Taipei - Fourteen foreign and local baseball players were questioned by prosecutors in Taiwan Thursday as new evidence emerged in an investigation into alleged match-fixing by the T-Rex team.

The 14 include five foreign players. Three of them - including former US Major League baseball player Cory Bailey - have been suspended from playing indefinitely after they were questioned on October 8 and released on bail.

Taipei - Taiwan prosecutors on Thursday requested a 14-month prison term for a city councilman after charging him with inciting a mob to attack a visiting Chinese official last week.

The indictment clouded next week's visit by China's top negotiator with Taiwan, Chen Yunlin, as pro-independence groups saw the charges as the government appeasing China and vowed to confront Chen wherever he goes.

Taipei - Taiwan stocks surged more than 6 per cent by mid-session Thursday after the central bank cut interest rates and on positive signs in Taiwan-China ties.

The benchmark TAIEX rose 266.31 points, or 6.04 per cent, to 4,672.83 in mid-morning trading after the central bank cut interest rates by
0.25 per cent, and due to positive signs in Taiwan-China ties.

Taipei - Taiwan announced Wednesday it will send former vice president Lien Chan to the November 22 leaders' summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 
(APEC) forum.

The announcement was seen as a breakthrough in the island's relations with China, which for years has opposed allowing any prominent Taiwan leader to attend the event, observers said.

"President Ma Ying-jeou has appointed Mr Lien Chan as his representative to the leaders' summit," the Presidential Office said in a statement.

Lien, honorary chairman of the ruling Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT), was vice president between 1996-2000, and the party's chairman between 2000 and 2005.

Taipei - Taiwan sto

Taipei - Taiwan hopes to upgrade its representation at the upcoming APEC summit by sending a former minister and parliament speaker Frederick F Chien to the meeting, press reports said Wednesday.

The United Daily Mews and Economic Daily News, quoting an unnamed official source, said Taiwan plans to send Chien to the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit to be held in Lima, Peru November 22-23.