The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has boasted recently about the steady stream of members joining its ranks thanks to a proposal to attract younger participants by party Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). But even as the party hailed its efforts, it seemed doubtful whether the DPP was ready to embrace new voices.

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By Jerome Keating
The selection of China for the Olympics was not “political”;0 it was just done to legitimize the claim that — despite the Tiananmen Square massacre and despite a dismal human rights record — China is on a “peaceful rise.” After all, Tiananmen Square is ages past, and China has changed, so China deserves the Olympics because China has been begging to prove it is a legitimate world player.

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By Liu Shun-ming 劉順明
In the past, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was mentioned, the image that appeared in people’s heads was that of a party that was honest and local, a party that had the support of many prominent intellectuals who were against the concentration of power in the hands of one party.

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By Elizabeth Day
It was, in more ways than one, an image pregnant with meaning. Normally a photograph of the Spanish defense minister inspecting the nation’s troops would elicit little comment beyond those with a nerdish interest in medals and battle formations. But this time the minister was Carme Chacon, a 37-year-old mother-to-be with no previous military experience.

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By Joanna Walters
The “American dream” of unashamed wealth and the opportunity for all to acquire it has reached a crisis point before — in the Depression, the oil shock, in the “greed is good” 1980s and the madness of the dotcom bubble.

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Mutual misunderstanding

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