Xi Jinping’s to-do list has seen a lot of ticks in recent months: more flights into Taiwan’s defence zone; suppressing dissenting voices in Hong Kong; clipping the wings of tech barons; outlawing the out-of-school tutoring industry. The list goes on. However, one key initiative – introducing a local property tax – has attracted fewer headlines but is apparently so controversial within China’s ruling Communist party that even Xi is still only able to deal in trial schemes rather than wholesale change. The decision to pilot the tax on all types…
Day: November 4, 2021
China Stresses Developed Nations’ Promises at COP26
Advertisement China’s top leader Xi Jinping stated Monday the world must “accelerate the green transformation” and “developed countries must not only do more themselves, but also support developing countries to do better.” Xi’s written statement to the World Leaders Summit of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow came in place of an in-person speech. Xi did not attend, in keeping with his decision to avoid international travel since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. “All parties should…
China’s Peng Shuai Makes #MeToo Claim Against Zhang Gaoli
An economist by education, Mr. Zhang, now 75, rose through the ranks of the party and government. He served as governor of Shandong, the coastal province, and then as party secretary in Tianjin, the provincial-level port city on the Bohai Sea. As vice premier from 2013 to 2018, he was one of seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, headed then, as now, by China’s leader, Xi Jinping. “I know that for someone of your eminence, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, you’ve said that you’re not afraid,” Ms. Peng wrote in…
With Methane and Forest Deals, Climate Summit Offers Hope After Gloomy Start
GLASGOW — The world leaders gathered at a crucial climate summit secured new agreements on Tuesday to end deforestation and reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, building momentum as the conference prepared to shift to a more grueling two weeks of negotiations on how to avert the planet’s catastrophic warming. Capping off two days of speeches and meetings, President Biden on Tuesday said the United States pledged to be a “partner” with vulnerable countries confronting climate change, while expressing confidence that his own domestic climate agenda is on…
Top Hong Kong court rules against government bid to expand riot prosecutions
Hong Kong’s top court has quashed attempts by the city’s government to prosecute people for rioting or illegal assembly even without being present at the scene – a ruling lawyers described as a landmark. The five-judge panel in Hong Kong’s court of final appeal, headed by chief justice Andrew Cheung, unanimously rejected an earlier ruling by a lower appeal court that people, such as supporters, could be criminally liable without being actually present under the common law doctrine of “joint enterprise”. Criminal lawyers said Thursday’s ruling was highly significant, impacting…