Archive for ‘Politics’

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08/07/2014

Congress to Parliament: Please Don’t Oppose Our Opposition – India Real Time – WSJ

India’s new session of Parliament has begun, and the Congress Party has a request: Make us the official “leader of the opposition.”

It turns out, that may be asking too much.

The Congress Party — which has governed India for most of the country’s modern history — lost so badly this time, it might not qualify for the right to name the official opposition leader, according to the parliamentary rulebook.

This isn’t a surprise: It’s well known that Congress’s drubbing in the election this year left it with less than 10% of the seats in the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha. So, even though it’s the second-largest party in Parliament, behind the triumphant Bharatiya Janata Party, its share of seats is too small to qualify as official opposition leader.

Nevertheless, Congress has started pressing the issue. “We are the single largest party and we have a pre-poll alliance,” Congress party president Sonia Gandhi said during a televised press conference Monday, as Parliament’s budget session commenced. “We are entitled to get the post.”

Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the post of the leader of opposition is a “constitutional right” of the Congress party. “The Lok Sabha cannot function without the opposition leader.”

Under Indian parliamentary procedural rules, the post of the leader of opposition has the rank of a cabinet minister. It goes to the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, unless that party fails to win 10% of the seats, or 55, in the 545-member Lok Sabha. Congress has 44 members.

The job comes with some significant responsibilities. The leader of the opposition is part of a panel that selects members of the Central Vigilance Commission; members of the anti-graft national ombudsman, known as the Lokpal; and head of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s federal investigative agency.

Subhash C. Kashyap, historian and former secretary-general of the Lok Sabha, said the Congress party should “stop hankering” for the post. “All its claims are unnecessary, unfounded and without any legal basis.”

via Congress to Parliament: Please Don’t Oppose Our Opposition – India Real Time – WSJ.

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08/07/2014

China’s Communist Party Reminds Colleges: Keep it Clean – China Real Time Report – WSJ

The chiefs of some of China’s most prestigious universities last week reported to their version of the principal’s office: the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The party-appointed heads of 26 top Chinese colleges and universities were reminded at a meeting last week of their obligations to run honest institutions, according to the commission. The commission, which acts as the internal party watchdog, said the officials signed a clean-governance pledge before the Ministry of Education’s top official, Yuan Guiren, and that several more will do so later this month.

The reminder follows corruption probes by party officials into China’s energy business and the military, where suspicion of corrupt acts has landed numerous officials in detention. Last week, the party booted a former top general from its ranks ahead of prosecution, which analysts described as the most significant takedown since Chinese President Xi Jinping became the party leader in late 2012.

The university sector is getting treated with kid gloves by comparison, based on Tuesday’s statement.

Global corruption watchdog Transparency International alleges universities in many nations are hotbeds for corruption simply because the institutions typically absorb so much of the public purse. In China, it isn’t unusual for government inspectors and the party to remove selected university administrators on allegations of corruption – including bribery related to attending them — but one critic has recently told The Wall Street Journal that such moves represent only the tip of the iceberg.

A separate report this week from China’s party watchdog said that Shanghai’s Fudan University runs business activity that could lead to malfeasance. The school’s party secretary, Zhu Zhiwen, pledged to rectify the problems to avoid possible corruption, according to a summary of the findings published on the school’s website.

Fudan illustrates the challenge. With modest beginnings 109 years ago as a public school that would invite students to seize the dawn – as the Chinese characters of its name denote – Fudan has blossomed into a sprawling institution with over 30,000 students, multiple campuses and 11 affiliated hospitals.

Fudan’s business, the party commission said, exhibited cases of chaotic spending of scientific research funds, mismanaged infrastructure development and poor supervision of school-owned companies during its study earlier this year.

To consider their clean-up challenges, the university’s party administrators are being asked to stand in the corner.

via China’s Communist Party Reminds Colleges: Keep it Clean – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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04/07/2014

BBC News – Indian PM Narendra Modi on maiden Kashmir visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his first visit to Indian-administered Kashmir amidst a protest shutdown called by separatist groups.

PM Modi flags off the first train from Katra

Mr Modi inaugurated a railway line in the Jammu region before travelling to Kashmir Valley to launch a hydro-power station and chair a security meeting.

Security is tight in the region and checkpoints have been set up to ensure the visit passes off peacefully.

Kashmir has been in the grip of an anti-India insurgency since 1989.

In recent years violence has abated from its peak in the 1990s, but the causes of the insurgency are still far from resolved.

Mr Modi arrived in Jammu on Friday morning from where he flew by a helicopter to Katra town where he flagged off a new train to Delhi.

Katra is the base camp for the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Vaishno Devi and the train will providing a direct link with Delhi.

Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine every year and railway officials say they expect the train will be popular with them.

Meanwhile, the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley is shut down in response to calls from separatist groups to protest against Mr Modi’s visit.

In the state capital, Srinagar, shops, businesses, offices, schools and banks are closed and there is little traffic on the roads in most parts of the valley.

