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by Jonathan Adams                 Posted September 3
 
Taipei — Take an exiled spiritual leader seen by Beijing as a “splittist.” Add an island Beijing sees as a wayward province. Flavor with a strong dose of political posturing and grandstanding. The result? The perfect end-of-summer cocktail for Taiwan's sensational media.
Yes, it seems everyone here—and in Beijing—has something to say about the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan. One TV station even remarked that Taiwan is becoming a political "Superstar Boulevard" (a popular music competition show modeled on "Pop Idol"). Everyone wants their turn at the microphone—or megaphone, as the case may be.
The Dalai Lama arrived Sunday night for what he insists is a humanitarian mission to comfort and pray for victims of Typhoon Morakot. (See post here on the Taiwan government's apologies for its slow and disorganized response to the disaster). He was invited by a group of local government officials from the pro-independence, opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

韓國總統李明博9月3日將前首爾大學校長鄭雲燦提名為新任國務總理，並更換了國防部、法務部、知識經濟部、勞動部和女性部長官。同時還首次任命了發揮政務長官作用的特聘長官。
鄭雲燦是一名經濟學家，此前一直譴責大運河、四大江河治理、減稅以及結構調整等政府政策。在上次總統選舉中，民主黨還曾考慮將他提名為民主黨的總統候選人。
通過此次內閣改組，內閣中出現了忠清地區出身的總理，嶺南、湖南地區出身的長官人數也相差無幾。畢業院校從目前的7所增加到8所。曾經是前大國家黨代表朴槿惠親信的崔炅煥議員被提名為知識經濟部長官。政務長官今後將來往於朝野之間，負責溝通。可能因宗教和財產問題引發非議的人現在尚未出現。此次內閣改組和第一次組閣相比，沒有出現偏重現象，並沒有令人產生反感。
具有進步傾向的60多歲學者被提名為總理候選人，內閣的平均年齡為59.1歲，比此前年輕了兩歲。這看來，李明博意識到了部分人士對改革、變化和更新換代的要求。
當前，韓國經濟出現了讓人刮目相看的復甦勢頭，幾乎是世界上唯一一個主權評級上調的國家。然而，可以左右韓國經濟的世界經濟環境仍前景不明。鄭雲燦在發表感想時表示：“宏觀經濟、百姓生活、課外輔導、工作崗位、社會矛盾和地區對立、南北問題，哪個問題都不簡單。”這些都是新內閣必須承擔的課題。
此外，圍繞新內閣的政治環境也不簡單。九個月後即將舉行地方選舉，因此，朝野之間的政治競爭和矛盾將進一步激化。根據地方選舉結果，政府履行國政的能力和政治資源可能會枯竭。在這種情況下，新內閣應該抱著經濟和安全問題可能同時面臨困境的覺悟處理國政。
鄭雲燦帶有的政治象徵性已經在政界成為話題。因為，鄭雲燦出身於在地區上非常重要的忠清地區，而且過去曾被提名為總統候選人。因此，執政圈內部以及朝野之間都可能會形成一種緊張關係。不是說形成這種關係就一定有害，但這種緊張關係不應該給國政造成障礙，這個問題就取決於鄭雲燦的能力。
李明博提出中立實用政策以後，政府政策經歷了很多變化，但確實也有不少和鄭雲燦平時提出的主張背道而馳的政策。雖然情況不同，但過去政權中有過總統和總理發生衝突的事例。李明博和鄭雲燦之間不要出現混亂，應該保持和諧，只有這樣才能實現總統希望通過此次內閣改組獲得的和解和改革局面。這是掌握人事權的李明博總統的責任，也是回應總統召喚的鄭雲燦的義務。

