Firm loses suit over cutting insured pay

The China post - A retired employee of a company in Taoyuan County recently won a lawsuit against his boss, who allegedly used various excuses to cut his monthly salary, making him suffer lower elderly pension payments from the Bureau of labor Insurance. The case is expected to set a precedent that may prevent employers from engaging in similar fraudulent practices, according to informed sources. Full Story

Foreign students follow traditional Confucian ceremony

The China post - The Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) held a ceremony yesterday to demonstrate the ancient ritual of paying homage to teachers at the Taipei Confucian Temple on Dalong Street. Full Story

The joke's on education: MOE's new English plan

The China post - Ministry of Education wants students to tell eight jokes in English before they can graduate, but many teachers view the new policy as a joke instead. Full Story

Bryant presented with aboriginal headband during Taiwan tour

The China post - NBA star Kobe Bryant received a tribal headband from a Taiwanese teenager yesterday, and was told his gift of a basketball court to a mountain village lifted the boy from also-ran to local hero. Full Story

Yao Ming begins 3-day visit to Taiwan today

The China post - Mainland China's NBA basketball star Yao Ming will today begin a three-day visit during which he will participate in a campaign to promote basketball among Taiwan's youth as well as a friendly basketball game with Taiwan celebrities and professional players. Full Story

Groups rally against scrapping legal prostitution

The China post - More than 100 members of over 10 underprivileged groups yesterday rallied at the Kaitakelan Blvd. to protest against an undesirable decision made by President Chen Shui-bian to scrap the public prostitution business when he served as Taipei mayor 10 years ago. Full Story

Eastern TV shopping network faces 13 fines in seven years

The China post - The Eastern Home Shopping Network, a TV shopping channel under the Eastern Multimedia Group, yesterday that was fined NT$1.8 million by the Cabinet-level Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for running misleading ads that make consumers suffer, according to FTC sources. Full Story

Taiwan's population stands at 22.9 million in 2007: CEPD

The China post - The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) quoted a U.S. demography source as saying yesterday that Taiwan has the 49th largest national population in the world, with a total population of 22.9 million. Full Story

NT$26.5 billion given for cultural development

The China Post - Premier Chang Chun-hsiung yesterday outlined a five-year NT$26.5 billion project to promote cultural development, including the building of an opera house in central Taiwan and a fine arts museum in the eastern county of Taitung. Full Story

Taipei to charge for roadside parking spaces in three years

The China Post - Taipei City Government has announced that it will begin to charge for parking in all marked roadside parking spaces in three years. Full Story

Chinese spouses wanting to visit must show clean bills of health: Straits Exchange Foundation

The China Post - Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals intending to visit the country for the first time after their marriage have since Sept. 1 been required to produce properly verified clean bills of health, a Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) official said yesterday. Full Story

90 percent of people in contact with TB patients remain untraced

The China Post - A doctor at the Chest Hospital of the Department of Health warned yesterday of a weak point in Taiwan's efforts to battle tuberculosis, saying that 90 percent of those in close contact with TB patients fail to be thoroughly tested. Full Story

The Criminal Investigation Bureau arrests teenager over online videogame infringement claim

The China Post - The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said they have arrested a teenager after an online game company claimed his Web site copied one of its games, causing the company to lose NT$20 million. Full Story

Kaohsiung to appeal lottery bidding process

The China Post - The Bank of Kaohsiung will file a complaint with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) over the just-concluded sports lottery bidding process and will call on the ministry to postpone the official announcement of the bid winner, a bank spokesman said yesterday. Full Story

Taipei's Department of Education announces new English teaching guidelines

The China Post - Taipei City's Department of Education (DOE) has announced a draft of new English teaching guidelines for public elementary schools. Full Story

Lee criticizes university system

The China Post - Nobel Prize laureate Lee Yuan-tseh yesterday called for changes to the university enrollment system that has turned high schools into "boot camps" for exam skills. Full Story

Pina Bausch dance company bound for China, Taiwan

The China Post - Germany's top modern-dance company, the Pina Bausch ensemble, is to tour China for the first time later this month, a spokesman said Wednesday. Full Story

China player leaves over hard foul

The China Post - A mainland China basketball player competing in a cross-strait basketball tournament in Taiwan left the country yesterday after committing a flagrant foul on a Taiwan basketball player on Monday. Full Story

Wang powers Yankees over Mariners

The China Post - Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming combined with home run king Alex Rodriguez to lift the New York Yankees over Seattle in a key Major League Baseball contest Tuesday. Full Story

Guo donates NT$15 billion for National Taiwan University cancer center

The China Post - Taiwan business tycoon Terry Guo decided yesterday to donate NT$15 billion (US$454.54 million) to National Taiwan University (NTU) for the construction of a cancer hospital, as well as advanced medical facilities such as a proton therapy center and other biomedical engineering projects. Full Story

