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APEC Health Task Force Outlines Priorities for the Year Ahead The APEC Health Task Force (HTF) has agreed on its 2006 Work Plan that includes a joint action plan to address health and economic impacts of infectious disease and in particular deal with pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The Work Plan was finalized by the HTF at their meeting in Ha Noi on February 27-28 and was today formally endorsed by APEC Senior Officials. The HTF will also provide significant support to the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics that will be held in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on May 4-5. HTF Chair, Mr Ian Shugart, said key issues in the Work Plan include implementing measures to help APEC Member Economies to prepare for the threat posed by potential pandemics. "With the growing spread of pathogenic avian influenza around the world, including economies in the region, APEC members are working together to prepare to deal with this threat to our people and our economies," Mr Shugart said. "While the H5N1 avian influenza has not mutated to the degree which allows human-to-human transmission, it is the greatest known emerging infectious disease threat currently facing the global community. "The work plan focuses on areas such as risk communications and public awareness of issues relating to pandemics and ensuring the continuity of business and economic activities in the event of a crisis. "As part of the plan a workshop, will be convened in Da Nang to strengthen the capacity of economies in the region to build communications networks that will be essential in the event of a pandemic outbreak. The workshop will take place on the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics." Mr Shugart said another priority of the HTF will be pursuing activities to strengthen the ability of APEC economies to respond to HIV/AIDS. "Estimates are that more than 40 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS in 2005," Mr Shugart said. "The APEC Health Task Force will continue to pursue activities designed to strengthen the ability of APEC Member Economies to respond to HIV/AIDs. "A focus of this work will be creating an enabling environment for employers to implement effective workplace practices for people living with HIV/AIDS and supporting prevention activities inn work place settings." A further symposium on Emerging Infectious Diseases will be held in Beijing in April as part of the HTF 2006 Work Plan.(by Ha Noi, Viet Nam)
Thousands of women from villages and cities across patriarchal Asia took to the streets Wednesday for International Women's Day to press for freedom, equal rights and an end to discriminatory laws. In Pakistan, 5,000 women rallied in Multan, a city in the eastern Punjab province, many chanting "Women demand freedom!" and "Women demand their rights!" Among leaders of the rally was Mukhtar Mai, a woman who was gang-raped in 2002 on orders by a council of villagers near Multan as punishment for her brother's alleged affair with a woman from a higher caste family. Mai drew international attention after she spoke publicly about her ordeal. "I have dedicated my life to women's rights. Wherever a woman is oppressed, I will go there and fight for her rights," Mai told reporters at the rally, which was organized by a women's rights group. About 1,000 other women, mainly school and college girls, staged a demonstration in front of Parliament in the capital, Islamabad, demanding that a law making it difficult to press rape charges be repealed. Some 300 women rallied in the southern city of Karachi pressing the same demand. They carried banners that read, "We reject all laws discriminatory to women." Under the Hudood Ordinance, the testimony of four witnesses is required to prosecute a rape case, making punishment almost impossible because such attacks rarely happen in public. Thousands of cases of abuse against women are reported in Pakistan each year, including "honor killings" of women murdered by male relatives because of accusations of adultery or marrying without family consent. In mostly Muslim Bangladesh, where women lead the ruling and main opposition political parties, thousands joined calls for an end to attacks with flesh-burning acid that leaves hundreds of women disfigured each year. Protests took place in nearly 30 cities across Bangladesh on Wednesday with both men and women marching together. They carried placards and banners, reading, "No more acid attacks on women" and "Raise funds for acid victims." "We have no other choice but to fight against such heinous crimes," said, Motiur Rahman, one of the organizers of the rally. Most of the victims are women attacked by spurned lovers, but recently more men and children are being splashed with the agonizingly painful sulfuric acid in family arguments or disputes over property, victim support groups say. The chemical is easily obtained from battery shops or jewelers, who use it to brighten precious metals. "We are here today to promise that we will make acid terrorism a history," Ilias Kanchan, a popular film star, told the Dhaka rally. "We have to end this terrorism at any cost." In Indonesia's tsuanmi-ravaged province of Aceh, hundreds of women protested what they said was unequal treatment under Islamic law. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia to have imposed Shariah law, which requires women to wear headscarves and men to pray five times a day. But the women complain that they are the only ones to be targeted by the heavy-handed religious police. "Some of my friends were detained by the Shariah police just because they wore jeans," said Raihan, 23, a protest organizer. Protesters also urged parliament to allow women greater freedom in dress. "Women in tight dresses are not demons or corrupt," one march leader declared. In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, hundreds more women marched against a proposed anti-pornography bill that as well as barring nudity in art, would also make the baring of legs or shoulders in public a crime. The bill also calls for prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to US$100,000 (euro83,672) for kissing in public. "This is just another form of discrimination," Mariana, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, told the crowd. "We have to stand up against this kind of oppression." Indonesia has a secular government, and most of the country's 190 million Muslims practice a less austere form of the faith than many Islamic nations in the Middle East and South Asia. But a handful of Muslim-based political parties are pushing for the passage of the bill to prevent the country's "moral decay." In Kuala Lumpur, a moderate Muslim nation, delegates at a women's conference said that women were making strides in gaining equality, but there was still a long way to go. They noted that Malaysian women comprise only about 10 percent of corporate board decision-makers in local companies. "A low representation of women in decision making capacities can cause their needs to be not fully considered when policies are formulated," Norasmah Samsudin, head of the government-run Women's Development Department, was quoted as saying by the national news agency Bernama. However, there are now women in key posts in bodies such as the central bank, federal court and securities commission, Norasmah said. In the Philippines, 12,000 women marched along the main avenue of Manila's financial district, calling for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who they accuse of abuse of power. (by Khalid Tanveer)
Doha 〞 The Doha Action Plan adopted by the World Telecommunication Development Conference sets out a road map to implement the global objectives of harnessing the power of information and communication technologies (ICT) to accelerate the pace of development. Work was conducted under the chairmanship of Dr Hessa Al-Jaber, Chairman of ictQatar whose deft handling of the debates led to the successful outcome of the conference on a broad front. "What makes this conference different from any other is the breadth of the measures adopted and pertinence of the decisions taken", said Dr Al-Jaber. "The conference agreed on a comprehensive package that will further improve access to the benefits of ICT" she said, adding "not only can we aspire to bridging the digital divide, but with the Doha Declaration and Action Plan, we now have the commitment and the tools to do so". The International Telecommunication Union's fourth World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-06) which met from 7 to 15 March at the Sheraton Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar, attracted 969 participants attending, including 820 government delegates from 132 countries and 4 representatives from Palestine, 93 representatives of public and private companies from 31 countries and 14 from national telecommunication-related entities from 9 countries, and 38 representatives from regional and international organizations. In addition, 241 media representatives from 22 countries registered with 139 covering the events on site. WTDC-06 was the first global development conference held in the wake of the World Summit on the Information Society, which met in Geneva in 2003 and concluded its deliberations in Tunis in November 2005. The Doha Action Plan takes on board several action lines set out by the Summit, specifically those related to information and communication infrastructure development, public policy and regulatory framework, capacity building, e-applications and radio spectrum management. In his closing remarks, Mr Hamadoun Tour 谷 , Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, expressed his confidence that the programmes outlined at Doha will clear the passage towards bridging the digital divide and help accelerate the pace of development. Addressing delegates, he said, "ITU's long history in helping the world communicate will now be used to its best advantage in using ICT-based solutions and telecommunications in furthering the development priorities for the benefit of people everywhere." He went on to say, "Doha has set the pace for the objectives of the World Summit on the Information Society to close the digital divide and harness the full potential of information and communication technologies to achieve the development goals by 2015."