TOKYO (AFP) - -
Japanese voters swept to power an untested centre-left party on Sunday in an electoral avalanche that ended more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule, according to exit polls.
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), led by Yukio Hatoyama, was set to storm home with more than 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament, according to the exit polls of several television stations.
Voters frustrated with the government's handling of Japan's worst post-war recession punished Prime Minister Taro Aso and forced the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from office for only the second time since 1955.
The exit polls indicate the soft-spoken Hatoyama, 62, is on course to take over as prime minister at a time when the world's number two economy is just emerging from the recession and still struggling with record unemployment.
"I am thankful for the support shown by the public," said Hatoyama, who is expected to take over as prime minister in about two weeks once the new parliament or Diet convenes.
"Looking at the situation so far, I feel extremely grateful," he added, stopping short of a full claim of victory. "I think that the public has felt an extreme sense of frustration with the government of the ruling party."
Aso said he would resign as head of the LDP to "take the responsibility" for his party's crushing defeat.
"We have to make a fresh start swiftly by holding a presidential (party) election," he added in brief comments. "As one member of the party, I must strive for the revival of the LDP."
Hatoyama, a US-trained engineering scholar and scion of an old political dynasty, campaigned on a promise of change and people-centred politics against the business-friendly LDP, headed by fellow political blueblood Aso.
Recalling US President Barack Obama's election triumph last year, Hatoyama asked voters in a final campaign speech on Saturday at a Tokyo railway station: "Why can't we do what the United States could do?"
"I think we need a change now," agreed one voter, pensioner Toshihiro Nakamura, 68, after casting his ballot Sunday at a Tokyo elementary school.
"It's too long for a single party to dominate national politics."
The DPJ already controlled the upper house with the support of smaller parties, frustrating the LDP's agenda in the lower house.
Now, the DPJ looks set to take the lower house as well with the numbers to push through legislation, ending the deadlock in the previous Diet legislature.
The DPJ has promised better social welfare, which it says would help recession-hit families, boost domestic demand and raise the birth rate to reverse a projected decline of Japan's fast-greying population.
In foreign policy, it has signalled a solid but less subservient partnership with traditional ally the United States and a desire to boost its regional ties, promoting a European Union-style Asian community and common currency.
As premier, Hatoyama would be expected to attend next month's UN general assembly in New York and a G20 summit in Pittsburgh, and quickly seek talks with Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and other world leaders.
The LDP is credited with guiding Japan through its "economic miracle" but is also blamed for the malaise that set in during the 1990s and for free-market policies seen by many to have widened social inequality.
Aso had portrayed the LDP as the safe choice in guarding Japan's security and prosperity, and pointed to policies that helped end the recession.
But in the end the changing political tide swamped Aso's party. The prime minister, 68, had dismayed voters with a series of gaffes and policy turnarounds as divisions widened within his party.
An exit poll by TV Asahi predicted the DPJ would take 315 seats in the 480-seat lower house, while Tokyo Broadcasting System forecast the centre-left opposition party would win 321 seats.
Public broadcaster NHK predicted the DPJ would win between 298 and 329 seats, against a range of 84 to 131 seats for the conservative party.
The LDP -- which since 1955 had been out of power for only 10 months, in the early 1990s -- had 303 seats in the outgoing parliament to the DPJ's 112.
 

 
資料圖片：2008年8月俄羅斯士兵駐守在距離格魯吉亞西北部60公裡處
 

誰能控制印度洋? 中印展開無聲戰爭<上>
英國海軍有句留傳已久的至理名言叫做“誰能得到印度洋，誰就能控制世界”。印度洋正在成為各個強國激烈角逐的戰場。尤其是，有著“亞洲巨人”之稱的中國和印度已經圍繞著印度洋的統治權，展開了一場無硝煙的戰爭。印度洋西起阿拉伯海的霍爾木茲海峽，東至麻六甲海峽，是世界第三大洋，面積達7355.6萬平方公里，占地球全部海洋面積的五分之一。
◆印度洋為何如此受寵？
21世紀以來，印度洋作為全球最重要的戰略和地緣政治要地備受關注。原因是，印度洋既是能源渠道，又是海上貿易渠道。

3月6日，美國國務卿希拉蕊‧柯林頓在日內瓦與俄國外長拉夫洛夫會談。雙方談笑風生，拉夫洛夫也一改以往會見賴斯國務卿時的撲克臉，和希拉蕊有說有笑。希拉蕊送給拉夫洛夫一個象徵意義極濃的紅色按鈕做為禮物，表示美俄關係從此刻開始，像電腦一樣「重新開機」（reset）。一個月前，美國副總統拜登在慕尼黑國際安全會議演說時，就用了reset來象徵美俄改善關係的契機，現希拉蕊接續這個比喻，以紅色按鈕正式將其落實。
如果從大格局來看，911之後，國際關係已經重新開機過一次。最明顯的就是巴基斯坦。巴基斯坦過去與阿富汗的塔利班關係密切，但塔利班卻包庇賓拉登。反恐戰爭號角吹起後，隔鄰印度立刻響應。當時巴基斯坦總統穆夏拉夫一想，以印度和巴基斯坦的緊張關係，若印度加入美國反恐，巴基斯坦卻仍與美國意欲打擊的塔利班相善，豈不讓巴國成為眾矢之的？於是政策一百八十度轉彎，加入美國反恐。這就是典型的重開機。

     中國大陸知名學者俞可平2006年發表「民主是個好東西」的論述以後，曾引發大陸知識界對民主問題的大討論，最近他又提出「讓民主造福中國」的話語，主張大陸應該發展民主，才能造福人民、造福國家。
     無獨有偶的，中國軍事科學院黨委書記劉源將軍日前在軍科黨委全會上的講話中也提到民主的問題，他側重在人大代表的角色進行剖析說：「人大代表監督政府『硬』不起來的現象，現在依然很普遍。當務之急，一方面是督促人大代表提升自己的政治素質和履行責任心；另一方面，必須破除人大代表與政府之間在身份和利益上的牽制，強化人大代表的獨立性，讓他們真正體現民衆的意見與利益」。
     從兩人的說法中可以確信，「民主是個好東西」應該是大陸知識界與軍方的普遍共識，雖然他們的主張並沒有脫離大陸「社會民主」的概念，但是從中共黨內和政府體制內進行民主體制改革，已經被認為是解決當前中共官僚腐敗與權力過份集中的不二法門。