When a Taiwan music ensemble performed its reconstruction of Chinese imperial court music last year in Beijing, it marked not just a cultural milestone, but a political one. It was also a chance for people from both sides of the long-divided Taiwan Strait to compare notes on which parts of their joint Chinese heritage have been preserved, or not.

Organisers of Shanghai's World Expo gave members of the public a preview of the massive event Tuesday as they tested facilities and public transportation 10 days before the official start. More than 1.25 million people were expected to visit over the six preview days before the official May 1 opening, with about 70 percent of the pavilions ready to welcome visitors, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Regimes trying to limit the damage from the Internet information explosion are only too well aware that their greatest enemy today is less from an outside military force, than from populations empowered by information about their own country and by the ability to communicate and organize via new cell phone technologies.

Ties between Taipei and Shanghai are growing closer in the lead up to Expo Shanghai 2010, following historic exchanges between top-level officials and businessmen from both sides of the Strait.

U.S.-China relations have been at a low point in recent months due to tensions over American arms sales to Taiwan, President Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, disputes over the value of the yuan, the Copenhagen climate conference, and the U.S. government's support of Google's criticism of Chinese censorship.

Use of the theme song for the World Expo in Shanghai has been suspended amid allegations that it is a plagiarized version of a Japanese song from 1997, according to the expo's Web site.

"Welcome to Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, where classical music is lively breathing." So reads the greeting on the Web site of one of three South Korean concert halls where the Philadelphia Orchestra will perform during its Far East tour.

India is satisfied with the outcome of the recently concluded BRIC summit in Brazilian capital Brasilia, which has taken on significance as its four members stressed the importance of building a fairer international order and fight against terrorism, said some Indian experts on Sunday.