The government yesterday vowed to complete within a week an investigation into the liability of government officials following the collapse of the Fengciou Tunnel (豐丘隧道) in Nantou County and the Houfeng Bridge (后豐大橋) in Taichung County.

[ FULL STORY ]

The number of people confirmed dead from Typhoon Sinlaku has risen to 12, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

ROMANIZATION: While government agencies will be required to use the China-developed system, individuals will be given a choice, an official said
By Shih Hsiu-Chuan
The government plans to make Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音) the standard system of Romanization nationwide starting on Jan. 1, an official with the Ministry of Education said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Flora Wang
The Kaohsiung City Government is having difficulties containing an outbreak of dengue fever, with the confirmed number of infections climbing to 113 cases yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Loa Iok-Sin
Ten Aboriginal students were honored yesterday for their award-winning stories, including pieces on a major village celebration, rediscovery of Aboriginal identity and family challenges.

[ FULL STORY ]

‘MATSU FISH’: Research shows that less than 100 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins remain. The dolphins, first discovered in 2002, are only found in the Taiwan Strait
A Canadian scientist dedicated to the preservation of aquatic mammals urged the Taiwan government yesterday to take immediate action to protect an isolated and endangered population of dolphins that is found only in the eastern Taiwan Strait.

[ FULL STORY ]

“The Hero of the Well” — Ryan Hreliac from Canada, who became world famous at a very young age for helping people around the world gain access to clean water, will arrive in Taipei on Sunday to receive the prestigious Chou Ta-kuan Love for Life Award.

[ FULL STORY ]

Passenger loads on cross-strait weekend charter flights have dropped since the Beijing Olympics ended, an official at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Tuesday.

[ FULL STORY ]

■SOCIETY
[ FULL STORY ]