The Asian Development Bank yesterday launched a quick-response regional project to combat the threat of a deadly strain of avian influenza that has killed nearly a hundred people in Asia. About million will be set aside to pay for experts, equipment, supplies, drugs and services. The money for the package will come from Philippines-based ADB and an ADB-administered anti-poverty fund financed by Japan. The project also earmarks 14.5 million dollars, available to all ADB-member countries, to quickly provide governments money to contain outbreaks, an ADB statement said. "There is wide agreement that the best strategy to prevent a pandemic is to contain the threat at source, when it still affects mainly the bird populations," said Indu Bhushan, chairman of the ADB avian influenza task force. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has infected poultry in many Asian countries and has now been detected in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Human cases have been identified in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Experts worry that the virus could mutate into a new strain that could be easily transmissible among humans. The ADB will coordinate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), and others to undertake the project over the next 30 months. "WHO welcomes this support from ADB and its partners," said WHO director-general Lee Jong-wook. "We know that avian influenza does not stop at national borders; it is a global threat that requires both a global and a regional response." Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific, said that while many believe an influenza pandemic is inevitable, regional health officials "believe that we still have a chance to avert a worst-case scenario."
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CHINA: HK Executive Council Approves Surveillance Bill The Executive Council has approved the introduction of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Bill into the Legislative Council (LegCo), Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee said Wednesday. Lee told lawmakers that law enforcement agencies have conducted 178 cases of communications interception and 170 covert surveillances. He will count the cases arising since Feb. 20 for three months and inform the Security Panel. He said the legislative proposals on communications interceptions are based on the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in 1996, the 1997 White Bill on interception as well as the Interception of Communications Ordinance. The bill sets out the definitions and the conditions for the issue, renewal or continuance of prescribed authorizations for the conduct of interception of communications and covert surveillance operations. Improvements have been added to the draft, such as safeguards for privacy and against abuse, taking into account views received in consolations in recent months. The bill will be gazetted on March 3, and tabled at LegCo on March 8.
China Further Deregulates Management of Domestic Flights Chinese airlines will soon be able to open some new domestic air routes without prior approval from the civil aviation authority when new rules on flight licensing take effect on March 20. An official with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China told Xinhua Friday that under the new rules airlines need only to register new flights on some air routes with the authority. The administration shall continue require approval for flights between China's 20 busiest airports, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. The new rules are part of an gradual process by the government to deregulate the civil aviation market that has been underway since 2003. The official said it will encourage competition among airlines in terms of security, services and credibility so that the whole industry will record a more healthy growth. China is one of the world's fastest growing aviation market. Its passenger turnover increased by 14 percent in 2005 to hit 138 million.
China's Major Targets in the Future Following are the main targets for China's economic and social development in 2006, revealed in the report on the work of the government delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao Sunday at the annual session of China's national legislature: -- GDP should grow about 8 percent, and energy consumption perunit of GDP should fall by about 4 percent. -- The rise in consumer prices should be kept under 3 percent. -- Urban employment should increase by 9 million persons, and the urban registered unemployment rate should be kept under 4.6percent. -- The equilibrium in the balance of payments should stay basically balanced. -- The government plans to issue 60 billion yuan worth of long-term treasury bonds, 20 billion yuan less than last year, while increasing regular construction investment from the central government budget by 10 billion yuan. -- The deficit in the central government budget is projected tobe 295 billion yuan, 5 billion yuan less than last year.
China's Major Projects for New Countryside in 2006-2010 The following are the major projects China is set to undertake to boost the building of a new countryside during the 2006-2010 period, listed in the draft guidelines of the five-year development blueprint being deliberated by Chinese lawmakers at their ongoing annual session: --Large grain, cotton and edible oil production bases and quality grain industrial projects, which also involve breeding of improved strains, plant disease and insect pest prevention and control, and popularization of farm machinery. -- Fertile soil projects, aimed at transforming medium- and low- yield farmland into high-yield cropland. -- Crop protection projects, aimed at improving grassroots centers for harmful organism monitoring and control, building some demonstration bases for locust control by ecological and biological means, farm chemical safety testing centers and biotechnology testing centers, to reduce to the minimum the dangers brought about by plant diseases, insect pests, weeds, mice and other harmful living things. --Transformation of large irrigated areas and that of the large draining pump stations in the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui. -- Improved strain and fine breed projects, aimed at building of crop germplasm resources banks, crop improvement centers, fine strain breeding bases, farms of live stock, poultry and aquiculture pure breeds, aquiculture genetics and breeding centers, crop germplasm resources farms and testing centers. -- Animal epidemic prevention system, comprised of six subsystems for animal disease monitoring, prevention and control, quarantine and supervision, veterinary medicine quality supervision and remnant control, and technical support and material supply for animal epidemic prevention. -- Agricultural product quality control and safety supervision system, at national, regional, provincial and county levels. -- Rural drinking water safety, aimed to provide safe drinking water to 100 million rural residents. -- Rural roads, aimed at building and transforming 1.2 kilometers of rural roads leading to all towns and villages with ready conditions.-- Rural methane, mainly for daily use in rural households, in addition to large and medium-sized projects in some large animal and poultry farms. -- Electricity to village and green energy county projects, aimed at establishing 50 green energy demonstration counties, and enable 3.5 million rural households without power supply to enjoy electricity. -- Rural medical care system, mainly to cover rural areas in central and west China.-- Rural family planning service system, mainly to cover rural areas in central and west China.-- Transfer of rural labor force aimed at providing technical training and employment service to rural laborers.
China to Introduce New Copyright Laws China is to introduce a raft of new laws and regulations this year to help stem rampant violations of intellectual property rights (IPR). As part of the "2006 China IPR protection action plan", China will draft and revise 17 laws and regulations concerning trademarks, copyrights, patents and customs, said a statement on the Ministry of Commerce's website. The plan, formulated by the National Protection of IPR Working Group along with other government departments, is aimed at "intensifying efforts to protect IPR" and "to crackdown on various illegal rights violations," it said. It also included a series of measures to step up public awareness and international cooperation, the statement said. China's Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, said Tuesday that the Chinese government last year handled more than 39,000 trademark infringement cases and Chinese courts handled over 3,500 IPR-related cases. However China has made repeated pledges to crack down on IPR violations that its major trading partners such as the United States and Europe say do not go nearly far enough. The United States last year put China on an IPR "priority watch list" after an investigation concluded that "infringement levels remain unacceptably high throughout China". The move could lead to legal action at the World Trade Organization.
Property Law to Be Tabled Next Year The law on property rights is scheduled to be tabled at next year's annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) for approval, a senior lawmaker said in Beijing yesterday. Differences over some issues in the law which concerns the interests of almost everyone in China have caused the delay in the legislation plan, Yang Jingyu, director of the Law Committee of the NPC, told China Daily. According to China's Legislation Law, a draft law should be reviewed by legislators at least thrice before being approved. If the interval between two reviews exceeds two years, the draft law is taken off the legislators' agenda. In line with the NPC's working plan, the law on property rights will now be reviewed by the top legislature's Standing Committee in August and December to take into account various views. Earlier reports have suggested that a Peking University law professor's opposition to the legislation was a catalyst for the change in the law-making plan. "That is not true," Yang said. "It is impossible for an individual to change the legislation process." Most people regard the draft of the law as good, but differences still exist on some specific issues. "We have solicited more than 11,500 opinions," said Yang. "We changed the law-making plan to improve the legislation." He also denied that the law is against the principles of the Constitution because it emphasizes equal protection to both State and private assets. China's Constitution also recognizes the private economy, he noted. Yang also said legislators will start their third review of the supervision law in June after a nearly two-year suspension. The supervision law, detailing legal procedures for the NPC and its Standing Committee to supervise the work of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, touches on many sensitive and complicated issues in China's political system.
Law on Western Development in Pipeline China is pushing forward its ambitious "go west" campaign with the imminent completion of a draft law that aims to close the widening gap between the underdeveloped western region and the east's wealthy coastal areas. Wang Jinxiang, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), described the legislation as "a breakthrough" in China's legislative history because it is the first time for the country to form a law solely for the development of a single region. "It demonstrates the great significance of western development as it concerns the long-term and sustainable development of the whole country," Wang told China Daily in an exclusive interview. Wang said the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council is processing the 14th version of the bill. "After the office deliberates on the draft law, it will then be submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for review," he said. Wang declined to predict when the law will be passed by the top legislature, but noted that it has been included in the 10th NPC Standing Committee's legislative plan between 2003 and 2008. "Personally speaking, I believe the sooner the law on promoting western development is enacted, the more the whole country will benefit," he said. Wang, who is also executive deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development of the State Council, made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of the 10th NPC, China's top legislature. The legislation is believed to be a major effort of China's "go west" campaign, which was launched in 2000 to address the growing inequality between the western and eastern regions. Western China, which comprises some 71.4 percent of the nation's territory and holds more than half of its mineral resources, has not enjoyed the same degree of prosperity as eastern China. In 2004, the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the 12 western provinces and autonomous regions accounted for only 18.8 percent of the country's GDP that year. Wang said the bill aims to create a favorable legal environment and support for a smooth implementation of the western region development program. Although the central government has published some separate regulations and documents to introduce preferential fiscal and taxation policies for the western regions, national lawmakers have been pushing for the legislation since 2000. Wang said the draft law covers all major aspects of the "go west" campaign. For instance, the bill involves the goals, the respective responsibility of the central government and local governments, the financing channel, the central government's preferential policies and legal measures for protecting investment. He noted that the draft law is based on the extensive experience of Japan, Canada, Germany, the United States and France in promoting the development of their poor regions. Despite the benefits expected from the law, the senior official said that heavy-polluting industries by some profit-minded investors would move into the western region. To protect the environment, he said investment in high-tech, resources-saving industries that emit less pollution is encouraged in the western region. In fact, the western region has drawn more domestic and overseas investors because of emerging business opportunities. So far, domestic and overseas investments have reached about 372.6 billion yuan (US$46 billion) in the region, and more than 100 of the world's top 500 companies have invested there.
Central Govt Approves Guidelines for Work in 2006 The State Council, or the central government, has approved the guidelines for its work in 2006, which highlights the importance of reform, efficiency and discipline. Premier Wen Jiabao presided over an Executive Meeting of the State Council on Wednesday, a day after the closing of the annual parliamentary session. The State Council has established the guidelines in accordance with Premier Wen's government report to the Fourth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress. The guidelines urge all departments under the State Council to accomplish this year's tasks, which pose a test of the government's executive powers and credibility.
China to Pursue New Growth Model in Years Ahead: Official China will pursue a new model of economic growth in the coming years, as defined by the country's 11th five-year plan, a senior government official said Sunday. Ma Kai, the minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission told the China Development Forum that over the next five years China must truly get on the road of scientific and harmonious development. To achieve this, he said China must undertake six fundamental changes. China must strive to stimulate its domestic consumption instead of relying on investment and exports. China must seek a harmonious development among its primary, secondary and tertiary industries and upgrade its economic structure, and not rely solely on the expansion of manufacturing. To make its development more sustainable it must protect the environment and conserve nonrenewable resources by reducing its dependence on nonrenewable resources and improving the efficiency of its consumption of those resources, he said. Instead of relying on the input of capital and physical resources, China must seek development through scientific and technological progress and the development of human resources. This, he said, could only be achieved by putting the emphasis on innovations. Another important change, Ma said, is instead of relying on government intervention, China must allow market forces to play a bigger role in the allocation of resources. Lastly, China must make the improvement of people's living standards as its first and foremost goal. China must shift its attention from the growth of physical wealth to the comprehensive development of human beings and balancing social and economic development, Ma said.
JAPAN: Plan to Cut Bureaucracy Honed - Draft Bill Provides for Broader Staff Shuffles, Administrative Reform To cut the number of public servants, the government intends to set a policy of extending personnel changes beyond ministries and agencies in a key bill to promote administrative reform to be submitted to the current Diet session, according to sources. The inclusion of such a plan shows the government's intention to shift employees from government bodies expected to make large staff cuts to others with lower numerical targets for personnel reductions, the sources said. Regarding reform of government-affiliated financial institutions, the government intends to fully privatize Shoko Chukin Bank and repeal the law establishing the financial institution intended to help small and midsize companies. The draft bill also stipulates restrictions on hiring of former government officials not only for the top management post, but also other senior managerial posts to restrict so-called amakudari at a new body to be created through the merger of five of eight government-affiliated financial institutions. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed approval for the draft bill during a meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe and Koki Chuma, state minister for administrative reform, on Wednesday. "To realize a simple and efficient government is an urgent task," the draft bill stipulates, listing five priority areas--reform of government-affiliated financial institutions; a review of incorporated administrative institutions; reform of special account; cuts in the number of government employees; and reform of government assets and debts. Regarding cuts in the number of central government employees, the draft bill sets a target of reducing the 332,000-strong ranks of the the civil service by 5 percent--about 17,000-- from the next fiscal year. To achieve the goal, the government intends to curb hiring, streamline administrative operations, increase outsourcing of work to the private sector and turn more government bodies into incorporated administrative institutions. The draft bill further stipulates that a system under which personnel arrangements are made and job training is provided be established so that personnel transfers from one government body to another can be smoothly made. Up to now, ministries and agencies that have streamlined their operations have done so by shuffling personnel within their organization and curbing hiring within each body. This time around, the government intends to reduce the number of employees through drastic streamlining and considers it insufficient to take measures only within each ministry and agency. It therefore has decided to establish a system under which civil servants whose jobs are to be cut would be transferred to another ministry or agency. After the bill is enacted, the government plans to set up a task force in the Cabinet Secretariat office to decide detailed measures for personnel changes. The government may then allow the Cabinet Secretariat office to decide on the framework for the changes after talks with ministry and agency officials or set numerical targets for each ministry and agency in its annual plans for civil service cuts. Personnel changes of this sort that are likely to be made are those between ministries' branch offices located in same regions and those for public security authorities where more staff are considered necessary. Some government officials, however, are skeptical. "I wonder whether staff members will be able to do a good job after they are transferred to other ministries and agencies. We could say that the new measures would only serve to achieve numerical targets," an official said. As priority areas for personnel reductions, the draft bill referred to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry's divisions for food management and statistics. The draft bill excluded prison officers from the target of reduction. Ninety percent of posts at prisons and other penal administration facilities are not subject to reduction targets. The government intends to obtain Cabinet approval of the draft bill on March 10 and then submit the bill to the Diet, according to sources.
Anti-Discrimination Law Sought in Japan TOKYO - Japan needs a broad anti-discrimination law to help stop rampant violations of the human rights of minorities and foreigners, minority activists said Tuesday. Japan's constitution already prohibits racial discrimination, but activists told reporters in Tokyo that a more comprehensive law is needed to protect human rights and punish offenders. "A law is not sufficient, but it is necessary," said Kinhide Mushakoji, president of the Japan chapter of the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party considered human rights protection legislation last year, but the party was unable to fully agree on a bill and the idea was shelved. A U.N. mission on racism in Japan concluded in a report in January that minorities 〞 including ethnic Koreans and Chinese, the Ainu indigenous group, and the so-called "untouchable" underclass 〞 suffer discrimination in education, housing, health care and employment. The minority activists, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, lauded the report's conclusion of the need for additional legislation outlawing discrimination, which they said would act as a deterrent and would also help teach Japanese about minorities. "In Japan we have a myth which says the Japanese archipelago is inhabited by a single race, the Japanese," said Mushakoji. "Now this myth is going to be challenged." Shigeyoshi Kumisaka, president of the Buraku Liberation League, which represents the descendants of Japan's feudal untouchable class, said secret lists of those with outcast backgrounds are still sold to businesses and families who don't want to taint themselves by employing or marrying untouchables. The activists acknowledged, however, that changes over the years have helped minority groups. A 1993 government study of the untouchables 〞 known in Japan as Burakumin 〞 helped shed light on their problems. Four years later, the government officially recognized the Ainu as Japan's indigenous people. Resistance to allowing foreigners into Japan is also changing as the country faces a population decline and labor shortage. Still, the activists said the bedrock xenophobia of Japanese society was getting worse, fueled in part by fear of foreign terrorists, the growing conservatism of the government and worries about foreigner-linked crime. "The Japanese government is getting more and more racist and more and more anti-foreign, but there is a realization that Japan cannot remain closed to foreigners," said Mushakoji.(by Joseph Coleman)
Gov't OKs Recycling Law Revision to Cut Down on Shopping Bags The government approved a revision to the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law on Friday, promoting a system to charge for shopping bags handed out at stores and impose fines on businesses that fail to make efforts to reduce packaging. Businesses over a certain size that fail to heed the new regulations will be named publicly and fined up to 500,000 yen. The government hopes that the Diet will pass the bill into law during the current session. Under the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, the numbers of shopping bags used at major supermarkets and similar stores are reported to the government, along with reduction targets. Businesses that shoulder the costs of recycling will set up a system under the revision to help cover disposal costs for local governments trying to reduce garbage. Half of the money saved as a result of reductions in the amount of garbage will go to cover sorted collection and separate storage. Under the revised bill, fines for companies that try to avoid paying the costs of recycling and "get a free ride" will be raised from 500,000 yen or less to 1 million yen or less.
Japanese Gov't Approves Bill to Revise Trust Law (Kyodo) _ The government on Friday approved a bill to revise the Trust Law to allow new types of trusts, marking the first major amendment to the law since it was enacted about 80 years ago. The bill will allow liabilities to be placed in trust. It will also enable trustors to act as trustees. For instance, companies can put their assets in trust and manage the trust by themselves. But the government plans to freeze allowing trustors to act as trustees for one year after the revisions go into effect, as ruling coalition lawmakers have expressed fears that the scheme may be abused by companies to conceal assets they have illegally amassed. The government also endorsed a bill to revise the Trust Business Law, which covers businesses that engage in trust operations. The revision will require companies, which plan to act as trustors and trustees, to obtain consent from the Financial Services Agency if they intend to sell beneficiary rights to a minimum 50 investors. The measure will be also frozen for one year.
