President Ma ying-jeou yesterday presided over a ground-breaking ceremony to kick off construction of a 40-kilometer elevated freeway at a total cost of NT$88.257 billion.

The main opposition yesterday accused the ruling Kuomintang of plotting a witch hunt in the guise of anti-vote-buying actions in order to win next month's elections.

The Kinmen County government yesterday denied allegations that it had sponsored an ad campaign at venues in Taipei's mass rapid transit (MRT) system supporting a specific candidate in next month's elections.

President Ma Ying-jeou said Saturday that Taiwan has made efforts to reduce cross-strait tensions and improve relations with China in response to the calls for world peace by the head of the Catholic Church.

Prestigious medical staff in Taiwan revealed yesterday in a seminar that more than one hundred doctors who are tired of or worried about medical disputes are now studying in law schools.

Three candidates have been put on the shortlist for the sponsorship of this year's New Year fireworks display at Taiwan's tallest building, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

Chairman P.K. Chiang of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) yesterday hosted a dinner in honor of Vice President Wang Zaixi of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), who will return to Beijing today after winding up a week-long visit as leader of a Chinese educational and cultural delegation.

Jen Hong, deputy minister of the Cabinet's Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC), said Friday in Los Angeles that Taiwan and China each have their own advantages in terms of teaching Mandarin and should therefore combine their strengths to make Chinese learning easier for foreigners.

Taiwan's envoy to Austria was warmly welcomed during a visit Friday to a Catholic school in Vienna that is famous for its traditional Mandarin classes.

Only 2,000 to 3,000 Taiwanese students who have received diplomas from Chinese universities will return to Taiwan to seek accreditation in preparation for job hunting, said a deputy head of the Taiwan Students' Association.