Tag: democracy

Disqualify me for life, put me in jail; but will keep fighting for democracy: Rahul Gandhi

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New Delhi: A combative Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he would continue to defend democracy in the country even if he is disqualified from Parliament for life or jailed and claimed that a “panic-stricken” government has handed the Opposition a “big weapon” by disqualifying him.
Addressing his first press conference after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Gandhi claimed that the action against him was taken because Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “scared” of his next speech in Parliament on the Adani issue and alleged that the “whole game” was to distract people from the issue and the panic the government was feeling over the matter.
He said he would continue to ask questions on the Adani issue, adding the moot questions remain that who invested Rs 20,000 crore in Adani shell firms and what is the businessman’s relationship with the prime minister. He vowed he will keep raising these questions.
Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction.
Asserting that “democracy has finished in this country”, the former Congress chief claimed that he never sought foreign intervention in his remarks made in the UK and accused Union ministers of “lying” against him in Parliament to which he said he wanted to respond but was not allowed.
He also said that the BJP was trying to divert the issue by alleging that he had insulted OBCs and he would continue to ask what is Modi’s relationship with businessman Gautam Adani.
“I am here defending the democratic voice of the Indian people, I will continue to do that. I am not scared of these threats, of these disqualifications, allegations, or prison sentences. I am not scared of them. These people don’t understand me yet, I am not scared of them,” he said, attacking the BJP.
“Disqualify me for life, put me inside the jail, I will keep going. I will not stop,” he said, noting that it makes no difference to him.

“I have been disqualified because the prime minister is scared of my next speech. I have seen it in his eyes. So he is terrified of the next speech that is going to come and does not want that speech to be in Parliament,” the former Congress chief alleged at the 30-minute press conference, flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and party general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal.
He claimed that his attack on Adani was the reason for distraction through allegations and now disqualification.
Hitting back, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad rubbished the contention that Gandhi’s conviction in a defamation case and his subsequent disqualification were linked to the latter raising the Adani Group issue and his conviction has come in defamation came for his defamatory remarks made in 2019.
Prasad alleged that Congress did not press its battery of lawyers in service to immediately obtain a stay on Gandhi’s conviction by a Gujarat court with a view to “encashing” the issue in the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka. The former union minister also charged Gandhi with insulting OBCs, “an issue that will be taken up in all earnestness by the BJP across the country”.
Gandhi, when asked if he was worried, quipped: “Do I look worried? I am excited, I am happy that they have given me the best gift that they could give me.”
He said when somebody is guilty of something, they want to distract everybody’s attention. “If you catch a thief, the first thing he says is ‘I didn’t do it’, the second thing he says is ‘look there, look there…’ That is what the BJP is doing.”
Asking where the money into Adani group has come from as Adani does not generate this type of money and that money has come from someone,” he said all this drama – OBC, disqualification, anti-national, is being orchestrated to distract from the panic that prime minister is feeling that his relationship with Adani is going to be exposed.
“That relationship is going to be exposed. Nobody is going to stop that. It is going to happen because the opposition is going to find that answer,” he said.
Asked if he was hopeful that his membership would be restored, Gandhi said, “I am not interested in hope. (Whether) Whether I get my membership back or not, I will do my job. Even if they permanently disqualify me I will do my job, if they reinstate me, I will do my job. It does not matter to me whether I am in Parliament or outside it. I have to do my ‘tapasya’ and I will keep doing it,” he said.
The Congress leader also thanked Opposition parties for extending support to him and asserted that going forward, all of them will work together.
Asked about the consequences of his disqualification, Gandhi said the Opposition will benefit the most from this “panic reaction of Prime Minister Modi”.
“They got into panic mode that the truth will come out. They have handed over the biggest weapon to the Opposition because people have a question on their mind… and the question is why is the prime minister saving this corrupt person,” Gandhi alleged.
He said he will continue to fight for the truth in the country and to defend the democratic nature of this country.
“I will do whatever I have to do to defend the democratic nature of the country. What does that mean? It means defending the institutions of the country, defending the voice of the poor people of the country, it means telling the people of this country the truth about people like Mr Adani who are basically exploiting the relationship with the prime minister,” Gandhi said.
He alleged that for the BJP-led government, “country is Adani and Adani is country”.
Asked about the BJP’s charge that his 2019 remarks that were the center of the defamation case were an insult to OBCs, Gandhi said he has always talked about brotherhood and the issue was not about OBCs but about Adani and his ties to the government.
In response to another question, Gandhi said, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi, Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”
Asked about the defamation case in which he was convicted, Gandhi said it is a legal matter and he will not comment on it.
He also said attacks are being made on democracy in the country and examples of it keep manifesting from time to time.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 25, 2023
World does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from Pakistan: India at UNHRC