Koizumi's Asia Policy Under Fire TOKYO: Concerned that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has allowed political relations with China and South Korea to rupture, some ruling party politicians are demanding that whoever succeeds him must restore ties with Japan's closest neighbours. Although the meeting was scheduled a month ago, it took place the day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pointedly blamed Koizumi for ruining political ties with China. The leadership in Beijing and Seoul is incensed with the Japanese leader for praying at the Yasukuni war shrine, which honours Class A war criminals along with some 2.5 million war dead. The top war criminals were responsible for directing Japan's war of aggression during World War II, causing immense death and suffering across Asia. Koizumi responded to the latest Chinese accusation with his stock defence that his visits to Yasukuni were ※a matter of the heart.§ The Japanese leader has also repeatedly denied that Tokyo's ties with its closest neighbours were problematic. But Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono, addressing the study group, asked: ※Can we convince the other party with such an explanation?§ Describing current ties with China and South Korea as ※the worst ever,§ Kono stressed: ※We should place considerable importance on relations with our neighbours.§ Former premier Kiichi Miyazawa also criticised Koizumi's unabashed support for the United States at the expense of Japan's ties with Asian countries. ※It is in our national interests to consider how to have a dialogue with China, South Korea and other nations, while holding firmly to our link with the US,§ he told the study group. Both Beijing and Seoul have indicated that they do not see ties with Japan getting better until Koizumi steps down, which he has promised to do in September.
65% Favor Revising Japan's Constitution: Mainichi Poll TOKYO (Kyodo) _ Two-thirds of respondents in a Mainichi Shimbun opinion poll said they support constitutional revision, the major daily reported Sunday. While the support rate stayed at around 60 percent in the previous three Mainichi polls since April 2004, it reached a record 65 percent in the latest telephone survey conducted Feb. 10 and 11, to which 1,115 eligible voters responded nationwide, according to the daily. A total of 27 percent of the respondents said they do not support revising the Constitution, the daily said. Of those favoring revision, 53 percent said the Constitution does not fit the times, while 18 percent responded that it has not yet been revised. Thirteen percent said they see a gap between the war-renouncing Article 9 and the current activities of the Self-Defense Forces. Among those opposed to revision, 54 percent said they do not want Article 9 to be revised, according to Mainichi. Overall, 80 percent said the Constitution has contributed to keeping peace and improving people's lives since the end of World War II, the paper said.
SOUTH KOREA: Bill to Prevent Employers from Discriminating Against AIDS Patients Those infected with human immunodeficiency virus will be better protected from discrimination at workplaces. Employers will be banned from firing those with HIV/AIDS for reasons related to the disease and will face legal charges if they do not abide by the regulations. HIV causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on March 12 that it will submit the revision bill of the law on HIV/AIDS to the National Assembly as early as the first half of the year, in order to protect the human rights of HIV carriers and AIDS patients and abolish discrimination against them. "The revision will greatly expand the right to work for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. So far, the government could not discipline those discriminating against them in employment, promotion or job training, as there has been no disciplinary regulation on the cases," a ministry official said. The authority promoted the revision bill following the World Health Organization's recommendation to ban discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS but have good health conditions, the official added. When HIV carriers or AIDS patients have health problems, their employers will have to treat them the same as other employees with any other disease. Related regulations such as sick leave will be applied the same to HIV/AIDS patients, and employers will not be able to fire them because they have HIV/AIDS. Employers who do not follow the regulation will receive up to one year in prison or up to 3 million won in fines. However, those infected with HIV/AIDS will continue to be banned from working in businesses associated with the sex trade. The central government and local authorities will also be required to conduct public education to help prevent the spread of the disease and end discrimination and prejudice against those having it.
Civic Groups and Government Hope to Lay Framework for Peaceful Protest Representatives of civic organizations and the government will hold a social convention next month in a bid to establish a culture for peaceful demonstrations. Also, that administration will answer charges that it has been slow to enforce relevant laws to counter unruly protestors and thus creating heightened tensions by strengthening punishment for illegal and violent demonstrators by the end of May. The measures were among the major discussions made in a joint committee meeting of the government-private sector for the "establishment of culture for peaceful assemblies and demonstrations" held at the prime minister's office on Thursday (Mar. 9). The proposed social convention designed to forestall illegal and violent demonstrations while promoting consensus for peaceful demonstrations will be signed by representatives of civic bodies, demonstrating entities and the government. The joint committee meeting also agreed to run a "civil observer group" at the scene of demonstrations and dispatch government officials responsible for the grievances of the protestors to induce dialogue and negotiate settlements. Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and Father Hahm Se-woong are co-chairmen of the joint panel representing the government and private sector. The joint committee will further discuss ways of raising jail terms and fines for law violators. The current jail terms of up to six months and fines of a maximum of 500,000 won for violators of police lines are likely to be increased to one year and 10 million won by the end of May. Punishment for leaders of violent demonstrations are likely to be increased to three years in jail and 30 million won from one year and 1 million won. In addition, they may be subject to immediate arrest. Co-chairman Hahm said that he will see to it that people have a distinct recognition of the law with regard to demonstrations and that an illegal approach will be punished, while a lawful approach will be accommodated in an understanding way.
Democratization Movement Activists' Honor Restored The late poet Kim Nam-joo and 28 other dissidents have been selected as pro-democracy activists for their struggle against the dictatorial rule of former President Park Chung-hee in the 1970s. The Commission for Democratization Movement Activists' Honor-Restoration and Compensation said on Tuesday (Mar. 14) that it has acknowledged the 29 figures' pro-democracy activities against the Park regime. In February 1976, a group of activists formed an organization to fight against the dictatorship and published leaflets criticizing the regime. At the end of 1979, around the time of Park's assassination, 84 members of the group were arrested. The state intelligence agency declared the group, together with pro-North Korea communists, tried to plot an uprising. The arrested members received heavy punishments including 15 years in prison on charges of violating the National Security Law on up to the death penalty. Those whose honor was restored as democratization movement activists include the late poet Kim, Korea YMCA chairman Lee Hack-young, the former head of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union Lee Soo-il, head of the Institute for Research in Collaborationists Activities Yim Hun-young, and Minkahyup Human Rights Group head Kwon Oh-heon. Kim joined the group in 1978 and published poems criticizing the Park administration. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail but served only nine. The commission held off deciding whether to restore the honor of Lee Chae-mun, Shin Hyang-sik and Lee Hae-kyong, who led the dissident group. Lee Chae-mun was sentenced to death but died in November 1981 before the execution could be carried out. Shin was executed in 1982. Lee Hae-kyong was sentenced to life imprisonment. ※The 29 activists are recognized as fighters for democracy, as they joined the group to fight against Park's regime and its disregard for democratic values and infringement on people's basic human rights,§ the commission said. The commission also recognized the group's illegal fundraising activities as a part of the democratization movement. The activists stole money and other valuables from the homes of high-ranking officials involved in bribery scandals in 1978, and broke into the house of former Dong-A Group chairman Choi Won-suk to steal money in 1979.
