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12/05/2014

BBC News – India election: Narendra Modi faces Arvind Kejriwal on final vote day

The final day of voting has begun in India’s general election, with huge crowds turning up in the sacred city of Varanasi, a key election battleground.

Opposition BJP leader Narendra Modi is being challenged in the seat by anti-corruption campaigner Arvind Kejriwal.

Votes are also being cast in 40 other seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal states. The first exit polls are expected on Monday evening.

Mr Modi is ahead in all the opinion polls. Votes will be counted on 16 May.

First stop before the polling station for some voters here was the Ganges river, for a dip in its sacred waters.

There’s been a strong early turnout, with many voting early to beat the rising heat.

The battle in this holy city is now being seen as a straight fight between Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP and Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party.

Mr Modi is still expected to win but many have been inspired by Mr Kejriwal’s anti-establishment message and his party’s determined door-to-door campaign.

After being bombarded by all the parties for weeks, it’s hardly surprising that many voters were being coy in admitting who they were choosing.

But there were some signs of nervousness among BJP workers manning a stand near one polling station. At one they were telling people ‘to vote for anybody, just don’t waste it on the Broom’ – short-hand for Mr Kejriwal

India’s marathon election began on 7 April and has been held in nine phases for security and logistical reasons.

With 814 million eligible voters, it is the world’s biggest exercise in democracy and the governing Congress party is battling the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for power.

Varanasi has been the scene of frenzied political campaigning not seen in the ancient city in decades. The city been turned into a virtual fortress with thousands of police and paramilitaries deployed to ensure peaceful polling.

BBC Hindi’s Nitin Srivastava in the city says large crowds, including many women, are turning up at polling stations, after voting began at 07:00 local time (01:30 GMT).

People are walking or taking cycle rickshaws to the booths as traffic restrictions are in place across the city, our correspondent says.

“Varanasi will finally see some change and development. I am glad to have lived for the day,” Ramavati, 93, said.

One woman told the BBC that she had cast her ballot “for the person who will bring development and progress”.

“The main issues are inflation, corruption and unemployment,” she said.

Mr Modi is being given a spirited fight by Mr Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party, whose army of volunteers is engaged in extensive door-to-door campaigning.

There are a total of 42 candidates in the fray in the seat, including the Congress party’s Ajay Rai, a local political leader.

via BBC News – India election: Narendra Modi faces Arvind Kejriwal on final vote day.

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11/05/2014

Chinese elite push for release of jailed Nobel laureate | Reuters

A group of “princelings“, children of China’s political elite, has quietly urged the Communist Party leadership to release jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo on parole to improve the country’s international image, two sources said.

Workers prepare the Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition ''I Have No Enemies'' for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo December 9, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Liu‘s release is not high on the agenda of the party, which is trying to push through painful economic, judicial and military reforms amid the most extensive crackdown on corruption in over six decades, the sources with ties to the leadership said, requesting anonymity.

But the back channel push for Liu’s parole shows that a debate is taking place among leaders about damage to China’s reputation caused by his jailing. It also suggests the ruling elite are not monolithic when it comes to views on dissent.

Liu, 58, a veteran dissident involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests crushed by the army, was jailed for 11 years in 2009 on subversion charges for organizing a petition urging an end to one-party rule. He won the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.

“For many princelings, the pros of freeing Liu Xiaobo outweigh the cons,” one of the sources said. “Liu Xiaobo will definitely be freed early. The question is when.”

He is eligible for parole after serving half his term.

via Chinese elite push for release of jailed Nobel laureate | Reuters.

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11/05/2014

Fired from Walmart, Mrs Wang is now gunning for China’s state labor union | Reuters

When Wang Yafang was fired from her job at a Walmart in southern China in July 2011 for dishonesty, she refused to sign the termination papers and even showed up at work the next day – only to be sent away.

Wang, 38, then sued Walmart Shen Guo Tou Stores Inc, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) subsidiary, for wrongful termination, and beat the world’s largest retailer in arbitration and twice in court, winning 48,636 yuan ($7,800) in damages.

Now, she’s aiming at an even bigger target: the state-backed All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

All-China Federation of Trade Unions

All-China Federation of Trade Unions (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the three decades since China began reforming its economy, its giant state labor union – with upwards of 280 million members – has sat on the sidelines, rarely intervening on behalf of workers in disputes.

