Mum's the Word when We Can Benefit from Not Being in International Organizations

According to Carl Sustein of The Washington Post, for the "United States, the cost of the Iraq war will soon exceed the anticipated cost of the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement designed to control greenhouse gases. For both, the cost is somewhere in excess of $300 billion."

Taiwan, which constantly complains about being excluded from international organizations, is heaving a big sigh of relief on this one. This is the line of the current DPP government:

"Adopting Kyoto Protocol would not be beneficial to the nation. If we comply with the Kyoto Protocol's emissions reduction goal, we will suffer a big loss of GDP. The adoption will have a large impact on the economy." - Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆)

Here are some statistics on Taiwan:

1. Taiwan's overall greenhouse emissions rose 70% from 1990-2000.

2. Only 21 other countries in the world produce more carbon dioxide than Taiwan.