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Geneva: India on Thursday said the world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from Pakistan whose contribution as a leading exporter of terror and violence is unparalleled and where terrorists thrive and roam its streets with impunity.
Exercising India’s Right of Reply at the 52nd Session of Human Rights Council General Debate, Under Secretary Dr. P R Thulasidass also called on Pakistan to focus on the safety, security and well-being of its minority communities instead of engaging in futile propaganda and attempting to foment communal disharmony in India.
“From a country where terrorists thrive and roam its streets with impunity, the world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights. Pakistan’s contribution as a leading exporter of terror and violence is unparalleled,” Thulasidass said.
He underlined that Pakistan is home to as many as 150 UN designated terrorists and terrorist entities listed by the UN, and these proscribed individuals have actively campaigned and contested in elections.
“Can Pakistan deny the fact that impunity reigns supreme in the country as perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks continue to roam free?…Can Pakistan deny the fact that the world’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was found living in Pakistan near a military academy, sheltered and protected by the deep State?” he asked.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of India, Thulasidass said that the union territory is marching towards peace and prosperity along with the rest of India.
“This is despite Pakistan’s repeated attempts to derail the process, through its active and sustained support to terror groups and its malicious disinformation campaign against India. The delegate of Pakistan has voiced Pakistan’s frustration due to its failure in its malicious propaganda against India,” the Indian diplomat said.
Thulasidass said the pluralistic democracy of India is mature enough to address any issues including those instigated from outside.

“India is a secular State and safeguarding the rights of minorities forms an essential core of our polity. What minorities receive in Pakistan are blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, discrimination, denial of basic rights and freedoms, enforced disappearances and killings,” he said.
Noting that the extent of religious discrimination is reflected in the loss of life, liberty and property on the mere accusations of blasphemy laws, the Indian diplomat said that Pakistan today stands out as the country having more cases of blasphemy than the rest of the world put together in the past few years.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
Finland on course for NATO membership after Hungarian vote

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The Hungarian parliament ratified Finland’s NATO membership on Monday, putting Helsinki one step closer to joining the alliance but leaving Sweden waiting in the wings.
Members of Hungary’s parliament voted by a margin of 182 to 6 in favor of Finnish accession.
Helsinki now only needs the Turkish parliament’s approval — expected soon — to become a NATO member.
Hungary’s move comes after repeated delays and political U-turns.
Hungarian officials spent months telling counterparts they had no objections and their parliament was simply busy with other business.
Budapest then changed its narrative last month, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — who has an iron grip over his ruling Fidesz party — arguing the point that some of his legislators had qualms regarding criticism of the state of Hungarian democracy.
Finland and Sweden have been at the forefront of safeguarding democratic standards in Hungary, speaking out on the matter long before many of their counterparts.
But earlier this month — just as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that he will support Finland’s NATO membership — the Fidesz position flipped again, with its parliamentary group chair then announcing support for Helsinki’s bid.

Turkey’s parliament is expected to ratify Finnish membership soon. But it is keeping Sweden in limbo, as Turkish officials say they want to see the country implement new anti-terror policies before giving Ankara’s green light.
Following in Turkey’s footsteps, Hungary is now also delaying a decision on Sweden indefinitely — prompting criticism from Orbán’s critics.
Attila Ara-Kovács, a member of the European Parliament from Hungary’s opposition Democratic Coalition, said that Orbán’s moves are part of a strategy to fuel anti-Western attitudes at home.
The government’s aim is “further inciting anti-Western and anti-NATO sentiment within Hungary, especially among Orbán’s fanatical supporters — and besides, of course, to serve Russian interests,” he said.
“This has its consequences,” Ara-Kovács said, adding that “support for the EU and NATO in the country is significantly and constantly decreasing.”
A recent Eurobarometer poll found that 39 percent of Hungarians view the EU positively. A NATO report, published last week, shows that 77 percent of Hungarians would vote to stay in the alliance — compared to 89 percent in Poland and 84 percent in Romania.
But Hungarian officials are adding the spin that they do support Sweden’s NATO membership.
The Swedish government “constantly questioning the state of Hungarian democracy” is “insulting our voters, MPs and the country as a whole,” said Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister’s political director (no relation to the prime minister).
It is “up to the Swedes to make sure that Hungarian MPs’ concerns are addressed,” he tweeted on Sunday. “Our goal,” he added, “is to support Sweden’s NATO accession with a parliamentary majority as broad as possible.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 23, 2023
Xi’s 3 EU magi — Huawei scoop — Biden’s democracy summit

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Voiced by artificial intelligence.
Decoding transatlantic relations with Beijing.
By STUART LAU
with PHELIM KINE

