It is finally settled -- Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) will team up with former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for next year's presidential election. The saga of how these two political heavyweights finally tied the knot had been no less perplexing and dramatic than Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential nominee Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) long search for a running mate and the hide-and-seek game between him and Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) before Ma finally settled for Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).

[ FULL STORY ]

By Michelle Wang 王美琇
The "Resolution for a Normal Country" that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has announced is closely related to the development of Taiwan as a nation. In my opinion, the resolution has come at the right time and we should pay serious attention to it. There are at least four points that should be considered.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Tu Jenn-hwa 杜震華
This year's college entrance examination shows that Taiwan does have a universal education system, with a record 95.5 percent of students gaining entrance into institutions of higher learning. But is this rapid expansion a phenomenon of globalization, or is it a reflection of an education policy gone wrong?

[ FULL STORY ]

By Allen Houng 洪裕宏
After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was pronounced not guilty in his embezzlement trial, he called on prosecutors not to file an appeal, saying "they cannot, nor should they, continue this meaningless waste of funds," adding a hope that this "waste ends here and now."

[ FULL STORY ]

By Alexander Gambotto-Burke
Just over 10 years ago, the edge in emotive, immersive and cinematic game design was the FMV (full-motion video) game. Constructing its complicated gameplay sequences out of live-action footage, these movie/game hybrids had a distinct advantage over their pixellated peers: They looked fantastic because their visuals were sourced from the real world. Things have changed.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Robert Shiller
The sharp drop in the world's stock markets on Aug. 9, after BNP Paribas announced that it would freeze three of its funds, is just one more example of the markets' recent downward instability or asymmetry. That is, the markets have been more vulnerable to sudden large drops than they have been to sudden large increases. Daily stock price changes for the 100-business-day period ending Aug. 3 were unusually negatively skewed in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the US and the UK.

[ FULL STORY ]

The number of older workers is likely to keep rising in the US as Americans are living longer and finding it a struggle to make ends meet in their retirement
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
At 92, Pete Perillo still has a workday routine. He says a prayer and then heads off in uniform to guard the city courthouse.

[ FULL STORY ]