Both the People's Republic of China and Taiwan have, over the past fifty years, claimed authority as the rightful government of China. As such, both have advocated that Taiwan is a province of China. The President of Taiwan and the Government of China discuss this issue.

What are the main points made by these opponents? In your opinion, is there any peaceful way to resolve the issue? Why or why not?

Since the end of the Cold War, many in the U.S. and Japan have questioned the need for the United States to maintain military bases in Okinawa. In response to the demands of the "War on Terror", the U.S. plans to relocate or remove its troops in Okinawa. Additional views are presented by Japanese activists, the U.S. Navy Seals and the government of Japan.

Based on your reading of these and other Web sites, should the U.S. continue to keep troops in Japan? Or, contrary to the U.S.-written constitution, should Japan begin to take on more of its own military responsibilities?

Since the Cold War has never officially ended in the Korean Peninsula, tensions remain high between communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea. For a sample of Marxist communist rhetoric, check out the official North Korean government site. More seriously, investigate the threat that North Korea poses because of its nuclear weapons program. The nonpartisan Federation of American Scientists reviewed North Korea's nuclear weapons capability. Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution confirms that the United States views North Korea as a threat due to its nuclear weapons technology. During the 1990s, the U.S. sought to freeze North Korea's weapons program in exchange for building two nuclear energy facilities in energy-starved North Korea.

U.S. President Bush declared in 2002 that North Korea was part of an "axis of evil." How much of a genuine threat is North Korea's nuclear weapons program?