CORNELL'S REUNION IS CHINA'S NIGHTMARE

Controversies over guest speakers on American campuses are nothing new, but rarely does one become an international incident. From the moment last year that Cornell University asked a distinguished graduate to address an alumni gathering, policymakers for the U.S. and China knew they had a first-class hot potato on their hands. The invitee was Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, whose government is unrecognized by most of the world thanks to China's strenuous efforts to keep it isolated. Could Lee visit a onetime ally that cut off relations 16 years ago? The issue seemed strictly academic as long as Washington upheld its policy...