Despite concerns that a US economic slowdown would have a negative impact on Taiwanese exports, export orders rose 15.54 percent year-on-year to a record US$345.81 billion last year. Last month alone, exports rose 17.56 percent from a year earlier to US$31.02 billion, statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed last week.

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By Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎
WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL election but two months away, it remains difficult to determine what political parties will do.

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By Michelle Wang 王美琇
THIS IS NOT rumor mongering but an imminent and present threat already looming over Taiwan. Using democratic common sense and personal observation, we can see that an urgent crisis is upon us.

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By Chen Yi-shen 陳儀深
PRESIDENT CHEN SHUI-BIAN'S (陳水扁) inaugural speech in 2004 summarized contemporary relations between the US, China and Taiwan. But the speech avoided the issue of a constitutional amendment on independence by referendum in 2006, as Chen instead suggested constitutional reform within the system.

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People in developed nations have grown used to low-cost food, but that is about to change as global forces drive huge increases that could threaten international stability
By Alex Reton
Outside a Co-op supermarket in Edinburgh this month, I met three sisters, all doing their shopping for this weekend. In their baskets were tins, mainly -- Ambrosia creamed rice and minted peas. They were peering at stickers and examining labels with the look of hardened skeptics.

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