TEMPLE MELEE: Wang Ding-yu denied pushing Zhang Mingqing and accused the ARATS vice chairman of making unfriendly and provocative statements on ‘his turf’
By Jenny W. Hsu
Tainan City Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party said he would not apologize for his actions at Tainan’s Confucius Temple on Tuesday and he challenged Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) to sue him.

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By Flora Wang
Two female legislators became embroiled in a confrontation during a meeting of the Education and Culture Committee yesterday during a preliminary review of the National Science Council’s budget request.

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WORDS OF WARNING: Chen Pokong said the Chinese Communist Party does not do favors for anyone, warning that it is trying to reel in Taiwan economically and politically
By Tzou Jiing-wen
Chinese democracy activist turned economist Chen Pokong (陳破空) says the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will try to gain a propaganda advantage from the planned visit to Taiwan by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).

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By Ko Shu-ling
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) office said yesterday that Chen knew a teenage self-proclaimed tarot card reader, but denied the teen had ever read cards for Chen.

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Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said on Monday that prices of urea might be reduced thanks to plummeting oil prices on the world market.

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SADDENED: The national defense minister banned all military aircraft from flying for three days as inspections and a review of flight safety training procedures takes place
By Jimmy Chuang And Flora Wang
Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) yesterday apologized to the public over the crashes of an air force jet and a naval helicopter earlier this week.

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By Shelley Shan
The legislature’s Transportation Committee rejected a bill yesterday that sought to designate 20 percent of revenue collected through traffic penalties and fines as an emergency fund to compensate victims of drunk-driving accidents.

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GOLDEN WHEEL AWARD: The Taipei City Government yesterday recognized 153 of the city’s bus drivers for their service to passengers and clean driving records
By Mo Yan-chih
Lin Chien-ru (林建儒) became a bus driver because he did not want a nine-to-five job, and his patience and passion for his job has made him popular with passengers.

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Academics and representatives of NGOs demanded on Tuesday that future legislation on the establishment of a long-term care law take into consideration the needs of patients’ family members, many of whom have to give up their jobs to take care of loved ones.

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By Flora Wang
After a year of bickering over the government’s plan to build the nation’s first pop music center in Kaohsiung Harbor, supporters of the project and protesters yesterday reached a consensus to relocate the site for the project.

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GROWING DEFICIT: Premiums have only been raised once since 1995, but President Ma Ying-jeou has said there will be no increases during the economic slump
Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said yesterday that measures such as raising the health charge on cigarettes and the insurance premiums of the wealthy will be needed next year to reduce the National Health Insurance’s growing deficit.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said it is investigating whether Taiwan’s representative in the Miss International beauty pageant was belittled by the competition’s Japanese organizer.

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The Department of Health (DOH) has asked the Malaysian government to correct a statement over the source of Malaysia-imported biscuits’ cheese filling that was found laced with the industrial chemical melamine in late September, DOH spokesman Wang Je-chau (王哲超) said.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Bureau of Investigation (BOI) Director-General Wu Ying (吳瑛) yesterday explained to judges how special agents handle tip-offs and documents they receive during testimony in the case of former bureau director-general Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂), who is accused of illegally withholding documents related to the former first family’s alleged-money laundering.

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■ CRIME

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A technical glitch during the printing process resulted in the story ‘Writer from Japan still discovering Taiwan’ on Tuesday’s Community Compass page being printed without a headline. The Taipei Times regrets the error. [ FULL STORY ]