MOGOLIA: Drafting of Mining Regulations to Begin At the government hearing on Tuesday, Prime Minister M.Enkhbold assigned the Deputy Premier M.Enkhsaikhan to prepare a document on government policy and general issues related to the current mining situation in the country.In addition, Minister of Industry and Trade B.Jargalsaikhan, was asked to submit a parliament resolution for government approval on a temporary suspension of mineral exploration and mining licenses until security, renewal, transfer, and extension procedures can be established. S.Batbold, chief of the Government Secretariat Office, will draft guidelines on making contractual partnerships with mineral exploration and mining license owners which control strategically significant deposits explored with government funding. The guidelines would specify provisions on government usage and taxation of those deposits, which are among some of Mongolia's largest. Three government officials including Finance Minister N.Bayartsaikhan, Minister of Industry and Trade B.Jargalsaikhan and Chairman of the State Property Committee D.Sugar were assigned to organize talks with Ivanhoe Mines to form an agreement on the usage of the Oyu Tolgoi site.
New Regulation to Reduce Number of Commercial Banks A new policy by the Central Bank of Mongolia aimed at reducing the number of commercial banks has been cited as the reason behind the merger of the Interbank and Capitron banks. The merger, announced this week, is necessary to bring the banks into compliance with a new policy requiring all commercial banks to have a minimum of Tg8 billion in paid-in capital reserves. Representatives of the two banks said that the merger was routine and would result in wider availability of services and greater flexibility in providing loans. The new policy was announced on March 1, and required compliance within 30 days. Executive Director of the Mongolian Union of Banks, G.Tserenpurev, said that Mongolia's small population is over-served by the exisiting 17 commercial banks and that a lesser number, perhaps three to five, would be sufficient. He also noted that by having fewer banks, each would control a great market share and be able to provide larger loans to clients. D. Batjargal, the director of the Finance and Economics School and executive director of the Consortium of Management, Economics Training and Research, supports the merger because it will improve services to customers. According to Batjargal, smaller banks have higher operating costs resulting in shorter loan terms and higher interest rates. The new paid-in capital requirement of Tg8 billion, and a further anticipated increase to Tg16 billion, would help reduce interest rates. Prior to the deal, Capitron held a paid-in capital reserve level of Tg4 billion and could offer loans up to Tg800 million. The bank will now be able to loan amounts up to Tg1.6 billion. A total of 11 of the 17 commercial banks are currently in compliance with the new regulation.
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INDONESIA: Health Centers to Tackle Bird Flu JAKARTA: The government is planning to increase the role of community health centers in combating bird flu. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said Tuesday the new policy was part of the government's efforts to curb the spread of bird flu, which has claimed at least 20 lives in the country. Siti said health centers would be expected to detect bird flu symptoms in people during the early stages of the illness and treat patients or refer them to hospitals. The government would see to it that every community health center had enough stocks of the Tamiflu medicine and equipment to detect avian influenza, she said. The government is stepping up its information campaign on bird flu. Official and public ignorance of avian influenza symptoms have caused delays in the treatment of the disease, which is often mistaken for ordinary flu.
MALAYSIA: Community Gardening Plan KUALA LUMPUR: A ※Community Gardening§ concept will be introduced to encourage the people to plant trees and flowering plants in public parks in their areas. The people and non-governmental organisations have been encouraged to take part in community gardening programmes in parks to create a better living environment in their communities. Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said each park would be divided to several plots for ※adoption§ by the public and non-government organisations. ※They will plant flowers and trees as well as maintain the plot, which is to be assigned to them. ※They can also have a small project to beautify the park,§ he told a press conference after launching National Landscape Day 2006 at Taman Tasik Cempaka in Bangi yesterday. He said this would create a sense of belonging among the people and thus, they would put in more effort to help maintain the parks. ※Local authorities will assign the plots to the public and NGOs, as well as oversee the whole programme,§ he said, adding that 33 public parks had been set up under the National Landscape Department. Ong said the ministry had targeted to plant four million trees under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. ※We have planted more than four million trees in the last five years, which has reached our 3.5 million target under the Eighth Malaysia Plan,§ he added.
Government Wants Fast, Standard Action During Environ Crisis KUALA LUMPUR: An environmental disaster response plan is in the pipeline to standardise the actions to be taken by the various government departments to ensure swift reaction during a crisis, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. There was a suggestion from the Ministry of Natural Resources to standardise the plan of action, Najib said after receiving Vietnam's National Defence Minister Gen Pham Van Tra and his delegation at the Defence Ministry here yesterday. ※The Government wants to ensure that when a crisis occurs, for example, involving rivers that had been polluted by a toxic chemical, there must be a standard procedure to be followed by all concerned parties to effectively work together to respond to the situation the quickest way possible,§ he said. ※This includes detecting the source of pollution and taking the necessary measures to contain it and to make sure the polluted water did not get into the taps.§ Najib, who heads the Cabinet committee on the environment, said there must be a complete study on the effects of an environmental disaster.
