“Taiwan” on The Daily Caller

China and Taiwan have signed a historic trade pact, seen as the most significant agreement since civil war split the two governments 60 years ago. (more)

With no assurances it will be allowed to join the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup, a Taiwanese-owned ship billed as the world’s largest skimming vessel was preparing to sail Friday evening to the scene of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (more)

Some Queens storeowners have their own brand of justice for sticky-fingered thieves: a wall of shame. (more)

China’s on-again-off-again approach to U.S-China military interaction and Beijing’s refusal to allow Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to visit China during his recent Asian trip reveals a dysfunctional military relationship that’s the result of much more than Beijing’s displeasure over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. It reflects fundamentally different national strategic objectives and the changing locus of leverage that result from China’s growing power and influence relative to the U.S. (more)

While the U.S. remains involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, East Asia contains the seeds of potentially bigger conflicts. China holds the key to maintaining regional peace. (more)

A Vietnam veteran, on April 30, the 35th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, I reflected on my two tours of duty there. On May 1, “Immigration-Day,” I watched protesters on television march in opposition to Arizona’s new law on illegal immigration and the failure of the federal government to enact “comprehensive” immigration reform. They reminded me of anti-Vietnam-War protests, and got me thinking about what they have in common. (more)

Maybe the world really is hanging on by a bra strap. (more)

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ leaked memo to National Security Advisor General James Jones (U.S.MC Ret) that said the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran’s continuing movement towards a nuclear weapon capability raised some eyebrows. And so it should. But neither the American people nor the White House should need a memo to alert them to this reality. As Fredrick the Great said “Negotiations without arms are like notes without instruments.” The Obama administration’s Iran policy has no melody because it has no threat of arms. (more)

By Xina Xie and Michael J. Economides (more)

The iPad appears to be selling well in Asia despite the fact that Apple’s official overseas launch isn’t until the end of May, as specialty stores obtain them to resell at premium prices and travelers to the U.S. bring them home. (more)

Despite the diplomatically cordial meeting between the US and Chinese leaders and China’s likely decision to modify its currency, political pressure in Congress, and other quarters, for a more aggressive China policy is mounting. Beyond currency manipulation, various other issues continue to generate fierce debate on the increasingly complex and troubled U.S.-China relationship. (more)

Reporting from Beijing – China announced Thursday that President Hu Jintao plans to attend a nuclear nonproliferation conference this month in Washington, indicating a thaw after months of strained relations and a sign of solidarity with the United States in dealings with Iran and North Korea. (more)

A subsidiary of Taiwan netbook PC pioneer Asustek has won orders to manufacture Apple’s iPhone to run on the CDMA standard, a source said on Tuesday. (more)

The National Broadband Plan was released this past Tuesday with a vision for broadband in America. The Plan proposes two goals for broadband access: a “universalization target of 4 Mbps [megabits per second] download and 1 Mbps upload,” as well as a goal that “100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and actual upload speeds of at least 50 Mbps by 2020.” Our analyses compare universal broadband speed goals with multiple other countries from around the globe. (more)

One of the little-noticed actions in the recently concluded session of the Chinese National People’s Congress was the enactment of a National Defense Mobilization Law. In an age when conventional conflicts are planned to conclude in a matter of days or weeks, it is striking that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) should choose to ensure its readiness for a protracted war. Indeed, it suggests that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is thinking about future wars in a very different way from their Western counterparts, where full-scale mobilization is rarely discussed at all. Whereas the U.S. and its allies have mostly neglected the prospect of a prolonged high-intensity conflict, the PLA appears intent on preparing for both short- and long-term wars. (more)

A crisis is quickly approaching that will undermine the strength of our country and rob our children of their future prosperity. When it comes to getting our nation’s fiscal house in order we are running out of options and the time to act is now. (more)

The mythical story of Damocles, a naive courtier to the tyrant Dionysius the Elder of ancient Sicily, has been making the rounds in Washington circles lately. According to the ancient Greek legend, Damocles was forced by his king to sit at a banquet table under a sword suspended by a single hair to demonstrate the precariousness of the sovereign’s fortune. Consider the much-hyped weapons of mass economic destruction, the holding of U.S. bonds, China has at its disposal against America and it is easy to see why the conventional wisdom is that a Damoclean sword hangs over a humbled superpower. However, on closer inspection, the Chinese sword is much less formidable—and the hair by which it hangs is in fact a sturdy and well-fastened rope. (more)

China’s military stepped up pressure on the United States on Monday by calling for a government sell-off of U.S. debt securities in retaliation for recent arms sales to Taiwan. (more)

Another round of navel-gazing about China’s “new” assertiveness and how the United States should respond to it is under way. (more)

The Dalai Lama is scheduled to visit Washington on Feb. 17-18 and, despite China’s opposition, is expected to meet President Obama at some point during those two days, sources close to the exiled Tibetan leader said Wednesday. (more)