When the Group of Eight (G8) summit was held last month, the centre of Genoa, where the summit was held, was turned into an armed ghost town, ringed with high fences, barbed wire and shipping containers. Tens of thousands of anti-globalization protesters engaged in violent demonstrations over the three days of meetings. One demonstrator was shot dead by a policeman and nearly 300 people were injured.
In recent years, the Western world has witnessed a revival of left- leaning and anarchist activism, much of which is directed at free trade organizations, especially at their gatherings, such as those of the G8, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
In December 1999, the Seattle WTO ministerial conference failed to reach agreement on a new trade round and ended in acrimony, with activists fighting police on the streets.
In April last year, protesters blocked downtown streets in Washington DC, making it impossible for many delegates to enter the IMF meetings.
Five months later, thousands of demonstrators turned Prague into a battleground as they tried to stop the world's top financiers from debating the reform of the IMF and strategies for underpinning global growth.
Among these protesters were mainly anti-globalizationists, environmental-protection advocates and labour union activists, who all believe that globalization - characterized by "free trade," "free flow of capital" and international corporate activities - has benefited only the rich, deprived the poor and caused the environment to deteriorate.
These problems do exist in today's global integration process, and they are not limited to poor countries, but represent common challenges faced by the entire international community.
Free trade and the new economy seem to be making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
The rules of the game in global trade, such as those of the WTO, are largely made by rich countries. Some developing countries could not even afford to send delegates to Seattle for the 1999 ministerial conference, and others suffered from a shortage of skilled negotiators. One-third of its members didn't even know what the rules were.
As an example, under the existing WTO agreement on agriculture, countries are obliged to lower tariffs, convert quotas to tariffs and reduce subsidies. But industrial countries have used both tariff and non-tariff barriers to restrict developing countries' access to their agricultural markets.
Rules concerning financial services, intellectual property rights and labour standards remain as insurmountable obstacles impeding developing countries from competing in the world market.
The 1990s were, generally speaking, boom years for the world economy. However, for the poor, it hasn't been so rosy. At the top, are the skyrocketing incomes of chief executives and billionaires while the growing ranks of the poor, uninsured and homeless are at the bottom.
Another undeniable fact is that despite the tremendous increase in social wealth and productivity, workers are experiencing serious infringements of their rights while on the job.
The rights of employees who work for private businesses have not been protected, while laws governing private companies' unlawful activities are often weak or ineffective.
The Chicago Tribune reported on September 6, 1999, that in the past 20 years, almost all American workers have to some degree experienced declining wages, while their working hours have increased.
In Africa, thousands of poor blacks, including children, are exploited by some cross-national corporations as modern slaves forced to work in diamond mines or lumber camps, earning less than US$1 per day and deprived of sufficient safety protection and health care.
Nowadays, most poor countries are plagued by heavy debt, but under the current style of rich countries and international institutions, the debt problem has become a vicious cycle.
In 1996, the World Bank, the IMF, the G7 and the "Club de Paris" launched an initiative to improve the capacity of what they call "Highly Indebted Poor Countries" to effectively repay unbearable debts. But that move was viewed by some as merely a way to avoid persistent accumulation of debt arrears rather than a moral decision - and judged to be the only way to maintain the flow of debt repayment from poor countries into the coffers of the rich.
Quite often, debt reductions or cancellations are offered together with unjust neo-liberal economic conditions.
As enthusiasm grows for the information superhighway, villages and slums in poor countries remain without telephones, electricity or safe water, and there are primary schools without pencils, paper or books. For poor people, the information technology (IT) promises remain as remote as a distant star.
Lack of infrastructure and government resources plus heavy debts have made it almost impossible for developing countries to use IT to reduce poverty.
They are likely to be passive recipients of information transmitted through the powerful medium of IT, while their own cultures are likely to be challenged, even threatened.
Worst of all, the deterioration of global environment is continuing at an unprecedented speed, while the political and financial structure of the world economy, which has become increasingly dominated by powerful multinational corporations, is directly at odds with efforts to promote a healthy earth.
In Genoa, US President George W. Bush insisted that the United States, the world's biggest polluter, would still not sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets mandatory targets for emission cuts.
Mankind has entered a new millennium and the 21st century is filled with great hope for peace, harmony and prosperity for all. It's time that problems left over from the last century be given due attention and timely solutions.
To address these questions, united efforts by all people in both developed and developing countries are required.
The years 2001 and 2002 are crucial to redressing these problems because several key international meetings are planned, including the fourth WTO Ministerial Meeting, the UN High-Level Event on Financing for Development and the Rio Plus Ten Summit on Environment.
Hopefully, some progress can be made and the chaos and bloody scenes of anti-globilzation protesters will never be repeated at future world economic gatherings.