World Vision reaches 100,000 donors

The China Post - The number of donors to World Vision Taiwan (WVT) has reached the 100,000 mark, a new milestone since the charity's establishment in the country in 1964, the organization said yesterday. Full Story

Students pay respects at Confucian Temple

The China Post - More than 500 students from Taiwan and foreign nations paid respects to their teachers at a traditional ceremony held at the Confucian Temple at the Dalongdong (Talungtung) district of Taipei yesterday. Full Story

Young Diplomats applications begin

The China Post - Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun to accept applications for the 2007 Young Diplomats competition from high school and vocational schools across Taiwan with the aim of developing interest in international relations among Taiwan's youth. Full Story

Heavier bikes allowed to take 6 highways on November 1

The China Post - Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday announced that heavy sized motorcycles over 500 c.c. will be allowed on sixteen express provincial highways across Taiwan starting November 1. Full Story

Ministry of Transportation and Communications to consider harsher penalties for drunk drivers

The China Post - Ministry of Transportation and Communications will hold a hearing at the end of month to discuss the abolishment of criminal penalties for drunk driving and strengthen administrative penalties for the deadly act. Full Story

Malaysia arrests seven over text message scam

The China Post - Malaysian police have arrested seven Taiwanese nationals over an international mobile phone text messaging scam, a senior police officer said yesterday. Full Story

Taiwan eatery pays through the nose for tofu stink

The China Post - Stinky tofu, a south China delicacy loved by some and detested by others, finally wore out its welcome in one Taiwan neighbourhood. Full Story

84% of fruit plates don't meet health standards

The China Post - The non-profit Consumers' Foundation urged relevant authorities yesterday to reinforce measures to monitor the cleanliness of ready-to-eat sliced fresh fruit plates at markets while making public test results that show 84 percent of products do not meet hygienic standards. Full Story

Eel breeders want probe of substandard eels

The China Post - Eel breeders in the southern county of Chiayi urged the Fisheries Agency yesterday to probe their claims that eels recently found to contain residue of a banned antibiotic might have been smuggled from overseas. Full Story

The Ministry of Education offers subsidies for five to teach in United Kingdom

The China Post - The Ministry of Education (MOE) has decided to offer subsidies for five assistants to teach Chinese in five British schools, MOE officials said yesterday. Full Story

New fundraising for families in crisis launched

The China Post - A fundraising activity to help Taiwan's nearly 1 million families in crisis was launched at Pacific Sogo Department Store in Taipei City yesterday. Full Story

English songs, jokes included in curriculum: Ministry of Education

The China Post - Officials from the Ministry of Education (MOE) revealed yesterday an experimental plan that aims to improve the literary and communication skills of students attending science and technology colleges throughout Taiwan. Full Story

The Ministry of National Defense urged to observe principle of gender equality

The China Post - The Ministry of National Defense (MND) was urged yesterday to observe the principle of gender equality when it comes to government scholarships for women cadets in military academies. Full Story

Implant ban meeting set for September 21

The China Post - The Department of Health (DOH) will call an expert meeting Sept. 21 to discuss whether to lift the ban on cohesive silicone gel breast implants, a health official said yesterday, adding that the department puts local women' safety first. Full Story

Nearly 10,000 teen runaways in '06

The China Post - One teenager runs away from home every hour in Taiwan, according to statistics released by the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF). Full Story

Groups urge government to save frog habitat

The China Post - Environmental protection groups urged the government yesterday to save a large breeding ground of farmland tree frogs on the island now under threat of damage from a residential development construction project in Yungkang City, Tainan County in southern Taiwan. Full Story

Sioulin office stops Taroko trash service

The China Post - The Sioulin Township office has stopped its garbage collection service for Taroko National Park in protest of citations issued by park headquarter's police against farming by the aboriginal Taroko tribe on aboriginal-reserved land. Full Story

French street art can serve as good example for Taiwan: cultural worker

The China Post - The development of French street art is the result of a 30-year process of cultivation. While the French experience serves as a good example for Taiwan, it will also take Taiwan a long time before street art blossoms, said a French cultural worker yesterday. Full Story

Belize university teachers to study at local school

The China Post - Five teachers of the University of Belize, will study at National Yulin University of Science and Technology (NYUST) in southern Taiwan starting in the new academic year, in pursuit of master's and doctoral degrees, as part of a cultural exchange program, a spokesman of the school said yesterday. Full Story

Boeing 737s have design flaw: aviation experts

The China Post - There should be something wrong with the mechanical designs of the Boeing 737s, and the latest explosion of a Boeing 737-800 jet plane owned by China Airlines might be caused by the problematic design, according to local aviation safety experts. Full Story

