• Middle East peace process : Taiwan’s independence Middle East peace process : Taiwan’s independence The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon May 4, 2005 To be forewarned is to be forearmed: Here is ample notice that the sense of unbridled optimism
• Middle East peace process : Taiwan’s independence
Middle East peace process : Taiwan’s independence
The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon May 4, 2005
To be forewarned is to be forearmed: Here is ample notice that the sense of unbridled optimism and hope for the future of the Middle East could quickly turn south. Over the past 50 years, the progress of reform in the Arab/Muslim world has been limited.…
Progress on the peace process, which has been given new life since the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and since U.S. President George W. Bush adopted his second-term stance of an evenhanded peace broker, has allowed the region to breathe a little easier.…
As we approach midsummer and the scheduled Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, there are signs that the old diseases of Palestinian-Israeli carnage are raising their ugly heads.…
The sudden change on the peace front does not bode well for U.S. interests in the region, for coming elections or for regional democrats’ hopes for reform in Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and elsewhere. The U.S. must act quickly to prevent the sudden chill in Palestinian-Israeli relations from spiralling downward into the same dark abyss of war and stagnation on the reform front.
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo May 1, 2005
Chairman Lien Chan of the Nationalist Party, Taiwan’s largest opposition party, met Friday in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao, where they agreed upon their shared opposition to independence for Taiwan. They also announced a five-point consensus for improving cross-Straits ties, including a mechanism to avoid military clashes between the mainland and the island.…
The handshake at the Great Hall of the People can be viewed as the fruits of Chinese leaders in apparently coaxing back Taipei, which seemed on the verge of straying.…
If the Nationalists win back the government, Beijing most likely believes that this recent consensus can be used as the cornerstone for initiating China-Taiwan unification talks.
Backlash, however, is emerging in Taiwan over the actions by the opposition Nationalists and Lien’s pose of mimicking the head of the government party in participating in the Beijing exchange.… We look forward to strong efforts on both sides to resume such discourse soon.
