In its long battle for international recognition, Taiwan has no greater asset than its hard-won democracy. More than anything, its democratic achievement is what distinguishes it from the authoritarian system in China. It is therefore crucial that this democracy be seen by the international community to be a functioning one worth protecting.

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By Allen Houng 洪裕宏
The written verdict in Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) trial on corruption charges is full of self-contradictions. If one reads between the lines, it reveals just how much the three judges love Ma. If you're willing to spend three hours reading through the judgment in detail, you can certainly feel that the judges have diligently defended Ma and searched for reasons not to find him guilty.

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By Wilson Chen 陳春生
The US "one China" policy is based on the Three Joint Communiques between China and the US and the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). The communiques do not actually say that the US agrees Taiwan is a part of China. Neither does the TRA which is a piece of domestic legislation issued after the US severed diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) and recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC). It recognizes Taiwan as an existing entity, and does not say that Taiwan is a part of China.

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Despite its impressive economic statistics and analysts' claims, China is unlikely to surpass the US in GDP anytime soon
By Lester Thurow
China claims that its economy is growing at 10 percent to 11 percent a year, and China's official analysts say that their nation will catch up with the US long before the 22nd century arrives.

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By Bennett Ramberg
This summer's 50th anniversary of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) founding offers an opportunity for stocktaking about the world's most important nuclear watchdog. It comes at a time when the agency has assumed increasing responsibility for nuclear security. The recent dispatch of inspectors to verify the shutdown of North Korea's weapons reactor and the continuing efforts to ferret out Iran's nuclear intentions are only the most visible signs of its monitoring function.

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Media companies, agencies and advertisers are creating Web sites with commercials that seek to amuse viewers rather than make a hard-core sales pitch
By Stuart Elliot
For generations, advertising interrupted the entertainment that people in the US wanted to read, hear or watch. Now, in a turnabout, advertising is increasingly being presented as entertainment -- and surprisingly, the idea of all ads, all the time, is gaining some favor.

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The problems we human beings face, such as global warming, appear overwhelming, but there is a way out. However, in order to find that way we need a reformed UN as a compass.

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Chang Ruishiung (張瑞雄) may be the vice president of a university, but this doesn't seem to stop him from writing some utter nonsense ("Reform needed in higher education," Aug. 16, page 8).

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