The visit last month to China by Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung was the clearest example so far of the recent thaw in relations between the mainland and the island it claims as its own. The shift in atmosphere is in marked contrast to the tensions evident under the eight-year rule of former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, during which both sides would periodically ratchet up tensions — China by threatening the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and Chen by pressing for independence. China appears determined to capitalize on the new mood since incoming Taiwanese [...]
The situation grows more perilous by the day in the small nation of Yemen, on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Every day come new reports of mosque bombings, attacks on Western embassies, regrouping of terrorist organizations, and rebel advances towards the capital, Sana. In the face of such threats, the government has toughened its stance — against journalists. Yemen has been freeing convicted terrorists, while imprisoning journalists. The most troubling case involves the respected Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, an outspoken advocate of democracy and press freedom, who faces a possible death sentence when he returns to court on June [...]
Any celebration of Eritrean independence stands as a contradictory exercise. One of Africa’s newest countries, the recent 17th anniversary of independence serves as an important reminder of the prolonged struggle for statehood. Eritreans first shrugged off a host of distant occupiers, including the Turkish, the Italians and the British. Then the international community, particularly the United States and the United Nations, falsely promised them a chance to vote for independence after spending a decade in a federation with Ethiopia, which saw their country as its own. When Ethiopia annexed Eritrea by force, the desire for freedom led to a 30-year [...]