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GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, EUROPE AND AMERICA. A warm welcome to our very first — drumroll, drumroll — transatlantic China Watcher, helmed jointly by Stuart Lau in Brussels and Phelim Kine in Washington D.C. The name will be familiar to our American readers, but our European devotees, previously subscribed to China Direct, may need to sit down and steady themselves over the dramatic rebrand. But fear not, this twice-a-week newsletter will continue to bring you all the unmissable whispers on China from Europe’s corridors of power. From now on, our Tuesday edition will focus more on Europe-China ties, while the Thursday issue will bring you the latest on U.S.-China relations. Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?
A WEEK LIKE NO OTHER: Our debut relaunch hits your inbox on a remarkably action-packed week, full of diplomatic fanfare. In Washington, the White House today begins a three-day Summit for Democracy to confront Beijing. China’s leaders, in the meantime, are preparing to welcome their first European guests of the year at the end of March and in early April. Stay with us, and you won’t miss a beat. As always, email Stuart and Phelim with comments and tips.
DEBUT CHEAT SHEET
— U.S. President Joe Biden’s democracy summit kicks off today and there are signs the Europeans are finally getting the message on China.
— France’s Emmanuel Macron, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez and the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen are off to China to talk to Xi about Ukraine.
— POLITICO has a zinging scoop on Belgium’s spies looking into Huawei’s activities in Brussels — home to the EU and NATO.
TRANSATLANTIC MOVES ON CHINA
DEMOCRACY VS AUTHORITARIANISM: Today marks the beginning of the Biden administration’s second Summit for Democracy, and it comes amid signs that U.S. warnings to the EU — along with a full-blown war in Ukraine — are finally starting to sway European thinking on the threat to the liberal political order.
Welkom! The Netherlands will be the European co-host for the event, alongside South Korea, Zambia and Costa Rica. “From wars of aggression to changes in climate, societal mistrust and technological transformation, it could not be clearer that all around the world, democracy needs champions at all levels,” the White House said in a joint statement with the other hosts. This is obviously all about providing a counterweight to the Putin-Xi show and, remarkably, it’s not always been clear which way Europe would jump.
Biden snubbed: Think back to just after Biden won the November 2020 election and you’ll recall the Europeans were in no mood to listen to dire tidings from the U.S. about China and democracy. When Biden’s incoming administration sought to dissuade the Europeans from concluding an ill-fated investment deal with Beijing at the end of 2020, their concerns were brushed aside by EU kingpin, Germany, under the control of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel gave short shrift to Biden’s idea of an alliance of democracies pitted against China — positioning herself more closely with President Xi Jinping — by saying she wanted to avoid going back to Cold War blocs.
How things have changed: Europe is waking up to the security threat identified by Washington. Earlier this month, the Dutch government buckled to U.S. pressure and said that it would impose export restrictions on key machinery for microchip making destined for China. Several EU countries are also instructing their officials to stay off TikTok.
Even Germany is having a change of heart: Berlin has long been the EU heavyweight that finds it easiest to shrug off rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang as long as things are OK for car factory investments. But even here a significant rethink is under way, as Merkel’s own party now wants to disown her business-first ideology on China.
The Christian Democrats, now Germany’s largest opposition group, are arguing that the idea of keeping peace through economic cooperation “has failed with regard to Russia, but increasingly also China,” according to a 22-page draft paper seen by POLITICO’s Gabriel Rinaldi. “The rise of communist China is the central, epochal challenge of the 21st century for all states seeking to preserve, strengthen, and sustain the rules-based international order.”
Working with partners: Washington would love to read this. “The paper calls for a ‘Zeitenwende in China policy,’ too, concluding that Germany should … expand alliances and partnerships with interest and value partners.” Read Gabriel’s full story here. (Zeitenwende refers to Germany’s major security policy shift after the invasion of Ukraine in which it vowed to pour resources back into defense.)
Read the story on the state of the global battle for democracy by Phelim and yours truly.
CHINA-RUSSIA COLLAB: A Russian distributor is importing fibers and other items from China to manufacture body armor, including armored vests that have previously ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to trade and customs data obtained by POLITICO’s Erin Banco and Steven Overly.
A review of the data from November and December 2022 shows a Russian company linked to Moscow’s national guard and other law enforcement agencies is using parts imported by several Chinese companies, including one directly linked to the state, to manufacture the body armor. Some of those vests have been used by Russian troops in Ukraine, according to photos and videos posted online, and Ukrainians who are selling on eBay the vests they say they took from the battlefield. Here is the full story by Erin and Steven.
XI’S EUROPEAN GUESTS
CAN THEY CHANGE HIS MIND? Europe somehow believes it can talk China out of deepening ties with Russia. And that impression — shared above all by France’s President Emmanuel Macron — is of course what Beijing most desires, as it will look to exploit even the tiniest of transatlantic rifts as it prepares to welcome Macron and two other European guests at the end of this month and beginning of April.
Apart from Macron who leaves for Beijing a week from today (on April 4), Chinese President Xi Jinping will also receive European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will travel with the French president, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
For European leaders, the more support Russian obtains from China, the harder it will be to defeat Moscow economically and strategically. But what can they really hope to achieve?
MACRON’S GAME PLAN: The French president likes to style himself as Europe’s real leader, taking von der Leyen in tow. In a similar Roi-Soleil mode, back in 2019, he invited the German and EU leaders to a Parisian meeting with the visiting Xi.
Personal charm at play: Macron’s plan to build a personal rapport with Xi is clear from his itinerary. Apart from Beijing, he will also tour Guangzhou with Xi, whose father used to be the governor of the Guangdong province, where the city is located.
— C’est la liberté ! The choice of Guangzhou is also symbolic because the city historically stood for openness and an outward-facing mentality. Macron’s expected to meet university students there — a big gamble by the Chinese propaganda officials. It’s also a Chinese city no French president has ever visited.
Back to the main menu — Ukraine: All eyes will be on whether Macron can extract new pledges on Ukraine from Xi. Let’s remember that the French president’s strangely optimistic diplomatic whirligig with Russian President Vladimir Putin around the beginning of the war got exactly nowhere.
A French diplomatic source said: “President Macron will engage President Xi in order to convey strong messages on the war led by Russia, on issues such as stopping all attacks on civilian infrastructure or the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children.”
In his own words, Macron told journalists last week he would “try as much as possible to engage China … to put pressure on Russia to obviously not use chemical and nuclear weapons, but also do everything to stop the conflict, get back around the table of negotiations, and allow international law to be respected, i.e. the integrity territorial and sovereignty of Ukraine.”
HIS TRAVELING COMPANION WILL ALSO GIVE A SPEECH: EU Commission chief von der Leyen, who will be traveling with Macron, will first give a speech on EU-China relations this Thursday. Her choice of venue speaks volumes: The event will be hosted by the Mercator Institute for China Studies — currently under Chinese sanctions which have caused the EU-China investment agreement to be frozen by EU parliamentarians — as well as the European Policy Centre.
BUT FIRST, THE SPANISH ARRIVAL: Sánchez will arrive in Hainan Island on March 30, due to appear at the Boao Forum, China’s equivalent to the Davos World Economic Forum. He will then travel to Beijing to meet Xi.
Debating with Xi: According to Sánchez he will focus on “territorial integrity” when explaining the Ukraine question with Xi. “The most important thing … is that when this peace is reached in Ukraine, it will be fair and lasting,” he told journalists at the Ibero-American Summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. “When we talk about ‘fair’, I mean the respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which has been violated by Putin.”
TALKING BUSINESS, OF COURSE: Neither Spain nor France would expect to leave China without a focus on trade. Diplomats told China Watcher that Spain was expected to focus on tourism, while Macron pinned hopes on agriculture and aviation. Remember Macron used Xi’s trip to Paris in 2019 to deliver a devastating blow to then-U.S. President Donald Trump by landing a massive €30 billion deal for Airbus planes.
