Taipei - Taiwan stocks fell nea

Taipei  - Taiwan on Tuesday admitted it is mulling cutting its armed forces, but denied reports that the cuts could be as much as one-third of its troops.

"Regarding the adjustment of the size of our military forces, it is still being planned. We have not made a decision yet and all possibilities are under consideration," the Broadcasting Corp of China quoted Ho An-chi, a Defence Ministry official in charge of personnel planning, as saying.

Taipei- Taiwan said Monday that it hopes to approve an application by Star Cruises to launch a Taiwan-China cruise service, while the cruise company denied speculation it will quit Taiwan.

"We are still negotiating with Star Cruises and hope to approve its application without violating the Taipei-Beijing sea links agreement," Yin Cheng-peng, an official at the Transport Ministry, which is in charge of sea transport, told the Central News Agency (CNA).

Taipei  - Taiwan's ex-president, Chen Shui-bian, is scheduled to appear in court Monday in a corruption trial that his lawyer says is weighted against him.

"Not only that the presiding judge Tsai Shou-hsun is (biased), but most local news media are also one-sided. So the chances to win the case in the district court trial are not high," Chen's defense lawyer Cheng Wen-lung told reporters Sunday.

He said local news media have been making unfavourable reports against Chen, which Cheng believed would affect the decisions of the judge's panel.

Taipei- Taiwan on Saturday relaxed restrictions on visits by Chinese tour groups as part of its effort to boost its slow- growing tourism industry.

Starting Sunday, Chinese citizens will only need to show a permit from their working units - instead of proof of bank savings as is currently required - when they apply to visit Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau said in a statement.