Reform of the Chinese legal system is desperately needed but the draft of large-scale amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law shows that the current exercise in law reform is potentially a two-edged sword.

This week, Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait celebrate the 100th anniversary of the fall of China's last imperial dynasty, which collapsed after an uprising on Oct. 10, 1911, and gave birth to the Republic of China, Asia's first republic.

Beijing continues to declare that its rise will be peaceful but other countries are watching its actions to judge whether it will behave like a responsible power.

The news that officials of Moammar Gadhafi's regime held secret talks in Beijing to buy weapons in July five months after the Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Libya is deeply embarrassing for China and casts doubt on its sincerity regarding honoring United Nations sanctions resolutions for which it voted.

The latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine carries an article on the inevitability of China becoming the next superpower, one of a mounting cascade of articles on America's decline and China's rise.

In the 19th century, Japan, unlike China, responded to Western pressure to open up to trade not by fighting back but by transforming itself so that, while still geographically in Asia, it became in effect a European country.

The visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to China, meant to introduce Washington to the next Chinese leader Xi Jinping — who will visit the U.S. in a few months — went relatively well and shows that both countries want to maintain stable relations at a time when the west is going through an acute financial crisis and China's rise appears to be accelerating.

At a time when the United States and Europe are both beset by economic crises, it is natural that the Western model of economic development, including a democratic political system, should be viewed with some skepticism while China's growth model is greatly enhanced.

When Ma Ying-jeou became president of Taiwan more than three years ago, he predicted a “new era of cross-strait relations.”

Unlike last year, when sparks flew at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington had an interest in the resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea ...