With the TAIEX losing 4.34 percent last week to close at 8,161.39 points, following a 1.41 percent rise the previous week and an 11.86 percent increase last month, uncertainties are once again keeping investors at bay.

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By Gerrit van der Wees
As Taiwan prepares for the presidential election, the people face a choice for their future. This goes beyond a choice for the next four years: It is more than a continuation of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government under the new leadership of Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), or a return to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under new leadership, that of Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

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By Lin Kien-tsu 林健次
The public is the master of the country. When the public elects representatives, this does not change the fact that the public is the master, and the representatives are their servants. If servants turn around and limit the rights of the public to have a choice in resolving public matters, then the servants lose their legitimacy, and the public has the right to tell these servants to step down.

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The beijing games are an opportunity for the chinese communist party to show off, but they may also be a cause of embarrassment
By Jonathan Watts
For Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) the violent clashes that rocked Lhasa on Friday must bring on a feeling of deja vu. The last time Tibet's capital experienced such turmoil, in 1989, Hu was general secretary of the Tibetan Communist Party -- the most powerful politician in the region.

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By Martin Feldstein
When the euro's value reached an all-time high of US$1.52, European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet told the media that he was concerned about its rapid appreciation and wanted to "underline" the US treasury's official policy of supporting a strong dollar. Several European finance ministers subsequently echoed a similar theme.

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Governments cannot justify excluding most of the population from a large part of the planet on the grounds that the north and south poles need to be protected
By Simon Jenkins
Sitting on my desk is an illegal acquisition, a black pebble the size of a walnut. I picked it up some years ago on the slopes of Cape Crozier on Ross Island in the Antarctic. This vast wilderness of rock and ice lies on a cliff overlooking the Ross Sea and is celebrated as destination of the "worst journey in the world."

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For many Taiwanese, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime was another unfriendly foreign colonial power.

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As a long-time resident in Taiwan and someone with the bad experience of living for 24 years under communist rule in East Germany, I want to say: Wake up, Taiwanese. Wake up now as you are going to choose where Taiwan will go in future. The tragic events in Tibet should make it clear for everyone what will happen if China rules Taiwan and if the KMT returns to power in Taiwan.

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The Chinese crackdown in Tibet confirms that this "autonomous" region is anything but autonomous and that China's "peaceful rise" is less than peaceful. Not surprising from a government whose actions often speak in marked contrast to its rhetoric.

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