Election boycott is only way to save democracy: Thai opposition head
March 7, 2006The head of Thailand's main opposition Democrat party said Tuesday that boycotting the April 2 general election is the only way to save parliamentary democracy in the country. Abhisit Vejjajiva said in an interview with Kyodo News that an election which allows elected politicians to corrupt should not be held. He said he does not want the election to be a political laundry process for embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faces growing demands to step down.
China tables new plan in gas talks with Japan, signs of rift
March 7, 2006Japan and China on Tuesday ended two days of talks aimed at solving a row over gas exploration rights in the East China Sea with a new Chinese resolution plan and a Japanese promise to look into it, but little sign that the two sides were able to narrow their differences. China's presentation of the new proposal during the fourth senior working-level talks on the row followed Japan's presentation of its own ideas to jointly develop gas fields in the area, put forward in the last round of discussions in the fall.
China tables new plan in gas talks with Japan, rift remains
March 7, 2006Japan and China on Tuesday ended two days of talks aimed at solving a row over gas exploration rights in the East China Sea with a new Chinese resolution plan and a Japanese promise to look into it, but little sign that the two sides were able to narrow their differences. China presented the new proposal during the fourth senior working-level talks in Beijing, following Japan's presentation of its own ideas in the last round of talks in the fall, Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's representative to the negotiations, told reporters.
Toyama urges donors to focus on Asia at int'l confab
March 7, 2006While recognizing the enormous challenges which Africa faces, international donors must also focus on the needs of Asia, Japan's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kiyohiko Toyama said Monday. Toyama was speaking at the start of a two-day conference in London designed to improve aid flows to Asia and review progress in meeting the U.N. Millennium Development Goals for 2015.