The cost of living has been rising in Taiwan since President Ma Ying-jeou was re-elected on Jan. 14. People are mad at the rising prices, though inflation isn't alarming. Why?

One suspects that Jerome A. Cohen, an 81-year-old jurisprudence scholar on the faculty of the New York University School of Law, was trying to be polite when he said earlier this week that President Ma Ying-jeou, a former student of his, “has the toughest job in Taiwan” because “the country has an extremely divided society as well as an intelligent but critical electorate.”

Honoring the customs of the Mother's Day celebration, stories extolling the extraordinary sacrifices of mothers filled newspaper and magazine pages just as mothers and their thankful children filled restaurants.

Last week, a group of parents and teachers from Kryon Children's Day Care Center (辰新托兒所) in Shipai (石牌), Taipei, resorted to a drastic, yet, successful measure to get media attention — a preschoolers' protest.

While there are no known foolproof solutions to conflicting territorial claims in international politics, patience and self-restraint seem to be a sensible course of action for all the claimants, because if a dispute degenerates into armed conflict, none of the claimants can be assured of the outcome and may even end up losing more than they might have otherwise gained.

It's a big week for gay marriage in the United States. Four days apart on national television, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama stated unequivocal support for same-sex couples' right to marry.

The row over the Ma administration's plan to introduce a tax on stock gains has been a financial issue on the surface. But there has been a political subtext about President Ma Ying-jeou's leadership.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of China, the president is the head of state but not the head of government. But Chiang Kai-shek ruled China and Taiwan as the head of state cum head of government.

Since President Ma Ying-jeou was elected for his second term, several of his policies have been implemented despite less-than overwhelming public support, including the 12-year education program.

Chen Guangcheng is now a global icon. The blind lawyer's dramatic escape from Shandong captivated the world and the subsequent negotiations between China and the U.S. over his fate became one of the biggest diplomatic crises for both countries in recent times.