Mr Modi will later fly to Uri town in north Kashmir to inaugurate a hydro electrical project.

via BBC News – Indian PM Narendra Modi on maiden Kashmir visit.

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01/07/2014

Army chief Bikram Singh to begin rare China visit tomorrow – The Times of India

Chief of the Army Staff General Bikram Singh r...

Chief of the Army Staff General Bikram Singh received by Director for General Staff Duties Sanjeev Chopra (Photo credit: UN Women Asia & the Pacific)

Operationalisation of a new border defence agreement to deal with recurring troop incursions along the LAC besides improving defence ties, is expected to top the agenda of General Bikram Singh as he starts a rare visit by an Indian Army chief to China from tomorrow.

“Currently India and China maintain exchanges and cooperation at various levels. This is very significant for the two countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said here today.

“The visit you mentioned will be an important event in military to military exchanges between China and India,” he said commenting on Singh’s visit at a media briefing.

“We wish full success of this visit so that the mutual trust between the two armies can be enhanced,” he said.

To deal with tensions arising out of the incursions by both sides, India and China signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) last year.

Singh’s visit was aimed at implementing a number of steps incorporated by BDCA on the ground, officials said.

The Indian Army chief’s four-day visit is taking place after a gap of nine years.

via Army chief Bikram Singh to begin rare China visit tomorrow – The Times of India.

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Defence, Foreign invasion, GeoPolitics, Good news, India alert, Military, Neighbour conflict, peace keeping, Politics, security, Territorial dispute, war | Leave a Comment »

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30/06/2014

China supreme court appoints top environmental judge | Reuters

China’s supreme court has appointed a senior judge to handle environmental cases as the environmentally challenged country bids to get tough on polluters and improve the way its laws are enforced, an official newspaper said on Monday.

China Environmental News, published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said Deng Xuelin had been appointed as the presiding judge of the Environmental and Resources Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court.

The tribunal was formally established just two weeks ago.

Beijing, hit by a series of pollution scares and scandals, has vowed to reverse some of the damage done by three decades of untrammeled economic growth, but it has traditionally struggled to impose its will on big industrial enterprises and the local governments that protect them.

The report said the new state tribunal would give “unified guidance and coordination” to the 134 specialist environmental courts that have been set up by local governments, noting that the procedures used to handle such cases was “very informal”.

Litigators have long complained that lawsuits launched against polluters have been routinely rejected or even ignored by local courts, many of which lack the capacity and the independence to take on powerful government-backed firms.

China has promised to create legal channels allowing members of the public to take action against firms that break the law, but environmental officials say they lack resources and are already overwhelmed by the number of cases.

 

Earlier this year, China passed amendments to its 1989 Environmental Protection Law, giving local governments greater powers to fine, shut down and even imprison violators.

via China supreme court appoints top environmental judge | Reuters.

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30/06/2014

China’s Communist Party expels former military chief Xu Caihou in graft probe | South China Morning Post

A former top Chinese military figure was expelled from the Communist Party for suspected corruption and his case handed over to prosecutors for investigation, the Politburo announced after a meeting on Monday.

xucaihou-salute.jpg

The party also decided to expel three cadres closely connected to the nation’s former security tsar, Zhou Yongkang, over allegations of corruption and bribery, Xinhua reported.

A report on the investigation into Xu Caihou, a former vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, was presented at the Politburo meeting presided over by party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Xinhua reported. The case was handed over to military prosecutors, it reported.

The 71-year-old Xu, who was until 2012 a member of the Politburo, would be the most senior military figure to go on trial for corruption.

“His case is serious and leaves a vile impact,” Xinhua cited a Politburo statement as saying.

The investigation into Xu, launched on March 15, found he had abused his power and received bribes “personally and through his family members” in exchange for granting promotions in the military.

Xu had also sought profits for other people in exchange for cash and properties, which were routed through his family members, Xinhua reported.

The South China Morning Post reported on March 20 that an escort of dozens of armed police had taken Xu from his bed at the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing.

via China’s Communist Party expels former military chief Xu Caihou in graft probe | South China Morning Post.

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26/06/2014

Two major generals detained as graft probes widen in Sichuan | South China Morning Post

Two Chinese major generals that have connections with Sichuan have been detained for a graft investigation, according to two separate sources.

yewanyong.jpg

Both People’s Liberation Army officers were taken into custody in May, the sources close to the military said.

One of those held was retired Ye Wanyong, a former commissar of the Sichuan military region. Ye, in his 60s, was removed yesterday from his position as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation’s top political advisory body. But the reason was not specified by the CPPCC.

Ye’s house was searched by the authorities, according to the sources.

The other, Wei Jin, 55, is a vice-commissar of the Tibet military region, a post he was promoted to in 2011. He has held senior military posts in the southwest province of Sichuan, including as senior army propaganda officer in Chengdu, the province’s capital.

The latest investigation into Ye and Wei is also believed to be part of the wider anti-corruption campaign in the PLA. President Xi Jinping, who also leads the military as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has repeatedly vowed to clean up the beleaguered military.

