Author Archives: GovWorldMag

The DUP : No deal is better than a bad deal

It is proving difficult to explain to some politicians how negotiations work. If you want to buy someone’s house you do not say you want to buy it whatever the price, and then pay up when they take advantage of your folly. If they ask double the market value you refuse.

So it has to be with political deals. A Supply and confidence agreement with the DUP would be helpful. People would know in advance that the government has a majority to get through spending plans and to see off any No Confidence motion. If we do not have a formal agreement it is still very likely the DUP will vote with the Conservatives, given their views on Brexit and Mr Corbyn. There is a lot of common ground on the EU, the Union and the economy.

The main issue that has held up an Agreement seems to be money. How much extra can we afford for Northern Ireland, and what will be the reaction of the rest of us representing English or Welsh or Scottish constituencies?

I am relaxed with or without a deal. I think the government will have a majority to pilot the main legislation through, even allowing for the likelihood that Labour will be difficult and seek to undermine the very Brexit they proposed in their Manifesto.

June 22, 2017 GovWorldMagJohn Redwood MPJohn Redwood • opinions

Remarks by HR/VP Mogherini at the joint press conference with Pr

Brussels, 21 June 2017 Check against delivery! I would like to thank Antonio [Tajani, President of the European Parliament], for the enormous support that we have felt over the last months and years to the difficult work we have done on migration. … read more

June 22, 2017 GovWorldMagEU

Speech by HR/VP Mogherini at the 2017 European Union Institute f

Brussels, 21 June 2017 Check against delivery! You won’t be surprised if I skip my formal speech and simply tell you how I feel exactly one year after the presentation of the Global Strategy [for the European Union’s Foreign and … read more

June 22, 2017 GovWorldMagEU

Premier to attend Summer Davos in Dalian

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a speech during the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian in 2015. [File photo: gov.cn]

Premier Li Keqiang will attend the Summer Davos Forum in northeast China’s Dalian from June 26 to 28, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang announced Wednesday at a daily press briefing.

Li will address the opening ceremony, hold talks with leaders from countries including Finland and Sweden, meet some forum participants, and exchange views with representatives from fields such as business, finance, think tanks, and media outlets, Geng said.

This year’s forum carries the theme “Achieving Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Around 1,500 politicians, officials, entrepreneurs, scholars, and media representatives from over 90 countries and regions will attend.

The annual event is held alternatively in the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Dalian.

June 22, 2017 GovWorldMagEast AsiaChina

Boy’s death triggers controversy over safety of shared bikes

A report from Beijing-based BigData Research showed the number of shared bicycle users exceeded 18 million as of the end of 2016 and is expected to approach 50 million by the end of this year. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The case of a boy who fell down while riding a shared bike and died in Central China has drawn people’s attention to safety problems of shared bicycles, hnr.cn reported.

Photo shows bikes that users can easily ride or park under the sharing scheme. [File photo: sohu.com]

The boy, whose name has not been revealed, was reportedly 12 or 13 years old. Witnesses said he and other boys were riding yellow bicycles at high speed and practicing drifting on a steep road in Zhengzhou, Henan province, when the accident happened on Sunday. The bicycles are run by Ofo.

Though the accident is under investigation, some said the boys illegally used the bicycles after cracking the password of the mechanical locks on the bicycles.

Users of Ofo bikes first need to pay via their mobile phones before they are sent the password that unlocks the bicycle.

Many primary students in Zhengzhou, however, showed that they can unlock the Ofo bicycles without the password, with one student unlocking four bicycles out of the 10 locked ones, according to the report.

According to law, those under 12 are not allowed to ride bicycles on roads. As Ofo’s mechanical lock has long been criticized for its lax features, many question who should be held responsible for the safety of juveniles who illegally use the bicycles.

“I think the parents should be held responsible,” said Liu Ming, a resident of Zhengzhou. He said he once saw his 9-year-old son riding the yellow bicycle and warned him.

Another resident, surnamed Wu, agreed on the importance of guardian’s role but suggested that Ofo should change its mechanical locks into safer ones. Shared bicycles on other platforms use smart locks, which are hard to illegally break.

An Ofo employee said the company has launched bicycles with smart locks in Beijing and will introduce the new version in other regions of the country in the future.

If somebody dies due to quality defects or poor management of the shared bicycle, the company should take the responsibility, said lawyer Zhang Shaochun.

But if the minor cracked the password then the juvenile and the guardian should take the main responsibility, Zhang added.