The French diplomatic source stressed that trade would be one of the topics with Xi, since EU businesses continue to see a lack of reciprocity and level-playing field in China. President Macron is expected to urge Xi to ensure the Chinese market will be opened further for French and European businesses.
EU CAN’T LOSE CHINA: Together with my colleagues Jacopo Barigazzi, Clea Caulcutt and Gregorio Sorgi, I had this write-up from European leaders’ reaction to the Xi-Putin meeting over last week’s European Council summit.
HUAWEI SCOOP
BELGIUM’S SPIES EYE HUAWEI: Belgium’s state intelligence services are scrutinizing the operations of Chinese technology giant Huawei in and around the EU and NATO headquarters in Brussels, POLITICO’s Samuel Stolton and Laurens Cerulus report this morning, citing confidential documents and three people familiar with the matter.
In recent months, Belgium’s spooks have requested interviews with former employees of the company’s lobbying operation in the heart of Brussels’ European district. The intelligence gathering is part of security officials’ activities to appraise how China may be using non-state actors to advance the interests of the Chinese state and its Communist party in Europe, the people said.
BELGIUM MATTERS: The country is host to the European Union and NATO HQs, which makes its intelligence service responsible for monitoring the spy threats these institutions face. But that’s not all: The country’s judicial investigators are also behind the massive probe into foreign state influence and corruption in the European Parliament dubbed Qatargate.
Belgian spies want to determine whether there are any direct ties between the Chinese state and the operation of Huawei’s Brussels office, the people said. Of particular interest, they added, are Huawei representatives who may have previously held posts in Brussels institutions with access to a network of EU contacts.
A Huawei spokesperson said the company was unaware of the company’s Brussels office staff being questioned by the intelligence service. The spokesperson reiterated Huawei’s insistence that the company is independent from the Chinese state.
Read our bombshell report online.
THREE MINUTES WITH…
STEFANO SANNINO, secretary-general of the European External Action Service, is Brussels’ man on the EU-U.S. Dialogue on China, with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman being his counterpart.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
How do you assess Xi’s visit to Moscow?
I think that the symbolism is self-explanatory, in the sense that they’re in a situation where Putin is very isolated internationally, [and there] is one country which is still providing political support to Putin. We do not see any pressure coming from China on Russia to withdraw their troops and to restore the international order.
China seems to be willing to be the one who will be mediating, but as a matter of fact, it looks like Russia is almost not willing to have any mediation, because they want their own direct contact with the United States. But the bottom line from this communiqué is that there is no opening to any kind of meaningful possibility to have an approach that could hint at the willingness of Russia to stop their military action.
Some in Europe seem to believe that having a tough line against China will push it toward Russia.
I honestly don’t think the balance of the strength is that we are pushing China towards Russia, because China does not need to be pushed. Russia is going directly to China, at a relatively cheap price, to be honest.
What’s the EU’s view of China’s wish to play a mediating role?
I don’t think there is any request on our side. For us the peace plan is [Ukrainian President] Zelenskyy’s point — that is what we are supporting politically. So from that point of view, I do not see a sort of matching between the peace formula of President Zelenskyy and the 12 points of the Chinese government.
What will be EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell’s message to his Chinese counterpart in the next exchange?
We need to be stressing that the European Union is not [having] any kind of policy to isolate [China] or to decouple. On the contrary, China [is] always a very relevant factor in the international scene. And so we need to be able to manage a complex relationship.
We will continue within the EU to continue discussing this. Because, again, it’s a fast, rapidly evolving situation, so it needs to be reconsidered on a regular basis.
Before his last meeting with Xi, Macron said Europe shouldn’t be naïve about China. Is today’s Europe still naïve?
Honestly, I think nobody’s naïve about it. I think that there is a very clear sense of what is happening. We need to have the maturity on both sides to understand that we are not necessarily sharing the same model, but these two models have to live together and have to interact. And we have to do in a way which is not naïve, where we understand the potential risk. The more we do that, the better I think we can move this relationship forward.
China likes to remind Europe about strategic autonomy — presumably to be autonomous from the U.S.?
Autonomy is a general concept. Autonomy does not mean being autonomous only from the United States. If you want to be autonomous, you have to be able to be autonomous from everybody. So it’s a global concept.
TRANSLATING WASHINGTON
TIKTOK’S HEARING FROM HELL: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s Thursday visit to Capitol Hill didn’t go well. A bipartisan cavalcade of lawmakers went after TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance and its relationship with China’s government, as well as TikTok’s alleged noxious effects on mental health, especially for teenagers.
Chew’s defense of the platform — that he has no working relationship with the CCP, that it’s working on content moderation, that user data from U.S. consumers is stored in America — was unconvincing to lawmakers. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said U.S. lawmakers“attacked the company based on the presumption of guilt.” POLITICO’s Calder McHugh and Ari Hawkins have the full story here.
BEIJING SLAMS U.S. NAVY ‘SOVEREIGNTY VIOLATION’: Beijing said that Chinese naval forces “warned off” an “illegal entry” by the guided missile destroyer USS Milius into Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea last week. The Milius’s alleged intrusion “violated China’s sovereignty…and jeopardized the peace and stability in the relevant waters,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday. The U.S. 7th Fleet published a statement that dismissed that allegation as “false” and said that the Milius “was not expelled” by any Chinese vessel. China’s Defense Ministry accused the Milius of a second incursion into Chinese waters on Friday. That constituted “provocative behaviors” that could reap “serious consequences,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Tan Kefei warned in a statement.
BIDEN, TRUDEAU SLAM CHINA’S ‘DISRUPTIVE ACTIONS’: U.S. President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared China “serious long-term challenge to the international order,” in a joint statement following their meeting in Ottawa on Friday. The statement singled out Beijing’s “disruptive actions such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices and human rights abuses.”
BLINKEN: FY24 BUDGET WILL ‘OUTCOMPETE’ CHINA: Biden’s 2024 financial year budget allocations for the State Department and USAID are necessary to “outcompete” China,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. That spending aims to ensure that “what we and our fellow democracies have to offer…is more attractive than the alternative being proposed” by Beijing, Blinken told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday.
CHINA HOUSE CHIEF’S SECRET SHANGHAI VISIT: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China and Taiwan, Rick Waters, made a low key visit to Hong Kong and Shanghai last week, Hong Kong media reported on Friday. Waters’ itinerary in Shanghai included meetings with senior staff at the Shanghai Institute of International Affairs, said a statement posted Wednesday on the organization’s website. Waters – who is also the coordinator of the State Department’s Office of China Coordination, or China House – may have been testing the waters for a rescheduling of Secretary of State Blinken’s trip to China after the furor over the Chinese spy balloon postponed his originally-planned visit. A China House spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
TRANSLATING CHINA
MEETING THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is keen to undercut his successor Tsai Ing-wen, and he’s found his moment. As Tsai’s getting ready to travel to Central America via the U.S., Ma began an unprecedented trip to mainland China — to “pay respects to his ancestors” according to his spokespeople.
The trip, which started yesterday, made Ma the first former Taiwanese president to visit the other side of the Taiwan Strait since the split in 1949. A proponent of closer ties with China, Ma will stay until April 7, while he’s also leading a group of Taiwanese students to meet some Chinese counterparts.
Ma met Chinese President Xi in Singapore in late 2015 while he was about to leave office. Will he meet Xi or other top officials again this time? His aides say Ma’s not planning to visit Beijing, but didn’t rule out the possibility. “As guests, we are at our hosts’ disposal,” the aide told journalists.
MANY THANKS TO: Editor Christian Oliver, Laurens Cerulus, reporters Samuel Stolton, Gabriel Rinaldi, Clea Caulcutt, Jacopo Barigazzi, Gregorio Sorgi, Calder McHugh, Ari Hawkins, Erin Banco, Steven Overly and producer Grace Stranger.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 23, 2023
Rahul Gandhi has crossed all bounds of democracy: Nadda

