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Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Xi urges urban planning, preparation for the Winter Olympics

Chinese President Xi Jinping has identified Beijing’s urban planning and development, and preparation for its upcoming Winter Olympic Games as the two major tasks for the city at present and in the near future.

Xi made the remark during his inspection tour in Beijing between Feb. 23 and 24, during which he visited the city’s new airport, the Wukesong Sports Center, the Capital Gymnasium, the office of Beijing’s sub-center and the Grand Canal Forest Park.

During his visit to the construction site of the new airport, Xi stressed the control of standards and quality of the project and urged proper relocation and settlement of the people living nearby.

As a landmark project in China’s capital Beijing, the new international airport will become a driving force for the country’s development and it should adopt the strictest standards in its construction and the most advanced technology and expertise in its management, said Xi as he visited the site of the main terminal building.

At the Wukesong Sports Center and the Capital Gymnasium, both venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Xi emphasized the importance of learning from foreign experience and technology innovation in stadium planning, design and construction.

At the construction center of Beijing’s sub-center in eastern Tongzhou District, Xi stressed good overall planning as well as functional design of its landscape and buildings.

Later, Xi visited the Grand Canal Forest Park and was debriefed on the history, culture, water treatment and ecological protection of Tongzhou District. He highlighted the importance of protecting historical and cultural heritage and the ecological environment along the canal during the construction of the sub-center.

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Sneaking out announcement asking departments to model cuts of 3 per cent and 6 per cent is no way to manage public spending – John McDonnell

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on reports that the Treasury has asked government departments to prepare for cuts of 3 per cent and 6 per cent, for 2019/20, said:

“For all Hammond’s talk of ‘resetting’ the Tory Government’s economic policy last summer it is now beyond doubt that Hammond represents more of the same Tory austerity.

“Sneaking out an announcement asking departments to model cuts of 3 per cent and 6 per cent for 2019/20 is no way to manage public spending.

“Hammond urgently needs to explain why this announcement was made in the way it was and why after seven years of failed austerity he thinks more of the same will now work.”

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