Cross-Strait Relations After Taiwan's 2012 Election

On February 1st, the Heritage Foundation hosted a talk by Kuomintang Vice Chairman John H. Chiang. Mr. Chiang, the grandson of President Chiang Kai-shek, has served in a number of government positions as a civil servant and a legislator, rising to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Premier of the Executive Yuan, and Secretary General of the Kuomintang.

Mr. Chiang discussed the aftermath of President Ma Ying-jeou’s re-election on January 14, 2012. He shared his views on why President Ma won and what the prospects are for continuing development of cross-straits issues.
Video and audio versions of the talk (duration: 1hr:08min) are available from the Heritage Foundation. Condensed, bulletized notes  can be downloaded from www.NotableThinking.com  

Reaching Out: Cuba’s New Economy and The International Response

On November 18, 2011 The Brookings Institution launched a new in-depth study entitled Reaching Out: Cuba’s New Economy and The International Response. Using what is described as out-of-the-box thinking the study:

• Describes recent changes in the Cuban economy 
• Identifies current and potential relations between Cuba and International Financial Institutions 
• Makes recommendations about how the US and other market-oriented countries could and should help Cuba improve its situation

As part of the launch of Reaching Out, Brookings held a panel discussion that included:

• Ted Piccone - Moderator, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Foreign Policy, Brookings
• Richard Feinberg – Study Author, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings
• Carlos Alzugaray Treto - A Cuban Viewpoint, Professor, University of Havana 
• Gary Hufbauer – An Alternative Viewpoint, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

DOWNLOAD Bulletized Notes of this discussion enhanced with relevant hyperlinks. (Download free PDF Reader)

Current Asia-Pacific Security Situation & Taiwan

Dr. Nien-Dzu (Andrew) Yang Deputy Minister for Policy, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense spoke at the Center for Strategic & International Studies on Nov 9, 2011.  Video & Audio versions are available. 

Dr. Yang discussed several issues including:

• Relations between the US and Taiwan 
• Taiwan’s Future Security Challenges 
• Taiwan’s Future Defense Needs 
• Other Areas of Future Concern for Taiwan 
• Question & Answer Session topics included: 
• South China Sea concerns 
• Cross-strait Military Confidence Building Measures 
• US Arms Sales to Taiwan 
• Taiwan’s Defense Budget

DOWNLOAD  the Bulletized Notes enhanced with relevant hyperlinks in a PDF file. (Download the free PDF Reader.)