OVERSIGHT: The inclusion of the former vice president and two DPP lawmakers was reportedly a last-minute change made after a strong protest by the DPP chief
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) will be part of the Taiwanese delegation that will attend the inauguration of US president-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

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By Shelley Huang
Current and former workers at Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) yesterday voiced their opposition to the appointment of Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁), former minister of the Department of Health, as the hospital's next superintendent.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The way the government runs state-owned media reveals its failure to understand that the media is not a political tool to sway public opinion, but a means to promote the interests of the public, critics said yesterday.

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PICK-UP: Statistics showed the number of daily flights rising from 101 in the first week to 107 in the third week, with a high average load factor of 72.3 percent
Direct cross-strait charter flights operated by carriers from Taiwan and China will hit the weekly target of 108 flights starting next week, as the new expanded service enters its fourth week, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.

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A mechanism will be implemented to weed out incompetent and unfit public servants as part of government efforts to improve administrative efficiency and realize the goal of good governance, a senior Examination Yuan official said.

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PARADOX: Commodity prices in Taiwan have not come down in line with declines in international markets, with CPC Corp, Taiwan increasing the cost of LPG by NT$28
The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday urged the government to take steps to lower domestic commodity prices before the distribution of consumer vouchers ahead of the Lunar New Year.

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GLUT: Now is the time to eat oranges, as the price has fallen to an extreme low, leading to lost wages for farmers who are forced to sell them below cost
Yunlin County orange growers canceled a plan yesterday to stage a protest in Taipei to highlight record low orange prices after learning that the government would help them ride out their difficulties.

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A recent Japanese report revealing a dramatic decline in traffic-related fatalities last year indicates that a strict seatbelt bill that failed to clear the Legislative Yuan in 2006 would still promote improved traffic safety in Taiwan, a transportation official said yesterday.

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The economic downturn has led to an increase in cases where people lose their homes, many of whom are younger people, which requires a change in the nature of welfare benefits and an increased budget for social programs, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Social Welfare said.

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Two Vietnamese fishermen are being held by their crewmates on suspicion of killing their Taiwanese skipper during a mutiny, the Fisheries Agency said yesterday.

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■ LEISURE

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