ICRT Recording

1st Script: Taiwan news... The island's top cross strait negotiator says China understands the concern it's new passports have generated in Taiwan. The decision by China to include depictions of scenic spots in Taiwan on its latest passports has created a furor here at home ... and led the Ma administration to call on China not to hurt hard-earned stability across the strait. Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Lin Zhong-sen ... just back from a trip to China ... said he conveyed Taiwan's solemn position on the matter when he met with his Beijing counterpart. Lin's protest follows a similar one last week by Taiwan's top agency for China policy. Lin said he was told Beijing understood and would seriously deal with it ... although he didn't elaborate what steps might be taken. He added Chinese officials explained to him that there was no intention to make any kind of a statement ... calling the inclusion of the scenic spots "fashionable."

2nd Script:

Transportation Subsidies

Hualian's tourism industry is up in arms over the closure of the Su-hua highway ... and is calling on the government to subsidize alternative transportation. The closure of the road due to a 45 meter section being washed away after recent heavy rains comes just ahead of the peak Christmas and New Year holiday. A partial re-opening of the road isn't expected until the end of the month. Hotel operators in Hualian say they are looking at massive cancellations ... and estimate losses upwards of a hundred million NT. Industry representatives held a meeting today ... saying the government should subsidize alternate forms of transportation to keep Hualian open to the outside. They said this is not just for tourists ... but also local residents who need to travel to and from other parts of the island. The representatives added the transportation options in Western Taiwan are numerous ... but this is not the case for Hualian. 3rd Script: North Korea in regional news... North Koreans stopped in their tracks at midday to silently honor former ruler Kim Jong Il, whose death one year ago today swept his 20-something son to power. The son, Kim Jong Un, led top military and government officials in reopening the sprawling mausoleum where his father's body now lies in state near that of his grandfather, the nation's founder Kim Il Sung. The hall bearing Kim Jong Il's body was expected to open to guests this afternoon. Kim Jong Il's death from a heart attack was famously followed by scenes of North Koreans dramatically wailing in the streets of Pyongyang. The mood in the capital was decidedly more upbeat today, less than a week after North Korea successfully launched a satellite named for Kim Jong Il. Vocabularies: Sprawling :  to spread out, extend, or be distributed in a straggling orirregular manner, as vines, buildings, handwriting, etc. Wailing : To make mournful sounds. Upbeat : Cheerful. Depictions: Representation of images. Solemn : Serious.