Last week the Council of Grand Justices issued Interpretation No. 632, ruling that "it is damaging to the overall national constitutional system for the president to neglect to submit Control Yuan nominations, or for the Legislative Yuan not to exercise its authority to give its approval, and neither is tolerated by the Constitution."

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By Randall Schriver
When Taiwanese government officials began publicly requesting that the US repeat the 1982 "Six Assurances" on the record in some manner, the issue was already lost. For starters, how reassured can anyone feel if the so-called "assurances" have to be dragged out from an otherwise unwilling source?

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By Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎
Now both sides of the pan-blue pan-green political spectrum support including a referendum in the next presidential election. In expressing disapproval of the referendum effort, the US may now have helped ignite stronger disapproval from China. It is clear that some means of preventing a serious problem in the Taiwan Strait is needed, or -- at the very least -- means of minimizing any harm to US interests.

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Poor management and inefficiency plague government water programs, but the oil market may provide examples for improvement
By Kendra Okonski and Caroline Boin
Every year, World Water Week gathers experts and UN officials in their thousands, uttering vitriolic statements, holding meetings and forming alliances -- but ignoring the real problem that prevents a billion people getting decent water: Bad management.

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Politicians have become painfully aware of video-sharing Web sites that can post their gaffes online almost immediately
By Liz Sidoti
Say what? Next year's US presidential campaign theme could be "Oops! What I meant was ... "

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By Valdis Dombrovskis
Instead of helping all EU member states to meet their own Kyoto goals, the European Commission is shifting what should be a shared burden onto its newest members, which are already the most environmentally efficient in the EU. In doing so, the commission is rewarding inefficiency and reducing the effectiveness of its commitments to clean up the environment.

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Although it's not part of China, Taiwan has a vested interest in China's tainted toy troubles -- partly because Taiwan is one of the biggest investors in China, and China is Taiwan's biggest market. So "when China sneezes, Taiwan catches SARS."

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