In The News

Why Not a World Poll Before the US Election?

Yoichi Funabashi March 17, 2004
Americans are not alone in caring about who wins this November's US presidential election. The world at large is also interested – and rightfully so, given America's current role as the dominant international player. How crucial global problems are resolved depends on the direction America's president wants to go, notes Yoichi Funabashi, a columnist and chief diplomatic...

Taiwan's Challenge to China and the World - Part II

Linda Jakobson March 15, 2004
Beijing claims that 'the Taiwan issue' is an internal political affair, but many in Taiwan beg to differ. In the second installment of a two-part series, Linda Jakobson, co-author of the International Crisis Group's recent Taiwan Strait IV report, suggests a possible way out of the present imbroglio. On March 20, Taiwanese will take to the polls to vote for the next president and...

Taiwan's Challenge to China and the World - Part I

Jean-Pierre Cabestan March 12, 2004
With Taiwan's approaching referendum and presidential election set for March 20, the world is watching to see what Taiwanese voters will do and how China will react. The incumbent, President Chen Shui-bian, originally planned to ask Taiwanese voters whether they disapproved of Chinese missile deployment, but after intense US and EU pressure, he watered down the referendum's wording....

From Bali to Madrid, Attackers Seek to Inflict Ever-Greater Casualties

Ewen MacAskill March 12, 2004
In a worrisome development, Spain's tragic bombing yesterday may mark a shift in strategies for small, politically-directed terrorist groups. If ETA, the Basque separatist group, was behind the train bombing that killed almost 200 people, then their methods have changed and their aim has become bloodier. Al-Qaida's attack on 9/11 may have provided an unfortunate lesson – terrorist...

Voting with Confidence in the Future

March 11, 2004
In an editorial, the Taipei Times has come out strongly in favor of President Chen Shui-bian's re-election on March 20. A vote of confidence for the president, argues the paper, would be a boost to all struggling democracies world-wide. It would prove that other nations cannot influence domestic political elections while guaranteeing the validity of the democratic process. Taiwan should...

Still Not Too Late to Prevent a Doomsday

James Gustave Speth March 10, 2004
When it comes to the global environment, optimistic views are few and far between. In his new book, Red Sky at Morning, James Gustave Speth, Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, tackles the challenges posed by global environmental problems with rare optimism. In this essay adapted from his book, he acknowledges that there is much to be pessimistic about. Although some...

Thaksin's Chance for Leading Role in the Region

John D. Ciorciari March 10, 2004