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.

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.

Russia’s tactics, Grigas writes, take the form of oil sanctions, ‘gas isolation’ and dissuasion of Western firms from investing in Baltic energy projects. Business elites are co-opted through bribes, financial incentives and the ‘appeal’ of Russian business culture, which is network- rather than market-driven. More legitimately, Russian culture is also promoted vigorously.

The "zero problems" policy was founded upon two main premises: that trade and economic development would push long-festering ideological and security conflicts aside, and that Turkey's historical and cultural legacy is a soft-power asset, not a liability.

Lack of awareness of this Soft Power is tantamount to wasted opportunities. He showed many slides as examples of Soft Power. Mr. Tesfamariam’s educational seminar is powerful tool that will help Eritreans jump-start businesses and industries all over.

Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai arrived in Washington, D.C. Saturday from New York where she will deliver two speeches to promote Taiwan's soft power. On Sunday, Lung will discuss cultural diplomacy and cross-Taiwan Strait cultural issues in two interviews organized by the Voice of America and the international news agency Reuters.

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.