THE DAY AFTER: The ARATS chairman dodged queries about being stranded in the Formosa Regent until 2am, but his vice chairman described the evening as ‘unique’
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) was stranded in a Taipei hotel on Wednesday for several hours after attending a dinner hosted by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) when protesters surrounded the hotel and blocked the exits.

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By Ko Shu-ling
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of breaking a promise to keep demonstrations peaceful and called on DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to act responsibly after supporters staged large protests.

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By Jimmy Chuang and Jenny W. Hsu
A police officer on duty near National Taiwan University Hospital during yesterday’s protests against Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) visit told the Taipei Times he was shocked by the hatred directed at the police in the past few days.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Some 500 college students staged a sit-in yesterday in front of the Executive Yuan over the police response to protests against Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) visit.

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'DOMESTIC TRANSFER': At a press conference yesterday, ARATS showed a video introducing the animals and the Taipei Zoo said that it would give Beijing deer and serow
By Mo Yan-chih
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) yesterday formally announced that Beijing would send the two giant pandas it had promised in 2005 to the Taipei City Zoo.

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With a new air link pact between Taiwan and China likely to take effect soon, Hong Kong’s tourism sector was concerned about being marginalized amid the changing situation in the Taiwan Strait, the Hong Kong-based Ming Pao newspaper reported on Wednesday.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The agreements on creating a direct, two-way aviation route north of the Taiwan Strait and opening cross-strait sea transportation links would be nullified if the two deals were vetoed by the legislature, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said yesterday.

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NEW POLICY?: Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US called Taiwan the ‘Republic of China,’ an about face on the name used to describe the country under the DPP
By Charles Snyder
Advisers to US president-elect Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday received congratulatory messages from Taiwan on Obama’s stunning and historic victory, praising his election and the US democratic process and expressing the hope that, under the 44th US president, relations between Taipei and Washington would grow stronger.

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'OPPRESSED': Appearing as witnesses in Yeh Sheng-mao’s trial, the daughter of former president Chen Shui-bian said her family was being ‘oppressed’ by the judiciary
By Jimmy Chuang
Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) irritated judges yesterday when they appeared as witnesses in the case against former Bureau of Investigation director-general Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂) at the Taipei District Court.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill aimed at cracking down on human smuggling. The proposed bill came as a long-awaited response to human rights activists who have criticized the country for lacking a comprehensive trafficking law.

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By Shelley Shan
A detract switch incident that occurred early yesterday morning caused the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) to cancel two trains leaving Taipei Station, affecting 128 train services.

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By Huang Li-hsiang and Wu Jen-chieh
The Taipei County Fire Bureau has caused an Internet sensation after pictures from its firefighters calendar for next year found their way onto the Web.

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