The Mainland Affairs Council supports cross-strait aviation mechanism

The China Post - The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has thrown its support behind an idea from the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) to push for the establishment of a cross-Taiwan Strait aviation accident investigation mechanism, an ASC official said yesterday. Full Story

Woman killed after truck brake drum comes loose

The China Post - A woman was killed Saturday after the brake drum of a truck flew out and smashed through the windshield of the car she was riding in. Full Story

Cold front to bring showers to most parts of Taiwan

The China Post - A cold front will drape over Taiwan for about three days beginning today, bringing showers to northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan and causing temperatures in most parts of Taiwan to drop slightly, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) predicted in a weather forecast yesterday. Full Story

20 counterfeit dealers busted from February to August

The China Post - National Police Agency's Intellectual Property Rights Police Team said that it has busted more than twenty counterfeit apparel dealers from February to August this year selling their merchandise in "special name brand sales events" in shopping districts across Taipei. Full Story

DOH to decide on silicone implants

The China Post - Executive Yuan's Department of Health will hold a meeting at the end of September to decide whether or not to lift a ban on silicone implants, which have been banned in the country for the past fifteen years. Full Story

Pingtung prosecutors launch bird campaign

The China Post - The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office has launched a wild bird protection campaign in conjunction with the Kending National Park Administration Office and Pingtung forest rangers and police in an effort to curb illegal bird-hunting in the southern county, officials said Saturday. Full Story

Taiwan's Lin makes stunning comeback to win Brunei Open

The China Post - Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang overcame a six-shot deficit on Sunday to win the Brunei Open, as Australia's Adam Le Vesconte crumbled in the final round. Full Story

China shrimp imports banned after drug found

The China Post - The Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday that it has banned shrimp imports from China after the discovery of the forbidden antibiotic nitrofurans in the product. Full Story

Police start enforcing new cycling regulations

The China Post - Police officers from the Traffic Division of the Taipei City Police Department (TCPD) started issuing traffic tickets yesterday to cyclists who do not respect new rules that entered into effect on Sep. 1. Full Story

Tourists back from Nepal safe and sound

The China Post - The 14 unfortunate Taiwanese tourists who were compelled to stay in Katmandu, Nepal for an extra week due to technical and weather difficulties arrived yesterday safe and sound in Taiwan, said officials from the Tourism Bureau. Full Story

Man mysteriously dies of gas inhalation in Chiayi

The China Post - A man died from inhaling gas trapped inside a plastic bag that was tied around his neck, police in Chiayi City said yesterday. Full Story

Polycarbonate baby bottles may release harmful chemical

The China Post - Polycarbonate (PC) plastic baby bottles may release a chemical that could harm the health of babies, a local environmental group reported yesterday. Full Story

Most oil fragrance products deemed unsafe by The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection

The China Post - Nine out of 12 oil fragrance products tested failed labeling rules, a violation that denies consumers sufficient information about the risk of explosion when these products are improperly used, a government agency monitoring product standards said yesterday. Full Story

Husband attempts suicide in Taoyuan after murdering wife

The China Post - The man who allegedly stabbed his wife while the couple was filling for a divorce at Miaoli Household Registration Office (MHRO) on Thursday was arrested in a motel, after having failed in a suicide attempt, officials from Miaoli Police Department said yesterday. Full Story

Company owner found guilty of revenge killing

The China Post - The high court yesterday convicted a man for a murder charge and sentenced him to death in the fifth retrial of the case, a local newspaper reported. Full Story

Man to run in German marathons, but backwards

The China Post - A man announced Thursday that he will join two marathons in Germany in September, but will run backwards in both races. Full Story

14 local golfers to compete in United States, Japan tournaments

The China Post - A group of 14 Taiwanese golfers will depart for the United States and Japan in September to compete in qualification tournaments under the full sponsorship of a local technology company, a spokesman of the company said yesterday. Full Story

Taipei City launches '2007 Freedom Riverbank Biking'

The China Post - Officials from Taipei's Department of Physical Education (TDPE) announced yesterday the venue for the "2007 Taipei Freedom Riverbank Biking" day, taking place on Sep. 8. Full Story

Toona sinensis extract can boost male fertility: research

The China Post - Results of recent research programs at National Cheng Kung University show that extracts from the toona sinensis tree, also known as Chinese mahogany, can improve male fertility. Full Story

Luck improved with name change, Tainan village says

The China Post - A village which changed its named to avoid bad luck claims the move actually worked, a newspaper reported yesterday. Full Story

Immigration agency to take measures against escapes

The China Post - The National Immigration Agency under the Ministry of the Interior will improve facilities and personnel at detention centers in an effort to prevent detained illegal immigrants from escaping, an agency official said yesterday. Full Story