The strength of Taiwan's soft power lies in the country's ability to combine both these aspects, Lung said during a live interview on Voice of America (VOA), part of the itinerary of a two-week tour of the United States, her first visit to the U.S. since assuming the post in February.

Kazuo Korenaga, executive director of the Japan-Korea Economic Association in Tokyo, a group that seeks to promote business and cultural exchange between the two countries, said that, “Politics should be politics, the economy should be the economy. Economic sectors, including the treatment of South Korean stars in the Korean boom, should not be influenced by this issue.”

The venue was the United Nations, and the artwork—the winning submissions displayed by secondary school students of T&T, was entitled A Showcase of Cultural Diplomacy...Ambassador Eden Charles praised the initiative as “innovative” and “a reminder of the importance of culture in bridging gaps,” between nations.

Taiwan’s cultural power lies in its incorporation of features of Chinese tradition and modern Western society, ROC Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai said. Today’s Taiwan has moderated the authoritarian part of Chinese culture through maintenance of traditional gentleness and generosity, along with the assimilation of an open, law-abiding civil society.

Recent conflicts in North Africa have demonstrated Europe's capacity and willingness to project military power, and these build on a growing European tendency toward consolidation of hard power. The UK and France have put aside historical enmities to develop an ever-closer defense relationship, and over time this tendency will only increase.

Government has said that Chinese contractors are doing a lot in helping government to put quality infrastructure in all parts of the country. Education Minister John Phiri said that the Chinese have been sacrificing in helping the country to develop since independence.

Teachers in India will now get to learn Chinese under an agreement reached between the Indian education board and China's overseas language institute. The Confucius Institute Headquarters and India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have agreed to promote Chinese language training in India, reported Xinhua.

The U.S. presidential nomination conventions largely will focus on domestic issues, but a number of high-profile foreign policy issues -- including immigration, U.S.-Russia relations, and the role the United States plays as a major world power --could also be highlighted in convention speeches and the parties' platforms. Three experts from international policy institutions weigh in on possible foreign policy themes in the 2012 conventions.