For all its vaunted intrinsic value, democracy means that its outcomes cannot please everybody. Such was the case on Saturday, when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won by a comfortable margin, leaving 41.55 percent -- or 5.4 million -- of those who voted for the Democratic Progressive Party shaking their heads and wondering what will happen to their country.

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By Liao Kun-jung 廖坤榮
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won a decisive victory with nearly 60 percent of the vote in the presidential election on Saturday. In political economist Kenneth Arrow's terms, the election results can be described as Taiwan's "social choice" as well as a rational choice based on the public's collective political preferences. However, whether it is a social or a rational choice, it is inevitable that people will associate Ma's resounding victory with the KMT's crushing defeat of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the January legislative elections.

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By Kao Shih-fan 高士凡
Taiwan has been awash in English fever. Learning English as a foreign language (EFL) has been a national craze for years. Parents want their children to learn English as early as possible -- preferably before elementary school -- as evidenced by the ubiquity of language schools. More than 30 percent of all elementary school students study English at some form of language school.

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By Cheng Ta-chen 鄭大誠
Before Saturday's presidential election, the US dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Taiwan Strait area. The USS Nimitz came with its entire carrier battle group, including submarines, while the other aircraft carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk, brought a guided missile destroyer.

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It is not uncommon for professors' Web pages to include lists of the books they would take to a deserted island, links to their favorite songs, blog posts about their children and vacation photographs
By Stephanie Rosenbloom
It is not necessary for a student studying multivariable calculus, medieval literature or Roman archaeology to know that the professor behind the podium shoots pool, has donned a bunny costume or can't get enough of Chaka Khan.

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Grasping globalization's overwhelming boost to welfare everywhere is potentially one of this generation's biggest challenges
By Kym Anderson and Bjorn Lomborg
Protectionist sentiment and fear of globalization are on the rise. In the US, presidential candidates appeal to anxious voters by blaming the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the erosion of the country's manufacturing base. Liberal trade initiatives have run into trouble in Congress, while new trade barriers have been mooted for products flooding in from China.

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