In a bid to help change that, Wang, backed by lawyers who have handled some of China’s highest-profile labor cases, decided to sue the union branch at the Walmart in Shenzhen where she worked for nine years. Unlike the few previous attempts by workers to sue grassroots union branches, courts have heard Wang’s case.

Wang and her team argue that the union endorsed the assessment of her as “dishonest” when she was fired and in doing so damaged her reputation. She wants an apology. The union branch has denied the charges.

Beneath the surface, Wang and her lawyers are leveling a more serious accusation – one echoed by many Chinese workers – that the ACFTU is failing in its role as the protector of worker rights and interests.

The landmark case highlights shifting labor relations in China, where workers increasingly know their rights and are seizing opportunities to challenge the status quo, often in court. Independent unions are banned in China, and the ACFTU is coming under unprecedented pressure to adapt.

Two courts in Shenzhen have already heard Wang’s case since she filed the suit last July, and have ruled against her. This month or next, her lawyers plan to launch a final appeal with the Guangdong superior people’s court.

“Either way, if she wins or loses, it is already extremely meaningful that this case has been brought to trial,” said Shi Zhigang, a former union boss from Nanjing who now acts as a collective bargaining adviser to local union branches.

“It’s an amazing development that the courts have even accepted the case and are using Chinese law to make an assessment and evaluation of the union.”

via Fired from Walmart, Mrs Wang is now gunning for China’s state labor union | Reuters.

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11/05/2014

China Says It Wants To Build Massive Railway To America

China has announced an ambitious engineering plan to build a bullet train railway to America, state media reported Thursday.

Possible route of a bridge or tunnel across th...

Possible route of a bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The massive railway network, nicknamed “China-Russia-Canada-America,” would run north from China, through Siberia and Russia, under the Pacific Ocean to Alaska, then down through Canada to the contiguous United States, The Guardian reports.

The trip from China to the contiguous U.S. would take less than two days, with trains traveling about 217 mph, according to The Beijing Times. China will reportedly fund the construction of the 8,079 miles of railway track, including a 125-mile underwater tunnel across the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska.

But this may not be the best time for China to embark on such an epic undertaking, considering the country’s railway industry is in the red, as The Economic Times points out.

“China’s railway sector is still being haunted by deep debts. Therefore, even with the government’s support, it must persuade banks to lend a colossal amount of money,” an unnamed expert from Beijing Jiaotong University told The Economic Times.

Aside from financial challenges, many are skeptical of whether the engineering required to build such a massive network is feasible.

According to The Guardian, “The Bering Strait tunnel alone would require an unprecedented feat of engineering – it would be the world’s longest undersea tunnel – four times the length of the Channel Tunnel” connecting the United Kingdom and France.

China Daily claims that the technology needed to construct the undersea tunnel is already available. But even if it is, The Economist’s Gulliver business travel blog says the railway plan is simply not a realistic or necessary project.

“Languorous tourists might love it, just as they do the Orient Express or the Ghan train through the Australian Outback, and I suppose it might also carry some freight. But still, there is no practical case for it,” the blog post’s author writes. “Nonetheless, such ambition is to be admired in an abstract way.”

The Guardian notes that it is unclear whether China has consulted Russia, the U.S. or Canada about the project.

via China Says It Wants To Build Massive Railway To America.

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09/05/2014

China to earmark over half of foreign aid for Africa: Premier Li – Xinhua | English.news.cn

ABUJA, May 8 (Xinhua) — China will earmark more than half of its foreign aid for Africa and attach no preconditions, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Thursday.

ANGOLA-CHINA-LI KEQIANG-ARRIVAL

“China will, as always, continue to increase its assistance to Africa in both quantity and quality to the extent of its ability, ensuring that more than half of its foreign aid will go to Africa,” Li told a World Economic Forum on Africa in the Nigerian capital.

Hailing Africa as an important pole in world politics, a new pole in global economic growth and a colorful pole in human civilization, Li said that the development of Africa will make the world more democratic, stable, dynamic and colorful, and is conducive to world peace, development and progress.

“It would be better to have more poles than less in the world political and economic landscape,” he said.

The Chinese premier pledged that Beijing will help Africa develop the networks of high-speed railways, expressways and regional airports, saying infrastructure construction, transportation in particular, should be a priority in achieving inclusive growth.

Referring to an African “dream of the century” depicted by African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to connect African capitals with high-speed railways, Li said China stands ready to help with the mega project.

