The term “summit talks” has made a comeback in Korean politics. It refers to a meeting between the president and the head of the main opposition party aiming to settle pending political issues in one stroke. Yet, the ongoing maneuvers involving the two major parties and the Blue House in arranging a meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and Democratic Party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu are only making

The situation in Egypt remains hazy after two weeks of protests while a caretaker vice president is announcing a series of concessions on behalf of President Hosni Mubarak. The cabinet was replaced, the top leaders of the ruling party were purged and many promises were made to guarantee freedom of the press and other civil liberties. Most importantly, Vice President Omar Suleiman is meeting repres

The government and the ruling coalition parties on Saturday launched a new panel of experts chaired by Prime Minister Naoto Kan to discuss social security reform.We will wait and see how detailed a picture the panel can paint of the future of the nation’s social security system.The de facto leader of the panel is the assistant to the chairman, Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of economic and

We should all be Egyptians today. We should all be in solidarity with those thousands of courageous people who exercised fundamental rights to speech and assembly and moved a dictator to declare that he is finished.The days and weeks ahead will be difficult for these custodians of a treasured world culture. There is a risk that the democratic tide will ebb and that extremists will seize power. The

From a humble beginning as a joint military exercise between Thailand and the U.S. involving selective personnel of the Marine Corps in 1982, the Cobra Gold has become the world’s largest operation of its kind.Nearly two dozen countries are taking part as well as observing the annual war games. Malaysia is the latest to join, sending 13 troops for training this year ― beginning this week at the he

Inspired by Tom Paine, Americans have fermented revolution around the globe. From Prague to Tiananmen, expanding the will of the people has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. But this principle is increasingly contradicting key components of America’s international agenda as well as running up against the realities of dampened influence.For example, George W. Bush vigorously backed Ukraine

In these days of tiger-mother hysteria about raising children with academic backbone, President Barack Obama has weighed in with yet another cause for paranoia. The president dropped India and China into his State of the Union speech, just long enough to say they are educating their children earlier and longer.Generally, school days are longer in Asian countries, and vacation breaks, though more f

Changing the republic’s Constitution needs a national consensus. As we perceive it, what stands in the way to constitutional amendment now is national indifference. In his televised roundtable a week ago, President Lee Myung-bak revealed his wishes to have the basic law revised during his tenure, but his political desire is not shared by a significant number of lawmakers even in his own party.Peop

It is regrettable that President Lee Myung-bak’s remarks on the “science-business belt” plan in his New Year roundtable brewed strong protests from the Chungcheong-Daejeon region. The live-televised “free discussion” session on Feb. 1 designed to improve the president’s communication with the people only caused deep disappointment to those who had believed their province would host the 3.5 trillio

With its per capita gross domestic product rising to about 30,000 yuan ($4,500), China is at a critical point if it is to avoid the middle income trap and push living standards closer to those of rich economies. Robust economic growth in 2010 has allowed China much of the wherewithal to underpin an encouraging rise in average income levels. But if the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) is to become a c

No sooner had President Hosni Mubarak announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election than the protesters who brought him low rejected his gesture. As a result, it’s still unclear whether Mubarak will leave abruptly or after a period of transition; that, ultimately, will be up to the Egyptian people. But either way, the country appears to be on the verge of a post-Mubarak order. It’s not too soon to p

“Zero tolerance” policies continue to result in injustices to our nation’s public school students. In one of the latest examples, a North Carolina school district’s application of zero tolerance may cause 17-year-old senior Ashley Smithwick, described by local media as a standout student-athlete, to miss the rest of her senior year.Far worse, local prosecutors’ apparently wooden enforcement agains