31.   Beijing wants direct links with the main island of Taiwan itself, but Taiwan fears that its economy might grow too dependent on China.

32.   A direct line to the Oval Office will be augmented for Bush with a direct link to the vice president.

33.   A direct link between taxpayer and taxpayee might even make consumers more confident.

34.   A recent assessment by the United Nations drew an even more direct link between the production of opium for heroin in Afghanistan and the funding of terrorist groups.

35.   A scientific journal published a study claiming a direct link exists between smoking and lung cancer.

36.   A senior American official drew a direct link between the exploitation of oil resources in the Caspian Basin and prospects for stability.

37.   A spokesman for Spyridon, the Rev. Alexander Karloutsos, denied any direct link between the firings and the sexual misconduct incident.

38.   A web site of the Department of Health and Human Services provides direct links to online publications and data bases whose material includes consumer health information from federal agencies.

39.   Afterward, they said they enjoyed the speech, though they seemed less willing to make a direct link between their battle and the one being waged now.

40.   Bush, who will speak at the conference on Friday, has not drawn quite so direct a link between economic suffering and political rage.