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New Delhi: BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday accused Rahul Gandhi of overstepping all bounds of democracy and said he should be sent packing “lock, stock and barrel” in a democratic manner.
“Those who do not believe in democracy have no place in a democracy,” Nadda said in his address after virtually inaugurating the ‘National Youth parliament’ of his party’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, being held in Chennai.
The Congress has become mentally bankrupt, the BJP chief said while alleging that Gandhi “instigated” foreign powers like the US and European countries to interfere in India’s internal affairs by claiming that they were “oblivious” while democracy was under threat in India.
“Rahul Gandhi has crossed all bounds of democracy,” he said.
What kind of statements he makes, Nadda asked, saying the people of India do not listen to him, but merely tolerate him.
“Rahul Gandhi not merely insulted the nation by his shameful remarks about the democratic values of India, but also invited the foreign nations to intervene in our country,” the BJP president said.
He should be sent packing in a democratic manner, Nadda said.
The Congress, however, has rejected the BJP’s charge, with Gandhi seeking permission to speak in Parliament to answer the ruling party members’ criticism of his comments in Britain.

The Congress has claimed that the BJP is “misrepresenting” his remarks to divert attention from the Adani issue.
Parliament’s budget session has been a washout since the beginning of its second part on March 13, with the BJP demanding an apology from Gandhi.
During his interactions in the UK, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy were under attack and there was a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions.
Gandhi’s remarks have triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hit back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising internal politics abroad.
In his address, Nadda also focussed on the positive changes for the youth the government has brought to the country.
“Under Modi Ji’s leadership, India has been truly transformed. This is the right time for the youth,” he said, citing the rising number of professional educational institutions like the IIMs, IITs, and medical colleges besides universities.
The BJP president claimed that India was seen by others before 2014 as one of the most “corrupt” nations which “crawled on its knees” and followed others. It was marred by policy paralysis, he said.
Under Modi’s leadership, it has become a leading country that shows the way to the world, with the prime minister pulling the country out of corruption, criminalization, and dynastic rule, and putting it on the path of inclusive development, Nadda said.
“Modi has ensured a huge financial allocation and support for the players to enable them to play with the best of their capacity in the upcoming Olympics, Asian Games, and many other sports events,” he said, adding that the National Air Sport Policy 2022 is another significant development.
It lays out the vision of making India one of the top sports nations by 2030 by providing a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable, and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India, he said.
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#Rahul #Gandhi #crossed #bounds #democracy #Nadda
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 19, 2023
Hurt by success of India’s democracy and institutions, some people attacking it: PM Modi