China is ready to carry out all-dimensional cooperation with Africa on high-speed railways, including their planning, designing, construction and management, Li said.

China is also willing to set up a high-speed railway research and development center in Africa, he added.

Li stressed that cooperation between China and African countries is based on good faith and openness, saying his country is willing to share its advanced and applicable technologies and management expertise without reservation.

China is also ready to step up collaboration with international organizations and relevant countries to make a joint contribution to Africa’s development, he added.

Li also pledged to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in green and low carbon development and make sure the Chinese enterprises operating in Africa fulfill their social responsibilities.

He stressed that China will never attach political conditions to its assistance to Africa and will never use its aid programs to interfere in the internal affairs of African countries.

Li also assured the audience that China continues to enjoy solid foundation for sustained economic growth despite recent slowdown.

China will give more attention to the quality and efficiency of growth and make growth more inclusive and sustainable, the premier said.

“We have the confidence and capability to meet the expected growth target of around 7.5 percent for this year and maintain a medium-high growth for a fairly long period of time to come,” he said.

This is good news for African countries and the global economy at large, he said.

The Chinese premier, currently in Angola for a visit, started on Sunday his first Africa tour since taking office in March last year. He had visited Ethiopia and Nigeria, and will travel to Kenya.

via China to earmark over half of foreign aid for Africa: Premier Li – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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09/05/2014

India’s Women’s Vote Becomes More Independent – Businessweek

To avoid upsetting her husband, Urmila Devi told him she’ll heed his request to vote for India’s ruling Congress party when their village of 50 families participates in national elections. Once inside the polling booth, she plans to ignore his suggestion. “I’ll vote for a different party,” Devi, 26, says outside her one-room house in Galanodhan Purwa village in Uttar Pradesh state, where she cares for her two children. “I’m concerned about women’s safety. It should be the government’s top priority.”

India's Women's Vote Becomes More Independent

A growing number of women are defying traditional gender roles in India and asserting their voice in elections that began on April 7 and end on May 16. Prompting the change: Higher literacy rates, greater financial independence, and a desire to stem violence against women, which became a highly visible issue after the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi in December 2012.

“Over the years, we’ve asked women if they voted on their own or if they voted for whoever their husbands or fathers asked them to,” says Sanjay Kumar, New Delhi-based director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, which conducts opinion polls. “Women were reluctant to tell us earlier, but increasingly they’re saying they’re voting on their own, no matter what the men say.”

via India’s Women’s Vote Becomes More Independent – Businessweek.

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09/05/2014

Literary Leaders: Why China’s President is So Fond of Dropping Confucius – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Generous girths aside, Winston Churchill and Chinese President Xi Jinping would seem to have little in common. One was popularly elected, while the other gained power by means of a shadowy process few understand. One was a giant who made his name leading his country through war, while the other’s legacy is still very much in the making.

But the two do share one characteristic besides their robust builds: a fondness for literary allusions.

In the same way Churchill littered his legendary speeches with references to the Bible and nods to Shakespeare, Mr. Xi has displayed a tendency to lard his writings and public statements with quotations from classical Chinese literature.

Xi Jinping Getty Images

On Thursday, the overseas edition of the People’s Daily devoted itself to cataloging the Chinese leader’s literary references, running a full-page spread dedicated to explaining 13 allusions spanning the later part of Mr. Xi’s career. The aim, it said, was to explain the Chinese leader’s thoughts on “the question of cultivating morality among leading cadres.”

Some analysts have interpreted Mr. Xi’s embrace of the classics as a move akin to Churchill’s borrowing from “Henry V” in his World War II speeches: an effort to use pride in a venerable cultural tradition to rally the nation at a time of crisis.

China is not facing war, but Mr. Xi and other Chinese leaders have portrayed the Communist Party as facing a raft of daunting challenges: endemic corruption, hostility abroad and an exceedingly tricky economic transition opposed by entrenched special interests. Having long ago traded in Marxism for the market, analysts say, the party is now trying to shore up its legitimacy by associating itself with a Confucian tradition it once lambasted as feudal and backwards.

Some of Mr. Xi’s references cited by the People’s Daily have more obvious resonances with today’s politics than others.

One quote Mr. Xi used from the Confucian “Book of Rites” in a 2007 essay speaks directly to his current efforts to clean up the behavior of China’s wayward bureaucrats: “Nothing is more visible than what is hidden, and nothing is more obvious than what is minute. Therefore a gentleman is careful of himself even when alone.”

