Soviet Union

 George W. Bush discusses his boisterous days at Yale—and a memorable showdown with his father

In a second inaugural address tinged with evangelical zeal, George W. Bush declared: "Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world." The peoples of the world, however, do not seem to be listening. A new world order is indeed emerging - but its architecture is being drafted in Asia and Europe, at meetings to which Americans have not been invited.

When President Hu Jintao expressed serious concern over the political development of Hong Kong to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa during a duty visit in Beijing on December 3, many people here took the head of state's comments lightly - including perhaps Mr Tung and his top aides. Mr Hu's words sounded like political rhetoric, they thought.

Even before images of the first cruise missile strikes on Baghdad reached TV screens on the mainland, the country's intellectuals were debating the US-led war against Iraq and the government's response. Commentaries in leading newspapers and online journals demonstrated a diversity of opinion seldom seen in the country's state-controlled media, and precipitated wider discussion in people's living rooms.

By Frank W Moore, IDDS Research Analyst
INTRODUCTION

In the past decade China's growing military capability hasattracted a great deal of attention, but details about the currentand likely near-future state of China's military power have beenin short supply. While it is true that China is modernizing itsforces and increasing defense spending, the prospective improvementsin overall military capability need to be set against the verylow-technology starting point of China's armed forces.