Stuck in the middle

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-Bian is nothing if not determined. On the receiving end of a one-two punch from superpowers China and the U.S. last week, the 52-year-old President stood his ground, refusing to back away from a controversial plan to hold a referendum next year to demand that China dismantle almost 500 missiles it has aimed at Taiwan. "The people of Taiwan have the right to say loudly, 'We are against the missiles, we want democracy; we are against war, we want peace,'" Chen said last Wednesday.

But some wonder if the President's pluck may prove calamitous for...