In other instances, however, Mr. Xi’s allusions are less pointed, instead evoking an inchoate political anxiety. Such was the case during a 2013 visit to the Central Party School, when he quoted a line from the “Book of Songs,” another Confucian classic: “In fear and trembling, as if walking on thin ice, as if approaching a deep abyss.”

Mr. Xi is by no means the first Chinese leader to weave classical literature into his essays and speeches. Nor is he the first to attempt to leaven the Communist Party’s rhetoric with a sprinkling of Confucianism. Mr. Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao similarly borrowed from Confucius when he introduced the notion of a “harmonious society” more than a decade ago, notes Sam Crane, a professor of Asian Studies at Williams College. But Mr. Xi, Mr. Crane says, “is being more explicit and direct in his classicism.”

The People’s Daily spread, he adds, is “a rather obvious attempt to bolster [Xi’s] image as a proper gentleman in old Confucian terms: well read, morally upright and finding moral inspiration in the classic texts.”

In a country where even mundane conversations are often shot through with pithy aphorisms taken from classical literature, it makes sense for Mr. Xi show off his sophistication. Yet there could be some danger in reviving the classical texts, which are often vague, shot through with allegory and open to a wide range of interpretations.

Take, for example, this famous quote from Confucius’ Analects that appears in an essay by Mr. Xi on poverty alleviation: “It’s easier to rob an army of its general than it is to rob a common man of his purpose and will.”

According the People’s Daily, Mr. Xi intention in evoking the passage was to encourage officials to cultivate the willpower necessary to “push ahead in the face of innumerable challenges.” But Mr. Crane notes that it might be read differently, particularly in light of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the crackdown on student protesters in Tiananmen Square.

“We should not assume that the state is the articulator of those purposes and will,” he says. “And, indeed, 25 years ago there was a rather massive divergence in the expression of popular purposes and state power.”

via Literary Leaders: Why China’s President is So Fond of Dropping Confucius – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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08/05/2014

Four Reasons Why Narendra Modi Makes Some Indians Nervous – Businessweek

The question always comes up in New Delhi these days, somewhere between polite introductions and drinks: What would the reign of Narendra Modi, who seems increasingly likely to be the next prime minister, mean for India?

BJP candidate Narendra Modi addresses an election rally on April 10 at Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur, India

One man, pro-business and a glass of whiskey in hand at the club, told me recently that Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will bring needed centralization to a government that at times seems unable to impose its writ. Another—a highly educated liberal in socks, slacks, and polo shirt on the sofa just before lunch—wondered aloud whether the nation is forsaking its secular mooring for a dangerous populist.

Prediction in politics, especially in a nation as large and complex as India, is bound to be wrong much of the time. But public remarks by BJP officials and conservative Hindus apparently taking note of political winds are worth considering. (To be sure, there have been sharp words from both sides. For example, video surfaced of a candidate from the ruling Congress Party saying that he would “chop” Modi into tiny pieces.) Beneath the back and forth of explanation and disavowal, the consistency and vehemence of the messaging suggest an approach that, in a nation with a history of sectarian bloodshed, has some worried:

1. A conservative Hindu politician told a crowd that there are ways to discourage Muslims from purchasing property in Hindu neighborhoods. According to one account, Pravin Togadia allegedly met with protestors outside a home owned by a Muslim businessman and gave the occupant 48 hours to vacate the house. Togadia advised his audience to use stones, tires, and tomatoes, according to the Times of India. Togadia disputed that version of events and claimed through an online post that he was only offering advice on using the legal and governmental channels “if they felt that they are being forced into any selling of their houses.” (The newspaper subsequently said it has video confirming the initial report.)

The anecdote takes on broader significance for two reasons: The incident occurred in the western state of Gujarat, where some 1,000 people, mostly Muslim, were killed in brutal riots that included death-by-sword in 2002. The chief minister of Gujarat at the time of that bloodshed, as is still the case, was Narendra Modi. But as ever in Indian politics, there are caveats: A Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence that Modi’s decisions prevented the 2002 riot victims from receiving help. While Modi and Togadia have a shared background in Hindu nationalist politics, the two men do not now get along well.

