As the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was wrapping up negotiations with the People First Party over representation in overlapping legislative districts, there was some hand wringing at the pan-green camp over the legislative districts that still have to be settled between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) candidates.

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By Tseng Tse-fong 曾梓峰
The media recently turned to the controversy surrounding Kaohsiung's attempt to find a location for a popular music center. The conflict is typical of those that have afflicted the city's development over the years, but it also reveals a deeper problem that residents who are concerned with the city's long-term development should note.

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By Liu Kuan-teh 劉冠德
Ethnic politics has driven the nation's political evolution for the past two decades and is likely to be a deciding factor in the upcoming presidential election.

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Producers of crude oil are struggling to keep up with demand after reduced spending on infrastructure left rigs, tankers and geologists in short supply
By Nils Pratley
Another day, another record oil price, even if it didn't last long. This time nobody is surprised. The tone was set a few weeks ago when the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned of a supply "crunch" in five years' time and said demand for oil would grow at 2.2 percent a year, not 2 percent as previously thought, as India and China consume more.

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By Richard Halloran
The drubbing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party received in last Sunday's election in Japan was not only a setback for them, but also meant that an opportunity for leadership in Asia has faded.

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Ten years ago, Gulf states were often ignored as little more than sources of cash. Now, the region's business titans are taking the reins of popular culture
By Hassan Fattah
One of the most popular talent shows to hit Arab television this year has some of the trappings of similar shows in Europe and the US: swaggering contestants, big budget sets, grizzled judges and the chance to become a real star.

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China is trying to curry favor with neighboring countries by making them think that it is not a "threat" as some nations have claimed, but is a "peaceful rising" country interested in maintaining peace in East Asia, disguising its stated intention of using force to invade Taiwan and continued attempts to block Taiwan in the international arena.

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Let me see if I got this right; President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sends a second letter to the UN secretary-general to request consideration for Taiwan's entry to the UN. The letter is curtly returned with no reply.

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An English-language "village" is an excellent idea as it gives Taiwanese students an opportunity to practice their speaking and listening skills in a non-academic, pleasurable environment ("`Village' shows strength of English," Aug. 1, page 2). There are no exam pressures and the practical nature of the interchanges is a welcome change to these students' usual experience in school and buxiban, which mainly consist of rote learning, boring grammar and exam preparation.

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