Taiwan’s wheelchair-bound first lady was rushed to hospital early today after she passed out during the first session of her fraud and forgery trial.

Hundreds of thousands of chanting protesters marched through Taipei today, breathing new life into a campaign to pressure Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to resign over a series of high-profile corruption scandals.

About a million Taiwanese marched through the capital Taipei today, some carrying signs reading “Shame on China”, to express their anger over a new Chinese law that authorises an attack on the island if it moves toward formal independence.

Actor Sean Connery will participate in a planned 190-mile human chain next week in Taiwan to protest China’s missile threat against the island, newspapers reported today.

Deadly bombings in Baghdad and Indonesia and fear of terrorism in the United States, Britain, Israel and elsewhere cast shadows over New Year celebrations around the world.