It is curious that so much has been said of the much vaunted "second stage of constitutional reforms," especially as we have had six -- or is it seven? -- rounds already in the past 15 years, while the hard work of implementing the set of reforms that passed on Tuesday is very far from being completed. In fact, the trouble is only just about to begin.

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By RichardFisher, Jr
Revelations in last Sunday's China Times that Taiwan has tested a 1,000km-range capable land attack cruise missile (LACM) proves an axiom: China's military buildup will not stop an Asian defensive response. Taiwan is merely joining a list of other countries, which so far include India and South Korea, in developing their own capabilities in response to China's deployment or proliferation of missile or nuclear weapon technologies.

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By Bill Chang 張國城
On June 6, the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported that the US Department of Defense perceives both international terrorism and China's rapid military expansion as the "worst threats." This kind of message should set off alarm bells in Taiwan.

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Amid panic over a flood of cheap goods -- especially clothes and shoes -- the US and Europe have renewed their attack on Beijing's exchange rate policy
By Asheley Seager
China will come under renewed pressure at this weekend's G7 meeting in London to ditch its fixed exchange rate regime and instead allow the yuan to float freely on the foreign exchanges.

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Sometimes you must be careful what you wish for. That may end up being the case with the US' push to get China to revalue its currency.

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The latest high-tech weapon in the war on crime may be under your feet. New Zealand scientists are using bacterial soil analysis to 'fingerprint' dirt
By Kim Griggs
It was reddish soil on the feet of Sherlock Holmes' sidekick that told the detective, in The Sign of Four, that Dr. Watson had been to the post office. In real-life crimes, too, color is one way that forensic scientists analyze soil from a crime scene or suspect. They can also check mineral composition, the density of the soil and its pollen content. But because of the cost of using experts with the requisite skill and experience, these techniques are usually used only in serious crimes.

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By Michel Cote
People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) is the last person in Taiwan who should be lecturing anybody on democracy. The White Terror's former gestapo chief is a fountain of misinformation.

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By Arun Khanna
Fang Tien-sze's (方天賜) article ("China aims to balance relations in South Asia," April 27, page 8) is thought-provoking. The US administration's recent decision to sell advanced F-16D aircraft to Pakistan can have an adverse impact on Taiwan's security. The aircraft's avionics technology is bound to be leaked to China for use in Pakistan and China's joint production of JF-17 aircraft.

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By William Meldrum
It's been a truly blue week for pro-unification splittists here in the Republic of China on Taiwan (or whatever.)

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