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the success of India’s democracy and its institutions is hurting some people and that is why they are attacking it, in an apparent swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the state of democracy in the country.
When the country is full of confidence and resolve, and intellectuals of the world are optimistic about India, talk of pessimism, showing the country in poor light and hurting the morale of the country also takes place, he said at the India Today Conclave.
“When something auspicious is happening, there is a tradition to apply ‘kaala tika’, so when so many auspicious things are happening, some people have taken the responsibility to apply this ‘kaala tika’,” Modi said, without naming anyone.
His remarks come amid a political slugfest over Gandhi’s remarks during his recent visit to the UK, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign intervention.
Modi said India has shown the world democracy can deliver.
He said, “The success of India’s democracy and its institutions is hurting some people and that is why they are attacking it.”
Modi said he is confident that despite such attacks, the country will move forward to meet its objectives.
Targeting the Opposition, Modi said scams used to make the headlines earlier but now the “corrupt” joining hands over action against them is making news.

The world is stating that this is India’s moment and this has been made possible because of the change of promise and performance in the country, Modi said.
The prime minister said all governments worked according to their abilities and got results according, but his government wanted new results and worked on a different speed and scale.
“Today India is the fastest growing economy in the world, it is the number one in smartphone data consumers, it is the second biggest mobile manufacturer and has the third biggest startup ecosystem,” he said.
Leading economists, analysts and thinkers of the world are saying in one voice that it is India’s moment, the prime minister said.
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#Hurt #success #Indias #democracy #institutions #people #attacking #Modi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023
Congress party is in danger, not democracy: Nadda in poll bound Karnataka

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Molakalmuru: BJP national President J P Nadda on Friday said, it is Congress party and not democracy which is in danger in the country, as he attacked that party’s leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks in London.
He also accused the Congress leader of challenging India’s sovereignty, and urged the public to make such people sit at home.
“The way in which Congress is moving towards mental bankruptcy is reprehensible and painful. The kind of activities that the Congress party is involved in these days and what their leader Rahul Gandhi is doing is condemnable,” Nadda said.
Addressing a public meeting here, he said, Congress leaders are involved in corruption, commission, criminalisation, and divide and rule is their policy.
“Now they have crossed all limits….Rahul Gandhi goes to England and raises questions on India’s sovereignty. He says democracy has ended here. During the recent Assembly polls- in Nagaland Congress got zero, five seats in Meghalaya and three in Tripura. It is not democracy that is in danger, your party (Congress) is in danger,” he added.
The BJP President was addressing a public meeting here as part of the party’s ‘Vijaya Sankalpa Yatre’, ahead of Assembly polls by May. He was referring to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks made in London — that structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack”.
Further hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for allegedly seeking America and Europe’s intervention into the issue of democracy in India, he said, “Should we allow such leaders to remain (in politics)? They should be made to sit at home.”
Rahul Gandhi is challenging India’s sovereignty, he said, as he targeted the Congress for trying to preach about democracy. Nadda pointed out that it was the Congress government at the Centre that imposed emergency on the country under Indira Gandhi’s leadership.
Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel, state Ministers R Ashoka, B Sriramulu among others were present at the public meeting.

Earlier in the day, the BJP President held roadshows at Challakere and Molakalmuru, as part of the Yatre.
Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has played a key role in changing the political culture in the country, Nadda said the politics propagated by Congress was of corruption, commission, criminalisation, dynastic rule, but the PM with a responsible leadership has begun the politics of report card in the country.
A strong and responsible government that believes in serving the people, has been established by PM Modi, he said, highlighting the concept of “New India”, and listed out India’s growth as the fifth largest economy, and in sectors like automobile, digital payments, mobile phone manufacturing, among others.
Affirming that Karnataka’s picture has changed, thanks to the push given by the “double engine government” (BJP govts both in centre and state) in various sectors and in infrastructure, the BJP President said, the state stands number one in FDI inflow, innovation, startups among other areas.
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#Congress #party #danger #democracy #Nadda #poll #bound #Karnataka
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
The Federalist Society Isn’t Quite Sure About Democracy Anymore

