From inside China, it often appears as if modern Chinese power is more aimed at erasing a painful past than at writing a dominant future. But there is one topic where the peace-loving Chinese seem worryingly militaristic: Taiwan. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Commuters stand in front of billboards outside a shopping mall in Beijing. Brand logos are a common sight in China — but not for homegrown companies. Liu Jin/Getty Images hide caption

Chinese explorer Zheng He sailed on diplomatic and business missions in the early 1400s, reaching as far as northeast Africa. This sculpture of Zheng He is on display in the Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Maggie Starbard/NPR hide caption

Ek Sonn Chan of Cambodia accepts the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, in Manila, Philippines. Chan was cited for his "exemplary rehabilitation of a ruined public utility, bringing safe drinking water to a million people in Cambodia's capital city." Bullit Marquez/AP hide caption

Green car technology is still in its infancy in China, and there's little uniformity in the way of infrastructure to support the vehicles, like this concept car with solar panels, made by Roewe, seen at the Shanghai auto show. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Trucks left parked on a road near a Shanghai port Friday. Truck drivers protested for a third day over rising fuel costs and fees, disrupting the flow of goods. Eugene Hoshiko/AP hide caption

A man talks on the phone in Kesennuma Junior High School, which has now become a home for evacuees. A counselor says very few people have wanted to talk at the evacuation centers he's visited. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

Ship owner Yuta Suzuki and one of his grounded vessels that was thrown on shore during the tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s managing director, Akio Komori (left), cries as he leaves a press conference in Fukushima on Friday. The company has apologized for its handling of the nuclear crisis, but calls are growing for more monitoring and accountability of TEPCO and other large companies. AP hide caption

Notes of survivors looking for missing family members are posted on a board at the reporting center in Kamaishi. Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Nurses wear radiation protection suits at a hospital in Minamisoma city in Fukushima prefecture on March 16. STR/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Members of a U.S. search and rescue team from Los Angeles County stand in snow Thursday while on a recovery operation in Kamaishi, Japan. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K., with combined numbers of around 220 personnel, are helping in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. Matt Dunham/AP hide caption

Japanese refugees rest inside a school gymnasium where hundreds took shelter in Sendai, northeastern Japan, Monday. David Guttenfelder/AP hide caption

President Obama addresses Chinese youth during a town hall meeting at the Museum of Science and Technology in Shanghai on Nov. 16, 2009. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption