China is once again putting its military might on display in order to threaten Taiwan. Hong Kong media outlets reported Tuesday that China would hold military exercises on Dongshan Island off Fujian Province. According to the reports, the exercises would involve large numbers of personnel, aircraft and submarines.

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By Wea Chi-lin魏啟林
On May 1, the EU expanded its membership from 15 to 25 member states, increasing its population to 450 million. The national income of the EU member states now makes up 20 percent of global GDP, and EU trade makes up 40 percent of the global total. Nominally, the new EU will overtake the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region as the world's biggest single market. In fact, although this expansion seems to promise unlimited potential, it may lead to bubble economies, and possibly a painful transition period.

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By Chin Heng-wei金恆煒
People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) now favors the establishment of a parliamentary system, a clear indication that the pan-blues no longer believe that they will be able to attain power under the current presidential system.

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The US is choosing to ignore the fact that it is to blame for the stifling of global democracy
By George Monbiot
No one could have called ours a raucous household. The passions of our first two years at university were spent, and we were now buried in our books. My work, as usual, was quixotic and contradictory (studying zoology by day, writing a terrible novel by night), Niall's was focussed and unrelenting. He was charming, generous-spirited and easy to live with, but I think it is fair to say that everyone was frightened of him.

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Many Haitians rely on cheap rice for their one meal a day. But a decrease in global rice supplies has pushed prices up, and graft and looting haven't helped
By Time Weiner
One lesson of life in Haiti is to never say things cannot get any worse. They can, and they have.

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Clean and green

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