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On the dais, the panelists squirmed at the invocation of such pedestrian political ideas, and Alicea offered some high-level philosophical objections to the idea that America should fracture into independent ideological entities. But the question seemed to linger in the room: If the disagreements over democratic first principles are as serious as Alicea had suggested, then was the idea of a wholesale political rupture really so radical? 
The possibility of dramatic changes to America’s democratic order also hung over a panel on election law, where Richard Pildes, a professor of constitutional law at New York University, briefed the audience on Moore v. Harper, a case that is currently awaiting judgment from the Supreme Court. The case, which arose from a challenge to North Carolina’s redistricting plan, is widely viewed by legal scholars as a referendum on the controversial independent state legislature theory, which posits that state legislatures should be allowed to exert broad control over the execution of federal elections. 
From the stage, Pildes — who testified about the dangers of the theory before the House last year —  seemed confident that the justices were not poised to endorse the theory in its most radical form. But even as the several panelists acknowledged the disruptive nature of the theory, none of them seemed eager to acknowledge that the four members of the Court who have flirted with the idea — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — all maintain close ties to the Federalist Society. 
That omission hinted at a deeper dilemma facing the Federalist Society. Despite accusations from liberals that the society is merely the eggheaded puppet of the Republican Party, many of the society’s members genuinely view themselves as independent-minded intellectuals, committed to the principles of individual freedom, judicial restraint and the rule of law. For the past two decades, the society’s members have pointed to those principles to justify the conservative movement’s efforts to weaken democratic norms and institutions, without having to go so far as to explicitly argue that a minority of Americans should be allowed to impose their will on the whole country. 
But now, as the American right lurches toward a more explicitly anti-democratic position,  the society’s members are face to face with a troubling possibility: that most conservatives couldn’t care less about their high-minded principles, and, even worse, that many of their allies view their attachment to those principles as a quaint — and slightly embarrassing — relic of the bygone era when conservatives still had to be coy about what they actually believed. And whether or not those criticisms are true, there was a definite sense of cognitive dissonance at the conference, where many of the panelists appeared willing to endorse the logic of anti-democratic arguments but shied away from those arguments’ more radical conclusions.
The next morning at breakfast, I met a law student from the University of Tulsa named James Carroll — who was, like me, one of the few male attendees not wearing a suit and tie. He told me he had grown up in Arizona before moving to Tulsa for law school, where he had fallen in love with Oklahoma, married his long-time girlfriend, and set down roots. He had recently accepted a job at the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office, where he had worked as an intern in law school. 
As we got talking, he described a vision of democracy that I hadn’t heard much of from the panelists the day before — democracy as something immediate, something pragmatic, something that people interact with in their daily lives and not just in philosophy textbooks.
“On the national level, democracy’s just a construct, but on the local level, it’s not a construct at all,” he said. 

I asked him what a functioning local democracy meant to him.
“Keeping your community safe, keeping murderers off the street, making sure people who need mental health support can get connected with those services,” he answered. He said his favorite part of his internship in the D.A.’s office during law school had been helping people who were struggling with mental health problems, and that his work on that issue had been part of what led him to join the office after graduation.
“Democracy,” he said, “works best on a small scale, in your community.”  
‘Maybe We Need More Shitposters’
The Federalist Society was founded by law students, and advancing the careers of ambitious, right-leaning lawyers has remained a major element of its work. That work begins on law school campuses, where local chapters host speakers and events, and it extends all the way to Washington, where the Federalist Society has become the GOP’s go-to clearinghouse for major judicial appointments. Although much of the national media attention has focused on the organization’s role in supporting Republican Supreme Court nominations, its presence on law school campuses has also been a source of controversy, especially since the Dobbs decision. Just last week, a Federalist Society event at Stanford Law School made national headlines after protesters heckled U.S. Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee to the Fifth Circuit, causing him to cut his remarks short.
In recent years, however, the Federalist Society has come under fire not only from its traditional opponents on the left, but also from some erstwhile allies on the right. According to these conservative critics, the Federalist Society has excelled at training monkish young lawyers to fill the ranks of the federal judiciary, but it has been less successful at inspiring those same professionals to eschew prestigious clerkships and partner-track jobs in favor of manning the front lines of an all-out war on the American political establishment. 
Or as Theo Wold, a former Trump administration official who now works for Idaho’s attorney general, recently put it during an interview on the American Moment podcast, which is popular with young conservatives, “Maybe [conservatives] don’t need any more well-credential lawyers. Maybe we need more shitposters from Twitter.” 
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#Federalist #Society #Isnt #Democracy #Anymore
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 17, 2023
LS adjourned for day amid protests over Rahul Gandhi’s ‘democracy’ remarks

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New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Friday due to slogan shouting by the opposition and protests by the ruling party members over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “democracy-under-attack” remarks made in London recently.
This was for the fifth consecutive day that the House did not function ever since the second part of the budget session began on March 13.
As soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, some Congress members trooped to the Well of the House shouting slogans and demanded that Gandhi be allowed to speak in the House.
They also demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into alleged stock manipulation by the Adani Group, a business conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.
The members of the treasury benches also raised counter-slogans from their seats, demanding an apology from Gandhi for his remarks.
The turmoil continued for about 20 minutes, with Speaker Om Birla urging the members to allow the House to function smoothly.
“Honourable members, I appeal to you to allow the House to run smoothly. People did not send you here to do this. I will give everyone an opportunity to speak, but the House has to be in order,” he said.
The protesting members ignored his pleas and the speaker adjourned the House for the day. It will meet again on March 20.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several other Union ministers were present in the House.
During his interactions in London, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions.
The remarks triggered a political slugfest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising internal politics abroad.
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#adjourned #day #protests #Rahul #Gandhis #democracy #remarks
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 17, 2023
Macron on the brink: How French pensions revolt could wreck his presidency

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PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron will face a moment of reckoning Thursday as lawmakers gear up for a final vote on the government’s deeply unpopular pension reform.
The controversial bill, a centerpiece of Macron’s second term, has sparked weeks of nationwide protests led by trade unions and faced intense criticism from both the far left and the far right in the National Assembly.
The French president wants to increase the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62 and extend contributions for a full pension in an effort to balance the accounts of France’s state pensions system — among the most generous in the world. According to projections from France’s Council of Pensions Planning, the finances of the pensions system are balanced in the short term but will go into deficit in the long term.

