With talks between the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) under way, it is hard not to understand the concerns of those who have been calling for Taiwan’s sovereignty to be protected.

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By Paul Lin 林保華
Talks were due to resume between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) yesterday. In a certain sense, these talks will be an icebreaker. Although talks between both sides have been frozen for many years now and the current talks represent some progress, the Taiwanese delegation should still handle the negotiations very delicately.

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By Wang Yu-Cheng 王毓正
Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) unveiled his policies to the media on May 19. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) also vowed to make all policies environmentally friendly at the opening ceremony of an annual NGO environmental conference on May 31.

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Saad Eskander, director of Baghdad’s national library, wants to help Iraqis through education. The former Kurdish fighter talks about why culture is the key, why the US must surrender looted papers — and why he refuses to have a bodyguard
By Stuart Jeffries
In 2003, Saad Eskander had just finished his doctorate at the London School of Economics when he decided to return to Baghdad. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime had been overthrown and the dictator was in hiding. Thirteen years after seeking asylum in Britain, the former teenage Kurdish fighter was going home to help rebuild his country.

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Foreigner friendly
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