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.

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.

Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) announced a rewards program Friday to encourage Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan with charter cruises.

Ruling Kuomintang Vice Chairman John Chiang met Thursday in the Chinese city of Xian with a Chinese elementary school girl who sent 20 Chinese yuan (NT$96) to help people in southern Taiwan who were affected by Typhoon Morakot in early August, a news agency in China reported that day.

President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) won't be put into practice if the contents of the pact fails to clear the legislative floor.

A scholar urged Taiwan yesterday to co-sponsor the Confucius Institutes with China in a bid to increase its cultural influence in the Chinese mainland and around the world.

A judicial aid agreement between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has contributed greatly to Taiwan's fight against crime since it came into effect June 25, a senior official said yesterday.

President Ma Ying-jeou has ruled out the possibility of Taiwan entering into political discussions with China soon, despite growing ties between the two sides.

Taiwan's education authorities say they are looking to recognize degrees conferred by 41 major Chinese universities, although the plan has yet to be finalized, an official said yesterday.