If the US State Department has a list of least favorite people, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) must surely now be on it. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte made the US stance on Chen's proposed UN referendum known on Monday, branding the proposal a "mistake" and warning it would be seen by Washington as an attempt to change the cross-strait "status quo."

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By Giles Merritt
China's "face" may be its Achilles' Heel. As it basks in its new status as an economic superpower -- the dragon that is outpacing Asia's tigers as well as the donkeys of the West -- China is mistakenly downplaying its own serious structural weaknesses.

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By Huang Yu-lin 黃玉霖
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has described the "status quo" in Taiwan as having "one Taiwan, with each side [green and blue] being its own interpretation." He says the KMT has always insisted that the "Republic of China [ROC] is a sovereign and independent country," reaffirming his clear ROC-oriented ideology.

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By Lee Cheng-hung 李政鴻
On his visit to India, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe talked about his idea of establishing an "arc of freedom and prosperity" consisting of Japan, India, the US and Australia. It is no accident that this concept doesn't include China.

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The weakness of the US and Europe today is an invitation for Russia to return to its old imperial politics
By Joschka Fischer
Russia is again seeking a role as a global power and is therefore flexing its muscles. Signs of change in Moscow's foreign policy have been mounting ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a confrontational speech in Munich last February.

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By Clifford Levy
The dour Moscow of Cold War film strips is long gone, and this increasingly prosperous city fancies itself striding chest out into the future. But every summer, the people here get a taste of old-style deprivation, as if they were flung back to a time when they had to line up at dawn to buy a few coils of mealy sausage.

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The government recognizes that widespread poverty can lead to political instability and is struggling to fund education, medical care and infrastructure
By Anthony Deutsch
The downfall of former Indonesian dictator Suharto in 1998 swept in an era of political freedom and hope for a better future.

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