By Sean King

Trade's a dirty word in Washington these days. Congress did not renew President Bush's authority to submit trade bills for a simple up-or-down vote, and free trade agreements (FTAs) with Panama and Peru are stalled. Several senators have also already announced their opposition to an FTA with South Korea. U.S. unemployment is low, but real wages have been stagnant for years and the cost of healthcare is too much for many to bear. Trade, especially with mainland China, is an easy scapegoat. But oddly enough, in Taiwan's case, the usual political rules of thumb about trade don't seem to apply.

A vote on the Korean FTA is still months away, but Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has already labeled the agreement "inherently unfair." Granted, this FTA is underwhelming in key areas, namely autos, beef, and rice. It's also presidential primary season, and Democratic frontrunner Clinton fears populist challenges from Illinois Senator Barack Obama and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. Key constituencies in her party, chiefly organized labor, are anti-trade like never before. But Clinton does represent a state with the second-largest Korean-American population. That she can so flatly denounce a deal with Korea, without fear of any repercussions, only reinforces the notion that trade for the moment is a safe political target.

By Jane Rickards

• MACROECONOMICS
  GDP ESTIMATES RISING ON TECH PERFORMANCE
  
  CROSS-STRAIT
  CHEN TO RETAIN BAN ON CHINESE STUDENTS
  TEXTBOOKS may DROP CHINA REFERENCES 
  
  DOMESTIC
  COURT CLEARS MA OF ALL CHARGES
  FORMOSAN BLACK BEARS FACING EXTINCTION
  
  INTERNATIONAL
  UN APPLICATION FILED UNDER NAME "TAIWAN"
  DPP'S FRANK HSIEH WRAPS UP U.S. TRIP
  PROBLEMS ARISING WITH VENEZUELA
  
  BUSINESS
  IT COMPETITIVENESS RANKED 6TH IN WORLD
  CEPD PLANS TO ATTRACT MORE FOREIGN TALENT
  CVC ASIA PACIFIC TO BUY TAIWAN COMPANY
  WiMAX LICENSES AWARDED

*Sound Recommendations on Work Permits - By Anita Chen and Don Shapiro
*Compulsory Licensing Revisited - By Don Shapiro

Despite the icy political relationship going back more than half a century, the economic connection between Taiwan and China is growing continually stronger. The huge flow of Taiwanese capital, professional talent, and technology into the mainland presents Taiwan with a daunting paradox: culturally the island is moving towards a separate Taiwanese identity and politically many talk of independence, but in terms of business the two areas are becoming ever more integrated.

By Jane Rickards