SAFE AT SCHOOL: In an attempt to prevent repeat offenses, teachers suspected of abuse must now be suspended while claims against them are being investigated
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The legislature yesterday passed an amendment to the Teacher’s Act (教師法) and related resolutions designed to provide students with a learning environment free from sexual abuse or sexual harassment.

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By Lin Yi-chang and Huang Chia-lin
The Control Yuan censured Liu Chien-fang (劉建芳), the mayor of Kaohsiung County’s Jiasian Township (甲仙), for not properly carrying out his disaster prevention duties during landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot that led to the deaths of more than 400 people in Siaolin Village (小林).

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DRAWING ATTENTION: Lin Guo-wu said if he had known his drawings would attract so much attention, he would have sent them to the police himself
By Huang Li-hsiang
Artist Lin Guo-wu (林國武) has attracted media attention after he was arrested on Thursday for drawing a picture that depicted President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) having sexual intercourse with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The painter had remained relatively unknown for the last 13 years despite depicting many politicians in obscene drawings.

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BONE OF CONTENTION: A DPP spokesman displayed enlarged copies of the Taiwan-US deal and the South Korea-US deal and said Taiwan’s was more relaxed
By Jenny W. hsu
Taiwan’s agreement to relax restrictions on imports of US beef is much laxer than that agreed between South Korea and the US, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, reiterating its demand the government re-launch negotiations with the US over the decision.

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By Jenny W. hsu
A robust economy and mature democracy are Taiwan’s top two assurances against being “sold out” in the shadow of China’s growing financial prowess, but the country should also strive to forge closer economic ties with other regions, Charles Tannock, chairman of the European Parliament Taiwan Friendship group, said in an interview with the Taipei Times last week.

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By Jenny W. hsu
Several civic groups yesterday invited people of all ages to join a 50-day nationwide walkathon in an effort to send a message that referendums must be held on all cross-strait agreements and that the Referendum Act (公民投票法) be amended immediately.

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ORIGINAL SIN: KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hao said 60 buses that were to be used in last year’s Beijing Olympics would now be used in the Taipei Flora Expo
By Mo Yan-chih
A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City councilor yesterday accused the Taipei City Government of subsidizing local bus companies to purchase hybrid buses from China.

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TIME RUNNING OUT: With less than 100 of the animals left in Taiwanese waters, researchers are worried about plans to pump wastewater straight into their habitat
By Vincent Y. chao
The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin is facing extinction as a result of pollution and over-fishing, researchers said yesterday.

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By Mo Yan-chih
The Taipei City Government yesterday opened the first exhibition pavilion that will be used in the Taipei International Flora Expo on Zhongshan N Road as the city began the 365-day countdown to the event.

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By Ralph Jennings
A plastic bottle thrown into a Taipei recycling bin could be reincarnated as a blanket to warm disaster victims in any of 20 countries, thanks to a unique project by the world’s largest Buddhist charity.

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NEW EXPERIENCES: The students, who are living with Taiwanese families, are enjoying shooting off fireworks and eating night market oyster omelettes
A special scholarship program is giving 16 high school students from abroad an inside look at Taiwan.

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By Vincent Y. chao
Sandwiched between a busy highway overpass, two gigantic TV factories and a small, but busy amusement park is the surprisingly quaint Gaoyuan Village (高原). Here the roads are meticulously clean and are lined with small gardens and farms.

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ABSENCE OF ALTERNATIVES: The six workers on an infected pig farm in Taitung have tested negative for the illness, raising questions about how the pigs caught swine flu
The Council of Agriculture (COA) rejected a claim yesterday that the influenza A(H1N1) virus recently detected among pigs in Taitung County might not have been transmitted from humans.

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■EARTHQUAKES

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