Despite government concessions on various aspects of the bill in recent weeks, opposition to the reform remains very high, with polls saying two-thirds of French citizens oppose it.
Speculation is running high that Macron might not have enough support in the National Assembly, and may choose a constitutional maneuver to bypass parliament — in a move that could unleash a political storm in France.
On Thursday, the French Senate and the National Assembly are expected to cast a crucial vote on the second reading of the bill, after the Senate voted in favor last week. The outcome will determine the shape of Macron’s second term and stands to bear heavily on his legacy.
The worst case: Macron loses the vote in parliament
Losing the parliamentary vote would be a stunning defeat for the French president, who pinned his bid for a second term on his promises to reform France’s pensions system. But political commentators have been speculating in recent days that Macron’s Renaissance party doesn’t have enough votes to pass the bill.
The French president lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly in parliamentary elections last June. He has since been forced into making ad-hoc deals with MPs from France’s conservative party Les Républicains. But the once-mighty conservatives appear split on the reform, despite assurances this week from their leader Olivier Marleix that there was “a clear majority” backing the bill.
A defeat in parliament would have seismic and long-term repercussions for Macron’s second term and it is likely that the president’s trusted lieutenant Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne would have to resign in such a scenario. Party heavyweights however say they will not shy away from seeking a vote.
“There will be a vote, we want a vote, everyone must take its responsibilities,” said Aurore Bergé, leader of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly.
“There can be an accident … we’ll manage it as we can,” admitted Jean-Paul Mattei, a centrist MP who belongs to Macron’s coalition, with reference to a defeat in parliament.
However, this is the most unlikely scenario as expectations are that the government will bypass a vote if they sense that they are short on votes.
Protestors hold an effigy of French President Emmanuel Macron, during a demonstration on the 8th day of strikes and protests across the country against the government’s proposed pensions overhaul in Paris on March 15, 2023 | Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images
Pretty bad: Macron bypasses parliament and loses credibility
In the face of a potential defeat in the National Assembly, Macron has a nuclear option: invoke article 49.3 of the French constitution. This mechanism allows the government to force through legislation without submitting it to a vote.
While the constitutional maneuver may seem like an easy way out, it’s a highly risky move as it allows lawmakers to table a motion of no confidence within 24 hours. Macron’s government has faced down motions of no confidence in the past but the stakes are much higher this time around.
Beyond surviving a motion of no-confidence, Macron and Borne will also come under fire for refusing to submit to the democratic process.
According to Frédéric Dabi, general director of the IFOP polling institute, the impact on public opinion if the government uses the 49.3 article as opposed to passing a tight vote in parliament would be “radically different.”
“Public opinions on the 49.3 article have changed … it is regarded as a tool to brutalize the National Assembly: it’s now seen as authoritarian instead of merely authoritative. People want more transparency, more democracy today,” he said.
France’s hardline unions would no doubt use this to stoke unrest and call for further strike action.
Trade union leader Laurent Berger has warned the government against using the 49.3 article, saying that it would be “incredible and dangerous.”
“Nobody can predict what will happen, the protest movement seems to be running out of steam, but if the government invokes article 49.3 it could be read as forcing the issue and may relaunch the protest movement,” said Dabi.
Still not great: Macron wins vote but faces mass protests
If the French president wins the vote in parliament, it’ll be seen as a victory but one that may completely drain his political capital, and whip up protests on the streets.
“It’ll be a victory for Macron, but it’ll only bear its fruit in the long term. In the short term, he’ll face a tense country where relations have become very strained,” said Chloé Morin, a writer and political analyst.
Trade union leader Berger has said that he would “take on board” the result of Thursday’s vote in parliament. But protests, which have been almost weekly since January, may continue nonetheless across the country in an effort to force the government into backing down and withdrawing the text.
Morin thinks it is unlikely there will be “an explosion of protests” after the vote as people are resigned to seeing it pass.
French police officers intervene during a protest by local council employees against the government’s retirement reform in front on the prefecture in Seine Saint-Denis, in Bobigny, a surburb of Paris on March 14, 2023 | Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images
“However, the protest movement might become more radical with lightning protests or sabotages, led by a minority in the citizens’ movement,” said Morin.
In October last year, industrial action in France’s refineries led to nationwide shortages at petrol stations, forcing the government to intervene in what was seen as Macron’s biggest challenge since his re-election last year.
There are dangerous precedents for Macron too. In December 2019, the government was forced to abandon a new green tax when faced with the explosive Yellow Vests protests that shook the political establishment.

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#Macron #brink #French #pensions #revolt #wreck #presidency
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 15, 2023