2. A BJP parliament candidate informed a rally that those who do not support Modi will soon have no place in India. With senior BJP leadership standing by, Giriraj Singh said that Pakistan, the Muslim nation to the west, is where such people belong. BJP officials were quick to publicly express displeasure with Singh’s remarks, but he did not back down: “I stand by my statement that those trying their best to stop Modi from coming to power have no place in India and should go to Pakistan.”

3. A senior Modi aide was accused of telling voters they could get revenge by voting for Modi. Amit Shah was speaking in a north India district earlier this month near the site of riots last year that included murder and reports of gang rape. One account described how a “crowd of Hindu men came brandishing guns, swords and machetes, shouting that Muslims should go either to Pakistan or Kabristan (graveyard).”

4. Modi has signaled his desire to distance his campaign from militant sentiment and focus on shared national goals. As he tweeted on Tuesday:

Narendra Modi        ✔ @narendramodi

I disapprove any such irresponsible statement & appeal to those making them to kindly refrain from doing so.

4:58 AM – 22 Apr 2014

Narendra Modi        ✔ @narendramodi

Petty statements by those claiming to be BJP’s well wishers are deviating the campaign from the issues of development & good governance.

4:57 AM – 22 Apr 2014

However, many still point to his remarks during an interview with Reuters last year about the 2002 riots:

“Another thing, any person if we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I’m a chief minister or not, I’m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad.”

There was an expression of sadness in those words. And there was, too, the unavoidable fact that he’d compared the dead to dogs.

via Four Reasons Why Narendra Modi Makes Some Indians Nervous – Businessweek.

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08/05/2014

The Reluctant Prince of India’s Political Dynasty and His Anticampaign – Businessweek

Whither the House of Gandhi?

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi at the district collector's office on April 12 in Amethi, India

The Nehru-Gandhi family has dominated Indian politics since the nation’s independence in 1947, but it now faces a walloping at the polls, possibly its worst ever. While voting in national elections won’t be finished until next month, every indication is the Congress Party—for which a Gandhi presides as president and vice president—will lose the prime minister’s seat and watch its share of parliament thin considerably.

The face of that probable political calamity is Rahul Gandhi, a 43-year-old, good-looking Cambridge man who speaks of the need for a more inclusive political process. And as I’ve heard more than one liberal, middle-class Indian acknowledge with regret in their voices, he’s not much of a public politician.

via The Reluctant Prince of India’s Political Dynasty and His Anticampaign – Businessweek.

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08/05/2014

The Mystery Shrouding China’s Communist Party Suicides – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Being a government official in China is not for the faint of heart, the thin-skinned or the fragile of mind.

A recent state media report has reverberated online and in the Communist Party press by revealing that at least 54 Chinese officials died of “unnatural causes” in 2013, and that more than 40 percent of those deaths were suicides (in Chinese).

For some, those numbers raise questions about the burden placed on officials as a result of the Party’s anti-corruption crusade. But others see the recent rash of suicides as further evidence of the lack of political openness in China.

The latest victim was Xu Ye’an, the deputy chief of China’s national-level Bureau for Letter and Calls—the agency that handle petitions from disgruntled citizens. According to local media reports (in Chinese), Xu killed himself in his office, those the circumstances of his death remain unclear.

Then there was Zhou Yu, a senior police official in Chongqing and a major player in the anti-gang crackdown there a few years ago. He was found in a hotel room having apparently hanged himself (in Chinese).

There was also the deputy director of a neighborhood construction management office in a small city in Zhejiang province, who was responsible for overseeing building inspections at a time when an entire apartment building collapsed, was reported to have committed suicide in disgrace (in Chinese).

That Chinese officials have had to deal with pressure is nothing new.

A survey in 2009 found that more than 80% of Party officials reported psychological fatigue and mental imbalance (in Chinese). High-level officials even went so far then to tell the Party-run People’s Tribune about the “five ways to death” facing those who worked in the government: “without fortitude, you’ll scare easily; without a good physique, you’ll die from overwork; without capacity for liquor, you’ll die from drink; without a good disposition, you’ll be worried to death; without a good heart, you’ll die from being angry.”

What is different is that these strains on the rank-and-file appear to have gotten even more oppressive amidst Beijing’s demands that cadres labor harder, govern more effectively, and behave better. As one essay last week noted (in Chinese), the emphasis for officials these days is on “‘work, work, work,’ ‘assessment, evaluation, assessment,’ ‘management, management, management’.” Cadres, according to the author, now resemble “men used as beasts.”

via The Mystery Shrouding China’s Communist Party Suicides – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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