Few people recognize the vital importance of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) in keeping this country safe. Underfunded by an uninterested legislature and under-appreciated by a superficial media, the coast guard nevertheless has performed admirably in the six years since it was formed.

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By Tu Jenn-hwa 杜震華
Last week, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), while addressing a group of academics at the institute, said that "Taiwan is the second-most densely populated nation in the world. Since the nation has to rely on imports from other countries as a result of its rather limited natural resources, we would be better off with a smaller population."

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By Huang Tien-lin 黃天麟
In recent weeks, the conflicts between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), and between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), have generated a lot of noise. But if the remarks made by each side are carefully examined, the friction in relations can be seen to be rooted not just in the Chen administration's various scandals and the corruption of some government officials, but also in fundamental policy differences, including their differing views on Taiwan's identity.

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By Leou Chia-feng 柳嘉峰
The calls for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to return its stolen assets to the public have accelerated over the course of the nation's democratization. The KMT knows the party's position is indefensible, so former chairman Lien Chan (連戰) publicly promised to return the assets when he ran for the presidency in 2000, and Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised to do the same when he ran for the party's chairmanship last year.

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Four years after starting the zero-carbon estate that made his name, Bill Dunster is wowing Beijing -- and London
By Terry Slavin
As world-famous architectural practices go, Bill Dunster's premises are like no other. To find him you have to travel to a remote commuter station in an insalubrious outpost of suburban Surrey, south of London. Then it's a 10-minute hike past a builder's yard, down-at-heel convenience shops and a Tudor-style estate before you spot the jaunty, brightly colored ventilation cowls and sleek wooden exteriors of BedZED, the zero carbon eco-village that has made Dunster's name as Britain's foremost green architect.

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By Arindam Chaudhuri
The US has long been divided over what it calls "affirmative action," a system of racial preferences intended to overcome the lingering consequences of slavery and discrimination against black Americans. India is now becoming divided in much the same way, and for much the same reason -- the emerging system of "reserved places" aimed at redressing centuries of caste discrimination. But India's good intentions, like the US' affirmative action policies, are misguided.

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