In the wake of Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu's (吳釗燮) revelations concerning the so-called anti-secession law on Friday, it is surprising there hasn't been more of a reaction. After all, some of the implications of the legislation, if Wu's intelligence is correct, are far worse for cross-strait rapprochement than the most pessimistic forecast.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Liu Kuan-teh劉冠德
In their masterpiece on political campaign strategy, James Carville and Paul Begala provide politicians with a dozen winning secrets. Among them, the key is to "buck up, suck up, and come back when you foul up."

[ FULL STORY ]

By Anthony van Dyck and Gus Adapon
For many foreigners in Taiwan, International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) provided a shared experience that transcended nationality, vocation, age and income. It connected us to one another and to the Taiwanese community at large.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Northern Taiwan Society
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress has begun discussing anti-secession legislation. This move has caused concern in parts of Taiwan's society and shows that Taiwan must strengthen its psychological defenses and self-recognition. China's hegemonic attitudes and ambition to annex Taiwan must be condemned.

[ FULL STORY ]

Burma has retained tight control over information about tsunami damage and published a suspiciously low death toll. This is just the latest example of a corrupt government worsening the suffering of its people in a time of disaster
According to its military junta, Burma is a lucky country. Perhaps in compensation for the years of tyranny and degradation the army has brought, the gods decided that it should be spared. Readers who studied the maps of the Indian Ocean carried by every newspaper and television station last week can't have missed the grim, little boxes filled by terrible figures: Indonesia, 80,000 dead and rising; Sri Lanka, 27,000 and rising; India, 11,000 and rising, Thailand, 4,000 and rising. Yet when the eyes flitted to the top right corner they saw that Burma had only a few dozen dead to mourn.

[ FULL STORY ]

The move by creditor countries to offer debt relief for tsunami-hit nations may spur demands for similar treatment for other poor, indebted countries
By Sabyasachi Mitra
The offer of debt relief by rich industrialized nations to tsunami-hit Asian countries provides a ray of hope to other poor debt-laden nations, mainly in Africa, which for years have cried out for similar help.

[ FULL STORY ]