Xi demands enhanced supervision over reform efforts

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed the role of supervision in implementing reform, demanding such work be carried out in a wider and deeper scope to detect and solve problems.

All departments and localities should attach greater importance to delivering reforms and devote more effort to examining reform’s effects, Xi said during the 34th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.

Regarding major reforms and “intricate matters,” authorities should review the results, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during supervision and those found making insufficient efforts should be called to account.

Leading departments and local authorities should regularly track reform implementation and report the effects, the statement said.

The group also passed guidelines and plans including more policy support for new agriculture business models.

The leading group pledged favorable tax policies, better infrastructure, improved financial services and wider insurance support to foster new business models in rural areas.

Stressing the role of entrepreneurs, the group promised to create a fair legal and market environment to bring out their creativity.

The regulatory mechanisms on money laundering, financing for terrorists and tax fraud should be improved, and regulations should be enhanced to “significantly” reduce the categories and volume of waste imports, according to the statement.

During the meeting, the leading group ordered intensified efforts to prevent forced confessions and illegal collection of evidence, saying it is important in punishing crimes in accordance with law, safeguarding human rights, and preventing wrong verdicts.

The criteria and procedure of excluding illegal evidence should be clarified during the whole process of investigation, arrest and trial, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, a modern hospital system should be established to ensure clear responsibilities, scientific governance, efficient operation and forceful supervision, the statement said.

More efforts should be made to improve the management and operation of public hospitals as well as to promote healthy development of hospitals run by non-government sectors.

The leading group also decided to reform related sectors to prevent a shortage in medicines by boosting coordination and improving monitoring, early warning and inventory management.

The meeting was also attended by Li Keqiang and Liu Yunshan, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and deputy heads of the group.




Premier Li stresses shift of growth engines

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday stressed the importance of accelerating the shift from traditional economic growth engines to new ones.

Li made the remarks at a symposium on new development ideas and developing new growth drivers at the Chinese Academy of Governance, attended by senior government officials and business leaders.

Faced with a challenging world economic recovery and relatively heavy downward pressure in the domestic economy, the old growth pattern will not be able to continue, said Li.

China must speed up replacing old growth drivers with new ones to transform and upgrade the economy, Li said, adding that the key to the shift of growth drivers lies in technology.

The focus should be on new technology, new industries and new business models, supported by the development of new production factors including knowledge, information and data, the premier said.

The Chinese economy has not only been able to avoid “hard landing,” but is stabilizing and improving with better structure and more jobs, said Li

He attributed the strong performance to a policy direction, administrative streamlining, mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

While attaching importance to developing promising new industries, Li also highlighted the elimination of excess production capacity, and upgrading traditional sectors using new technologies.

The premier also called for more efforts to let effective investment and upgraded consumption promote each other and use the domestic market as a “navigation light.”

He urged market players to participate in international competition and take the opportunities provided by the new round of science and technological revolution and industrial evolution.

The government should also make innovations in policy making, in areas such as stock option incentive mechanism, insurance, financial support, and government funding, to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, he said.




Friends of Wighton – latest update

From Sheena Wellington :

Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library.

Saturday 22nd April at 11am (doors open 10.30am).
Cappuccino Concert with  “Bring in the Spirit.”   Three of Scotland’s finest in one package – Rod Paterson, Kirsten Easdale and Gregor Lowrey – not to be missed! 

This is a seriously talented and exciting group.   Rod is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s great interpreters of Burns songs and has been rightly highly rated as one of Scotland’s great traditional singers for years since his days with bands like Jock Tamson’s Bairns and The Easy Club.

Kirsten of the beautiful and powerful voice, “’…a God given voice that knocks you sideways” (Evening Times), is also highly regarded as a singer of Burns songs and has given performances for ‘The Centre for Robert Burns Studies’ at the University of Glasgow, as well  as touring in Dr Fred Freeman’s live production of ‘The Complete Songs’.

