Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Michael Swaine, Senior Associate and Co-Director of the Carnegie Endowment's China Program presents a special briefing examining domestic change inside Taiwan.
The term "political reform" is used in numerous ways-both inside and outside the Chinese government, leading to great confusion over its meaning. The best way to understand political reform in China is to survey the various perspectives held by the "ruling elite."
Lost amid the commotion surrounding the September 11 terrorist attacks were alarming comments made earlier in the month by former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urging Israel to openly deploy nuclear weapons and abandon its policy of strategic ambiguity. How the world deals with the Israeli "bomb in the basement" at this critical point in time could have lasting affects on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and beyond.
We think the president has an instinctive sense that U.S. policy toward China should be a good deal tougher than it has been the last 12 years. Surely it's time for him to shape a coherent policy, bring his advisers into line, and not allow staffers to be hung out to dry. This would be the adult thing to do.