Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Foreign journalists deem nation’s progress impressive

Zaw Ye Aung (center), a journalist from Skynet Up to Date media in Myanmar, and other reporters touch a screen to learn about a cultural relic at the digital Palace Museum section of an exhibition showcasing China’s progress in the past five years. [Photo/China Daily] 

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China marks a historic point for the country and means a lot to the world, foreign reporters said on Friday when more than 50 of them visited an exhibition showcasing China’s progress in the past five years.

Zubair Qureshi, a senior correspondent from the Daily Pakistan Observer, said the exhibition shows the commitment and resolve of China to develop itself into a modern economy.

“I was impressed, particularly by Chinese models of nuclear submarines and other military equipment, since they looked to me quite effective,” he said.

The congress is a historic moment for China to develop into a moderately prosperous country, he said.

Many global issues can be resolved with China’s wisdom and experience, since the country is taking on a role as a global leader, he added.

Ronald Kato, a journalist from New Vision newspaper in Uganda, said it is amazing that China has made such remarkable progress in science and technology as well as in agriculture.

He said the report delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the congress on Wednesday recognized the challenges that China is going through and gives an idea of the direction that China wants to take.

“It would be interesting to see what China will be like according to his vision by 2050,” he said, adding that he thinks it will be a better place, and if China is a better place, the world will be a better place, too.

China is playing an increasingly important role in the international community, and the country is leading the way in global governance, he added.

Zaw Ye Aung, a journalist from Skynet Up to Date media in Myanmar, said the development of China over the past five years has been outstanding.

“The achievement in technology impresses me most. The C919 jet (the first large passenger aircraft produced in China) is one of the milestones of China,” he said.

Journalists around the world are interested in the congress, he said, adding that they can learn more about China from the congress.

read more

East Asia

Taxing the generations

The last Conservative Manifesto suggested that elderly people should have to pay more for their social care at home, to match the way they have to pay for residential care from the proceeds of selling their house. This was an unpopular proposal which has been abandoned as I understand the government’s position. It was an illustration of how people in the UK are not willing to pay more tax or to make a larger contribution to social services they enjoy.

Some now say there needs to be higher taxes on the elderly so the state can offer more to the young. I do not agree with this logic. It is one of the successes of recent years that more pensioners retire with a reasonable income than thirty years ago. It is good news that the basic state pension has gone up thanks to the so called triple lock the Coalition imposed. Why would we want to reverse progress for pensioners?

It is true we need to help young people more. The best help they can receive is a good education followed by plenty of decent job opportunities. In recent years the numbers of jobs have expanded, and considerable effort put into higher education, apprenticeships and training. The government  needs to press on with the task of improving education and training and providing a supportive framework for a growing economy.

It is true that more needs to be done to help young people buy their own home. Survey after survey shows that homeownership is the preferred tenure for most people. Many people currently renting would like to be able to afford to buy. The budget should tackle this matter most strenuously. It will need a new migration policy to back it up, to narrow the gap between housebuilding and demand for homes.

It would be a good idea to lower Stamp Duty. If we believe in home ownership as a good why do we tax it so much? It would be helpful to be supportive of lending and deposit schemes to assist young people with the capacity to service the debt into ownership. This does not require us to tax the elderly more.

The multi generational family may have substantial housing wealth amongst the old members. Maybe we also need new ways to share this if the family so wishes, and to ensure it can pass from one generation to the next without tax. The exemption of a family home from IHT for some people is a step on this road.

The high Stamp duties get in the way of elderly people trading down as well as adding to the costs of first time purchase in many  areas.

read more

John Redwood MP •

China bags 15 golds at WorldSkills contest

Jiang Yingcheng, a teacher from Hangzhou Technician Institute, competes in the car spraying event at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, which closed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday. Jiang won the gold medal. [Photo/China Daily] 

China topped the gold medal count at the 44th WorldSkills Competition which closed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.

China participated in 47 competition events and won 15 gold medals, seven silver medals and eight bronze medals. It’s the best performance by the Chinese delegation in the World-Skills Competition since it joined WorldSkills in 2010, and is the fourth time China has participated in the competition.

Zhang Lixin, head of the Chinese delegation at the competition, said China got gold medals in all six competition categories in the event, including manufacturing engineering and technology, transportation and logistics, and information and communication technology.

“China showed to the world the excellent skills of its young skilled talent in the World-Skills Competition. The good result the Chinese delegation got will also encourage Chinese youth and workers to develop in an atmosphere of respecting work, skills and creation and promoting the development of the country’s skilled talent,” said Zhang, who is also head of the Professional Capacity Building Department at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Around 1,260 competitors from 68 WorldSkills’ member countries and regions participated in 52 competition events this year. China sent the largest-ever delegation of 52 members, aged from 18 to 21. It was the first time that China participated in 18 of the events, Zhang said.

The 52 were chosen from more than 1,000 who took part in national competitions from last July to April this year, he said.

In 2015, China got gold medals for the first time at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition held in Sao Paolo, Brazil. In total, China got five gold medals, six silver medals and three bronze medals in the event.

China was also selected in Abu Dhabi on Oct 13 to host the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai in 2021. President Xi Jinping sent a video message in support of China’s bid to host the event.

The WorldSkills Competition occurs every two years and is the world’s biggest vocational education and skills excellence event.

The competitors are selected from WorldSkills’ member countries and regions and represent the best of their peers. They demonstrate technical abilities both individually and collectively to carry out specific tasks for which they study and will perform in the future.

China has 165 million skilled workers, and 47.91 million of them are highly skilled. Each year, more than 100 million people have access to technical and vocational education and training.

read more

East Asia