Ambition Realized

Within hours of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, China’s diplomats moved to improve ties with the United States. Spotting an opportunity to improve their country’s international image and influence as the United States became distracted by the Middle East, Beijing established important bilateral dialogues with countries around the world and invested in its soft power. China’s previous efforts to woo its neighbors after Tiananmen and especially after the 1996 Taiwan Straits also paid off. The period culminated with China hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics—the most significant moment of international validation for the regime since its founding. Beijing’s improved reputation was damaged, however, when it began to act assertively in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.

Study on Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental Impact of Air Pollution

Pollutants discharged from irrational energy consumption pose a serious threat to urban ecological security. The Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone is an important part of China’s coastal economy. With the rapid development of the economy in this area, the atmospheric environmental pollution problem, caused by energy consumption, has become increasingly serious. Therefore, the study of the environmental impact assessment of air pollution in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone has reference value to prevent ecological risks. This paper constructed a regional-scale environmental impact assessment model that includes pollution sources, pollution stress, and evaluation results, and evaluated the environmental impact of SO2, NO2, CO, PM10, and PM2.5 from three perspectives: regional integration, different energy consumption sectors, and different cities. The results showed that the regional environmental impact level of the research area was high, and the main pollutants transformed from SO2 to NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 from 2008 to 2016. According to the results of different sectors, the transportation sector contributes the most to NO2 and remains unchanged, and the industrial sector contributes the most to SO2, PM10, and PM2.5. Combined with the research results of different cities, cities concentrated in the coastal areas contribute more pollution than other cities do.

What's new in the "new" US course towards the DPRK?

The article analyzes the prospects for US-North Korean and inter-Korean relations, taking into account the completed policy review of the new US administration towards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as the results of the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in’s trip to Washington in May 2021 and his talks with US President Joe Biden. It is concluded that the “new" course proposed by the United States in relation to the DPRK will not lead to a solution to the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula and will interfere with the normalization of inter-Korean relations. During his visit to the US President Moon failed to obtain the US consent on ROK more “independent policy” toward North Korea. In spite of lavish investments into US economy and other concessions, Seoul was forced to promise to coordinate his approaches to the DPRK with US and Japan and support US position on Taiwan straits and South China Sea. The author argues that in the current conditions, the introduction of a regime of arms limitation and arms control in Korea should be a necessary stage on the way to complete denuclearization of the peninsula. The transition to a such method of the settlement of the nuclear problem could lead to the resumption of the negotiation process, mutual concessions, including reductions in the level of military-political confrontation, partial or large-scale lifting of economic sanctions in exchange for North Korea's restrictions of its nuclear weapon and missile systems.

Space, as it relates to Nationalism: Ramifications for the Taiwan Straits Crisis

Before the modern nation-states took form, borders between polities were often ill defined, with a political capital having more control over regions which are closer than those at a distance. However, the nation-state redefined a government's relationship to the region over which it claimed control, lending to a consolidation of control to the center and sharp-formed borders. This paper takes a historiographical approach to understanding space as it relates to the nation, and its ramifications for the Taiwan Straits Crisis. We will also look at how the theories and approaches used by environmental historians can be applied to Taiwan's place in the Chinese nation. This paper also explores the relationship of space and nationalism with the aid of works of theory, works which deal with both theory and practice in other polities in the world, this paper focus those theories and practices to Chinese nationalism.