By PETER ENAV, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 36 minutes ago

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Disgruntled voters gave the thumbs-down to President Chen Shui-bian’s vision of an independent Taiwan this month, propelling the opposition Nationalist Party to a landslide victory in legislative elections.

People like 32-year-old Daphne Hwang are a big part of the reason.

Hwang is one of many Taiwanese who feel that Chen is pushing too hard, too fast, for formal and permanent separation from China — a move Beijing says would compel it to attack. The island of Taiwan already enjoys de facto independence, and most of its 23 million people don’t want to antagonize their militarily powerful neighbor.

What do you think the United States roles should be with regards to this policy? Advantage or Disadvantage for the US?

Below is another old yet relevant topic—an excerpt of Colin Powell’s interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV.

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“But U.S. will sell weapons as necessary to support Taiwan’s self-defense
The United States’ “One China” policy has created conditions of stability and security throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an October 25 interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV.

Powell, on a three-nation trip to Japan, China, and South Korea, forcefully affirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to the policy, set forth in three joint communiqués signed by the governments of the United States and China between 1972 and 1982.