PHILIPPINES: Juvenile Justice System Law Passage Seen Senators and congressmen predicted Monday night an early agreement on the House and Senate versions of the proposed juvenile justice system law, ensuring its enactment. Several international and children's rights organizations have urged Congress to come up with a law that would keep children out of jail or keep them from sharing cells with hardened criminals. Sen. Joker Arroyo, chairman of the Senate panel, and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, chairman of the House committee, made the prediction at the first meeting of the bicameral conference committee at the Senate. The bicameral panel will seek to reconcile the conflicting provisions of the House and Senate versions of the law. Datumanong, a former justice secretary, said that most of the provisions the two chambers had craftedare virtually similar and reconciling them would not be difficult. Arroyo and Datumanong created a bicameral technical working group, to be assisted by experts, to reconcile opposing provisions. The group was given two to three days to finish its work. The bicameral committee will reconvene as soon as the panel submits its report. Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, principal author of the Senate bill, said that the bicameral conference committee could meet as early as Thursday evening, and Tuesday next week at the latest. The most pronounced difference between the House and the Senate bills lies in their thrust. Pangilinan said the Senate versin's aim is to keep children at risk out of prison and ensure juvenile welfare and restorative justice. ※That is why we want the Department of Social Welfare and Development to head the task force that will implement the proposed law,§ he explained. The House version focuses on the punishment of children in conflict with the law. It wants the Department of Justice to head the task force. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. agreed with Arroyo and Datumanong that the differences between the two bills are not difficult to harmonize. ※Maybe we can have a hybrid,§ he said. Gabriela Party-list Rep. Liza Maza stole the show at the bicameral meeting when she ignored threats of arrest and proceeded to the Senate as member of the House bicameral panel. Maza had holed up at the House, which gave her sanctuary from policemen seeking to arrest her for alleged rebellion. She went to the Senate escorted by seven congressmen after the House rejected her request for security so she would not be arrested. Datumanong explained that the House is not responsible for her security outside its premises. Arroyo said Maza was a guest of the Senate, and the Senate always took care of its guests. He directed the Senate sergeant-at-arms to protect Maza from an arrest. Maza actually arrived late. The bicameral meeting had already adjourned for more than 30 minutes when she arrived. (by Efren L. Danao)
Govt Promises Bigger, Better Transmigration Program The government announced Friday the immediate relaunch of the transmigration program to alleviate population density on overcrowded Java island, and promised to head off the problems of the past. Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno told the media his institution was establishing three integrated teams for the feasibility study, the surveillance and the execution of the program, which has been suspended for several years. "It is expected that we will come up with the exact locations for the transmigration program in May," Erman said as quoted by detik.com . He said the feasibility study and surveillance were important to avoid transmigrants receiving plots of land which were vulnerable to natural disasters or disputed territory with local administrations. The minister said a total of 15,200 families from Java would be transmigrated to less populated islands and regions in the country this year. "Each family will get 5 hectares of land, much greater than the 2-hectare plot that transmigrants got in the past." On Sunday, Erman indicated that in 2007 the transmigration program would focus on sending families from Java to border regions and outer islands throughout the country. "Sending transmigrants to the border regions and the outer islands is part of the government's food sustainability and national resilience programs. The outer islands have important meaning as they are like a security belt for Indonesia," he said. The Dutch colonial administration began the transmigration program in the early 1930s, sending Javanese to outlying regions, mainly Sumatra island, to work on plantations and in rice cultivating areas. It was continued and extended to other major islands during the presidency of Soeharto.
SINGAPORE: Civil Service Amends Application Requirement for Ex-convicts to Work SINGAPORE : The Civil Service is taking the lead, easing the way for ex-convicts to work in the public sector from April this year. The law was changed recently so that criminals of less serious offences could have their criminal records cleared. Ms Indranee Rajah, GPC Chairman for Law and Home Affairs, says: "If the employer asks, 'Do you have a record?', then the person can safely say 'No.' Because it is spent. But if the employer asks, 'Have you ever been convicted of an offence?', then the person has to say 'yes', and the purpose behind the amendment is then lost. "So I would like to ask whether the Civil Service, the government as a major employer, is considering amending its forms?" Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister-in-Charge of the Civil Service, says: "The Civil Service supports the movement to give ex-offenders a second chance. As far back as 2000, ministries have started to employ ex-offenders. We will take the additional step. "The Civil Service will amend the application form to ask applicants to declare whether they have criminal records instead of whether they have ever been convicted in court. "Candidates with spent records can now indicate they do not have any criminal records. The new forms will take effect on the 1st of April this year."
Government Amending Laws to Deter Child Sex Tourism SINGAPORE : The government is coming down hard on Singaporeans who engage in sex with minors, even abroad. It is amending its laws to extend extra-territorial jurisdiction over its nationals who sexually exploit minors overseas. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee says the government is also making it an offence to purchase sexual services from anyone who is under 18. He says child sex tourists take advantage of the inability or the unwillingness of the host country to prosecute them. Back in Singapore, prosecution is also constrained as most countries do not extend extra-territorial jurisdiction for sexual offences. Associate Professor Ho says: "Presently, Singaporeans who have sex with minors in other countries cannot be prosecuted in Singapore as our courts do not have jurisdiction over them. "Members have urged the government to stop our nationals from preying on minors from other counties by denying them a safe haven through enacting legislation of extra-territorial effect. We have taken note of these views and have factored them in our review." The Home Affairs Ministry says despite the constraints and difficulties in dealing with child sex cases overseas, Singapore recognises that having sex with minors anywhere is deplorable. So the government has decided to take firm action and amend the laws to extend extra-territorial jurisdiction over Singapore nationals who sexually exploit minors overseas. The changes will be introduced once the on-going review of the Penal Code is completed. The Home Affairs Ministry is also tightening measures to protect young persons from providing sexual services. Associate Professor Ho says: "Being more easily influenced, their consent can be impaired. As such, they are more vulnerable to being trafficked, controlled and exploited by pimps and traffickers who prey on them and live off their earnings." He says although there is no evidence to suggest that there are significant numbers of 16- and 17-year olds engaging in prostitution, the government feels there should be a higher age protection for commercial sexual activities. So, it has decided to make it an offence for anyone to purchase sexual services from a person who is under 18. ( by S. Ramesh )
Financial Services to Be Included in Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act SINGAPORE : Financial Services will now be included in the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act (CPFTA). These will include insurance companies and banks. Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chan Soo Sen revealed this in Parliament on Monday. Mr Chan said the Trade and Industry Ministry is currently working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to come up with the implementation details. The CPFTA came into effect on March 1, 2004. And since financial services were not included, many consumers faced hard-sell tactics and lack of information for financial products. But with the amendment to the Act, consumers will now have recourse. ( by May Wong )
Govt to Set Aside S$3.9b to Help Smes Over Next 5 Years The government will pump in more money to help local enterprises to grow. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang announced in parliament on Monday that S$3.9 billion will be set aside for that purpose over the next five years. Out of the S$3.9 billion, grants will take up S$900 million, up 35 percent over the previous five years. The remaining S$3 billion will take the form of loans, disbursed through partnerships with various financial institutions. Lim Hng Kiang, Trade and Industry Minister, said: "This is expected to capitalise more than 6 billion dollars worth of loan financing, almost 60 percent more than the previous five years. So, we are prepared to put more resources to support our local companies." But Mr Lim said there was no need to set up a single government-funded institution to provide financing to small and medium enterprises. He said: "For the government to set up its own SME banking or financial institution, to compete against the private sector will be against the Yellow Pages rule. The government has instead partnered some 16 financial institutions to administer the loans to the SMEs." "Over the past five years, Spring and IE Singapore have worked with financial institutions to facilitate more than 3.1 billion dollars worth of loans to more than 12,500 companies." Help for SMEs aside, the minister also stressed that investment in R&D is vital. He noted that there was difficulty in measuring the returns from such investments, but it was important to encourage R&D and to develop local talent. Mr Lim said: "There is great difficulty in measuring. We have to be bold and we have to take this step to invest heavily in our R&D effort, without it creating a feeding frenzy, as Ivan Png described it. R&D is all about talent and we need to build up local talent to undertake R&D." The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises has welcomed the move. It says these measures will help facilitate the growth and development of a larger pool of SMEs in Singapore.
