Between Identity Quest and Risk Aversion: lessons from the Chen Shui-bian presidency for maintaining cross-strait stability

This article argues that how President Chen Shui-bian's provocative initiatives have impacted cross-strait stability since 2003 generates crucial lessons, not available in the past, for understanding the propelling and constraining dynamics of a cross-strait military conflict in the long run. The lessons are grounded in three interrelated sets of interactive logic: between the Chen Administration and the Taiwan electorate; between Taiwan people's aspiration for an exclusive national identity and their risk-averse proclivity in the face of China's military threat; and between Washington's and Beijing's acts of signaling toward Taipei. Specifically, this article demonstrates that Taiwan's voters at first backed the Chen Administration's provocative initiatives in order to seek a national identity instead of de jure independence, and that such popular support receded dramatically once such initiatives came to be perceived, amidst domestic and international developments, by the voters as drifting away from the identity quest and toward evoking their choice between the status quo and independence. The risk-averse voters turned away from the altered character of the initiatives and thus restrained the reckless politicians, largely because of both Washington's signaling which highlighted the change and the ensuing risk of war, and Beijing's refraining from saber rattling toward Taiwan. The voters' decisions foiled the 2004 and 2008 referenda, and forestalled the DPP in 2004 from acquiring a parliamentary majority necessary for legislating its provocative initiatives such as renaming the country and creating a new constitution.     

Allelic alterations at the STR markers in the buccal tissue cells of oral cancer patients and the oral epithelial cells of healthy betel quid-chewers: an evaluation of forensic applicability

Although cancerous specimens are usually not used in forensic DNA typing, they might be forcibly employed under certain instances. On the other hand, though the oral epithelial samples have been applied to forensic identification, the great popularity of betel quid (BQ)-chewing in Taiwan, which is known to be a risk factor leading to an oral cancer, makes this application questionable. The DNA stability of nine short tandem repeat (STR) markers (the AmpFlSTR kit) was first investigated and then used to evaluate the forensic appropriateness of the oral samples of both healthy BQ-chewers and the archived clinical specimens from oral cancer patients. The analyses were performed on buccal samples from 100 BQ-chewers and 100 oral cancer patients, as well as their paired peripheral blood samples, and a group of 100 non-BQ-chewers were used for the control. In the group of 100 oral cancer patients, two types of DNA instability were found. They were major allelic imbalance, and allelic alterations including the expansion, the contraction and the un-classified type (i.e. can not be confirmed as the expansion or the contraction). The overall percentage of the cancerous subjects demonstrating DNA instability was 33% (five patients possessing both types of DNA instability). Both types of DNA instability showed a tendency of increasing with the severity of the pathological stage of oral cancer. Forty-four occurrences of major allelic imbalance were found from 21 cancer patients. The statistical result revealed that there was no significant difference in the allelic imbalanced occurrence among the nine STR loci. Allelic alterations were found in 17 patients, within which 12 individuals had the expansion, five had the contraction, and three were the un-classified type. Further, among these 17 patients, three were found to acquire multiple allelic alterations at multiple loci. In the group of 100 unrelated healthy BQ-chewers, two loci with major allelic imbalance were detected. However, the two imbalanced alleles were virtually half lost, and could still be recognized as heterozygous alleles. The statistical results of ANOVA, chi(2), and Scheffe tests indicated that the means of allelic imbalance at the nine STR loci of the oral cancerous group revealed a significant difference from those in the control group. Our results suggest that oral cancer tissues cannot be used as references for forensic purposes using the PCR-based STR systems, whereas the oral swabs from healthy BQ-chewers can be employed, but should be done with caution.     

Stephen Noakes,The Advocacy Trap: Transnational Activism and State Power in China

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

Determination of nimetazepam and 7-aminonimetazepam in human urine by using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

We report determination of metabolites of popular drugs of abuse, including nimetazepam and nitrazepam, in urine by using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Nimetazepam and its metabolites, 7-aminonimetazepam and nitrazepam, were extracted by solid-phase extraction using a DAU cartridge. An ammonium acetate buffer solution (pH 4) and a Luna polar-RP column were selected as the mobile and stationary phase, respectively, for liquid chromatography. Mass spectrometry was used for analysis and was optimized for operation in the positive mode for all analytes. The urine specimens were screened for the presence of nimetazepam and its metabolites nitrazepam and 7-aminonimetazepam at a concentration of 0.1 ng/mL. Presence of 7-aminonimetazepam in the urine was an indicator of the subject being a probable abuser of nimetazepam.     

The Patterns of Masculinity in Prison

A prison culture of masculinity shapes the prison macho – boys dont cry. The prison macho is a real man who always hides his feelings and performs like a tough guy. These characteristics are much different from what happens in everyday life in the social spheres, where human being needs to be loved, need concerns and compassion from others and express these to others as well. In the current study, there is a recognition of a multiplicity of masculinities and an emphasis on how subjects are continually constituting and constructing their identity. Based on qualitative research, this study analyzes the patterns of masculinity embedded in the daily code of conduct used by prison staff to deal with prisoners and by prisoners to interact with other inmates and constitute their subculture. The investigation of prison sociology in the constitution of masculinity discourses in Tainan Prison contributes to both gender studies and to the literature exploring differences between western and eastern perspectives and policies related to incarceration.     

DNA analysis of digested tomato seeds in stomach contents

Examination of stomach contents is one of the important steps in medical legal autopsy. Vegetative materials such as stems, roots, and seeds in stomach contents can be valuable evidence for providing investigative leads in death investigation. Currently, the identification of plant materials relies on microscopic and morphologic examination. We have found that many seeds are often protected from acid degradation during stomach digestion by their tough exterior seed coat. Tomato seeds were selected as a model system to assess DNA analysis and plant variety marker identification. The DNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism method was performed to determine if the DNA obtained from single seeds could be used for PCR analysis. From the amplified fragment length polymorphism results, some candidate markers for individualizing seeds from morphologically distinct tomatoes were identified. These data on DNA analysis of tomato seeds indicate amplified fragment length polymorphism is a viable procedure for the individualization of seeds from stomach contents in forensic investigations.     

China’s development: a new development paradigm?

The emergence of China as a development actor across the global South has raised significant questions regarding the extent to which the country presents new development opportunities to its compatriots in the South. My aim is to reflect on and parse out the experiences and policies that have shaped China’s development to assess how it can inform the field of development studies. I argue that we need to critically engage in China’s development process, as China’s own development has led to the emergence of many more problems than solutions, ranging from increasing inequality to exclusionary development practices pertaining to ethnic minorities.