KYOTO -- The outcome of the March 20 presidential election in Taiwan will have a profound impact on cross-strait relations. Much will depend, of course, on who wins. But equally important will be how Beijing responds. Will Beijing let the next Taiwan leader -- ...
HONOLULU -- The second round of six-party talks on North Korea's suspected nuclear-weapons program is scheduled to begin Wednesday. Expectations are currently running so low that many will call the meeting a success if the North Koreans merely show up, or if they don't ...
HONOLULU -- Is the U.S.-South Korea relationship in for some tough times? The answer is "yes," but not because of the recent forced resignation of "pro-American" Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan (whose wise council and steady, mature leadership will be sorely missed). Yoon did not ...
HONOLULU -- Some unsolicited advice to professors, congressmen, former ambassadors and other ex-diplomats, and anyone seeking a Nobel Peace Prize nomination: if you really want to help resolve the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula, stay home! Such delegations are always well-intentioned, but then again, ...
SINGAPORE -- U.S. President George W. Bush got it just about right last week when he publicly criticized Taiwan's leader during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Washington. Accusations from "friends of Taiwan's democracy" notwithstanding, Bush was not kowtowing to China; he was merely ...
HONOLULU -- Is President Chen Shui-bian trying to provoke a crisis with China in the runup to Taiwan's March 2004 presidential elections? Government spokesmen in Taipei say no, but there is a growing perception among cross-strait watchers that Taiwan is purposefully baiting Beijing in hopes ...
HONOLULU -- U.S. President George W. Bush's recent offer to provide Pyongyang with written assurances that the United States does not intend to attack North Korea and the North's willingness "to consider" this offer provide the basis, however tentative and contentious, for a negotiated ...
HONOLULU -- Someone needs to remind North Korea about the "first rule of holes" -- namely, when you find yourself in one, stop digging! Having been faced with firm resistance from the other five parties -- China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States ...
HONOLULU -- "Surrender means death!" This pretty much sums up North Korea's opening position at the six-nation talks in Beijing this week. U.S. insistence that North Korea dismantle its nuclear program "fully, verifiably, and irreversibly" in advance of dialogue (or rewards) "is little short ...
HONOLULU -- "Once the Bush administration is done attacking North Korea, will Vietnam be next?" This seemed to be the burning question in the back of many people's minds as I visited Vietnam for a series of lectures on U.S. foreign policy. While I came ...