Ye left the military in January after reaching the retirement age of 60. He has served in the Sichuan military region since 2006.

His early military career started in Tibet, Sichuan’s neighbour in the west, but most of the time Ye served in liaison offices in Sichuan.

via Two major generals detained as graft probes widen in Sichuan | South China Morning Post.

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26/06/2014

Chinese Vice President hands over new equipment to Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao on Wednesday toured the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) in Tanzania and handed new equipment supplied under loan terms of the 15th Protocol of Economic and Technical Cooperation between China, Tanzania and Zambia.

Li handed over the equipment, including six forklifts and four mobile cranes, to Tanzanian Minister of Transport Harrison Mwakyembe on behalf of TAZARA.

The Chinese Vice President, who took a short ride on a TAZARA train to Yombo on the outskirts of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, commended the authority and its workers for upkeeping the infrastructure which was built four decades ago.

Li, who is on a six-day official visit to Tanzania, promised to hold further discussions with his colleagues when he goes back to China to find more ways to help TAZARA.

Mwakyembe said that the assistance was part of the pledge made by the Chinese government to help improve TAZARA infrastructure and his country would continue to value the assistance rendered by the People’s Republic of China since early 1970s.

“The saying that – a friend in need is a friend indeed – was truly reflected in the assistance provided by China 40 years ago, building the TAZARA railway when Tanzania and Zambia fought to liberate other southern African countries,” said the Tanzanian minister.

Mwakyembe said TAZARA was the largest single foreign aid project undertaken by China and the track was built with the highest standards, as evidenced by the infrastructure which remained in good shape after 40 years.

The 15th Protocol of Economic and Technical Cooperation was signed by the three governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia on March 26, 2012 in the Zambian capital Lusaka, with a value of 270 million yuan (about 40 million U.S. dollars) worth of projects to be undertaken in support of TAZARA.

The protocol, which is an interest-free loan, covers the procurement and supply of 18 passenger coaches and accompanying consumables, four new main line locomotives, two shunting locomotives, two rescue cranes and various lifting equipment.

via Chinese Vice President hands over new equipment to Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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23/06/2014

Shenzhen to pump one billion yuan into building new Xinjiang university | South China Morning Post

Shenzhen will pump one billion yuan (HK$1.26 billion) into a new university to be built in Xinjiang’s southern Kashgar city, on top of the region’s own one billion yuan of investment.

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Shenzhen was contributing to the university in support of education in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Xinjiang Daily reported on Monday.

“Building Kashi University will provide strong human resources to the industrial restructuring in southern Xinjiang and improve the local livelihood,” said Kenjiang Tulahong, a member of the region’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee.

Plans to build the university were announced by the State Council after a Xinjiang working group meeting in May. It was an important strategic approach, the newspaper said.

Xinjiang, in the northwest and home to the Uygur ethnic minority who are mostly Muslims, has been the focus of a security crackdown after recent violent attacks in the region and elsewhere on the mainland that the central government has blamed on terrorists and separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

President Xi Jinping, who chaired the second Central Work Conference on Xinjiang on May 19, stressed the importance of ethnic unity, education and economic development. Officials at the conference pledged to promote bilingual education and interaction between ethnic groups in the region.

On Monday, Xinjiang party chief Zhang Chunxian, speaking at the region’s party committee meeting, vowed to safeguard social stability and the Central Committee’s authority and political discipline on major issues opposing separatism.

The same day, Korla Evening News reported that police in Korla city, western Xinjiang, had busted an underground group that was teaching the Koran to children. Two men were arrested on suspicion of abusing two children and forcing them to study the Koran, on top of running illegal religious activities. The two pupils were then sent to local kindergartens and assigned guardians, the newspaper reported.

Kashi University, when completed, would give Uygur students more opportunities for higher levels of academic training in future, Kashgar officials said.

“Kashi University will have comprehensive departments and disciplined teachers to train a wider range of talents,” Kashgar Normal College dean Aierken Wumaier said.

The university plans to provide curriculums in the liberal arts, science, art, engineering, management, economics and medicine, among others, he said. The institute aimed to recruit 13,000 students by 2015, he added.

via Shenzhen to pump one billion yuan into building new Xinjiang university | South China Morning Post.

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19/06/2014

China, ASEAN to have South China Sea talks – Xinhua | English.news.cn

China is willing to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote a code of conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday.

Map of the South China Sea

Map of the South China Sea (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hua’s comment came ahead of the 11th joint working group meeting between China and ASEAN on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct (DoC) of Parties in the South China Sea. The meeting will be held from next Tuesday to Wednesday in Bali, Indonesia. “China is ready to work with the ASEAN for comprehensive and effective implementation of the declaration and steadily push forward consultations on a CoC,” Hua said. Maritime cooperation on navigation security and joint search and rescue will be discussed during the meeting, Hua said. She called for favorable conditions for the implementation of the DoC and formulation of a CoC to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. China and ASEAN officials met in March in Singapore for the 10th joint working group meeting on the implementation of the DoC. via China, ASEAN to have South China Sea talks – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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