Gregor is one of Scotland’s finest accordion players. He has travelled and performed throughout the world in many diverse line ups including ‘Blackeyed Biddy’ and ‘Ceilidh Minogue’. Recently Gregor was a guest artist Gavin Marwick’s album ‘The Long Road and the Far Horizons’ (Journeyman). He appeared in the film ‘What We Did on Our Holiday’ which featured Billy Connolly.

Tickets £5 (tea/coffee available for small donation).



70% Chinese buy new cellphones every two years

In a survey, 71.8 percent of respondents said they buy new mobile phones every two years or less on average.

A total of 16.8 percent said they change cellphones every year.

According to a survey published by the China Youth Daily Tuesday, among the 2,004 respondents, a total of 42 percent said they may upgrade their handsets even if there are no problems with their current phones.

More than 60 percent of them said brand is a major element when choosing a cellphone.

The newspaper said about 51.6 percent of the people surveyed were born in the 1980s, a total of 21.1 percent were born in the 1990s and 19.6 percent were born in the 1970s.

In the survey, about 82.4 percent of the people said smartphones have become an indispensable gadget in their lives, while they also heavily rely upon laptops, desktops and tablet computers.

About 63 percent of respondents said they would consider buying a new mobile phone if their old one has problems, while 42 percent said they might swap the old for new even though their old phone still works well.

Also, more than 32 percent said they would buy the latest model from their favorite brand.

While choosing a mobile phone, brand is the first element for most consumers, with other considerations being price, processor and camera performance, the survey said.

A total of 59.9 percent of survey respondents said smartphones and other digital products have made their lives more convenient, but 30.6 percent of the people also blamed them for the negative effects of their heavy reliance on such devices.




Putting Australian Workers First

The Turnbull Government will safeguard Australian jobs by abolishing the Subclass 457 Visa for foreign workers and creating a new temporary visa restricted to critical skills shortages.

This will ensure Australian workers are given the absolute first priority for jobs, while businesses will be able to temporarily access the critical skills they need to grow if skilled Australians workers are not available. 

The Subclass 457 Visa will be abolished and replaced with the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa. The new visa will include mandatory criminal checks and tighter English language requirements.

The new Temporary Skill Shortage Visa programme will comprise two streams – Short Term and Medium Term – and will be underpinned by more focused occupation lists that are responsive to genuine skill needs and regional variations across Australia.

Short term visas will be issued for two years, while medium term visas will be issued only for more critical skills shortages and for up to four years.

Both streams will include mandatory labour market testing with limited exemptions; a new non-discriminatory workforce test; mandatory criminal history checks; a market salary rate assessment and a new two-year work experience requirement.

Additionally there will be tightened English language requirements for the Medium Term Stream.

The new visa will also include a strengthened training obligation for employers sponsoring foreign skilled workers to provide enhanced training outcomes for Australians in high-need industries and occupations. 

These changes will give Australian job seekers more opportunity to find work while finding the right balance so businesses can prosper by acquiring the expertise they need.

Migration is an integral part of the Australian story and its success has helped us become the world’s most successful multicultural nation.

There is no doubt foreign workers have played a significant role in the remarkable economic growth of the nation.

More than 100,000 workers from 30 countries helped build the Snowy Hydro Scheme while John Howard’s decision to focus our permanent migration programme on bringing in skills has helped the nation enjoy more than two decades of continued economic growth.

This will continue but not at the expense of Australians finding work. Unlike Labor, the Turnbull government will always put Australian workers first.

Bill Shorten sold out Australian workers by allowing a record number of foreign workers into the country, many not filling critical skill shortages.

More than 110,000 foreign workers entered the country in 2013 under the then Labor government. Some were allowed to work in the fast food sector at the expense of young Australians who were looking for work.

That will not happen under this government. We are making it easier for Australians to find work and we have restored order to our borders so we can ensure foreign workers have an opportunity to arrive through the appropriate channels.

Implementation of the new visa will begin immediately, with full implementation to be completed by March 2018. 

Full details on the new visa and an explanation of transitionary arrangements for current 457 visa holders and applicants is available on the Department’s website.

The Government will announce further measures to strengthen the integrity of Australia’s migration programme and visa systems in the near future.