Plans to Enhance Lighting of City Buildings Could Increase Costs SINGAPORE : The Urban Redevelopment Authority's lighting master plan to illuminate the city skyline is expected to raise the appeal of Singapore. The Singapore city skyline is a familiar sight to locals and some tourists and there are new plans to literally cast it in different light. Architects are in favour of adding glitter to the cityscape, citing glowing examples like Shanghai, New York and London. But while lighting features can be factored into future projects, analysts say it may take some persuasion to get existing building owners to buy in to the idea. "Business people will be calculating whether this new lighting scheme can really enhance the value of their property. But looking at the rising energy cost, some would be asking, in the long term, if this is something that is sustainable or justifiable in the ecological sense," Nicholas Mak, director of Consultancy & Research at Knight Frank. "Assuming that the building is going to be lighted up 10 to 12 hours every night, the running cost, electricity bill could be somewhere in the 5 digit figures monthly," he said. Such expenses will probably be passed on to building tenants by way of service charges, thereby increasing their business costs slightly. Another challenge is integrating the lighting feature into existing buildings. "One has to understand that the guidelines set by the authorities have to be very broad, and not too prescriptive. For existing buildings, there would be some cost factor that one has to acknowledge," said Rita Soh, president of the Singapore Institute of Architects. "So for building owners to take an active role in that, perhaps there could be some incentives, monetary or otherwise, to encourage them to really take the trouble to spruce up the building and incorporate lighting," she added. Architects say lighting can be done on three levels - at the street level, on the body of the building to highlight special features, and on the rooftop. But the lighting scheme has to be well-choreographed so that it complements other developments in the area. The authorities are expected to announce more details of the lighting master plan at the end of the month.
THAILAND: E-commerce Laws to Be Delayed Again The decision to dissolve the parliament has also put proposed new e-commerce laws into legislative limbo once again. Royal Decrees related to E-Payment Service Providers, a Certification Authority (CA), and information security were ready to be submitted to the Cabinet next month. Now all three, together with a Royal Decree on E-Transactions in the Public Sector, are expected to be delayed. The e-laws are seen as crucial to the future economy, which will rely increasingly on electronic transactions. An Electronic Transactions Commission last year approved a draft for an E-payment Service Provider decree, which had been reviewed at three public hearings. The proposed law would have made the Bank of Thailand (BoT) the regulator of e-payment service providers. Prior to the parliament dissolution, Saowanee Suwannacheep, chairman of a sub-committee on E-payment Service Providers, had suggested that the law could have been in force by the middle of the year. It was one of five Royal Decrees that form the Electronic Transaction Bill. According to the draft bill, the e-payment services included the credit card network, electronic data capture network, clearing and settlement and other services announced by the BoT. IT Law Development Project chief Surangkana Wayuparb told Database that he expected the endorsement of the IT related laws would be again postponed, although this would depend on decisions from the caretaker government. ( by Sasiwimon Boonruang )
The Labour Ministry will push for a three-baht hike in the daily minimum wage for temporary state enterprise workers and also support a proposal for a 5% across-the board salary increase for permanent employees. At a cabinet meeting today , the ministry will propose that the daily minimum wage for temporary state enterprise workers be raised from 181 baht to 184 baht, and that permanent workers get a 5% across-the-board salary increase. The ministry said the move was aimed at boosting the morale of state enterprise workers by helping them to cope with rising costs of living. The move follows a 5% pay hike recently approved for government officials, which is due to take effect on April 1. Earlier, the cabinet had put on hold the proposed salary review for state enterprise workers, reasoning that it could be seen as an attempt to buy votes and thus breach the election law. The Prime Minister's Secretariat then recommended that the proposal be put on hold until a new cabinet is sworn in following the April 2 general election. The 5% across-the-board salary increase was already endorsed in principle by the State Enterprise Relations Committee. If the cabinet approves the proposal today, the hike will be made retroactive to Oct 1 last year. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has proposed that tambon and village heads in the three troubled southernmost provinces be appointed by a special selection panel, instead of by popular vote in direct elections. The ministry said that since most of these grassroots officials would soon reach the end of their five-year term, there was concern that many of them might be too worried about getting re-elected and stop doing a good job. In light of this, the ministry proposed that the Local Administration Act be amended to allow a special selection panel to appoint kamnans and village chiefs for areas in the three southernmost provinces which are now under the effect of the executive decree for public administration in emergency situations. (by Pradit Ruangdit )
VIET NAM: VN Trade Strategy Until 2015 Unveiled HA NOI 〞 The Ministry of Trade yesterday released its domestic trade development strategy until 2015 for public scrutiny, aiming to address the possible influx of foreign investors in Viet Nam once the nation joins the World Trade Organisation. Drafters have clearly divided the strategy into two phases. The first half, for 2006-10, focuses on improving the assembly market systems at regional and provincial levels. The second half, titled the "acceleration" period, will focus on in-depth trade development and growth quality. During the first phase, new trade centres and supermarkets will be established in major cities such as Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong and Can Tho. According to the draft strategy, the next five years would also see the introduction of over-the-counter trade in agricultural produce, and e-commerce would be used in about 60 per cent of large scale enterprises. Specialised trade corporations will be established to promote the development of domestic trade activities on a large scale and to gradually progress from passive to active roles in influencing production. To realise these goals, drafters said it was necessary to create incentives in land, finance, and credit for enterprises investing in technical infrastructure for trade. Regulations on OTC transactions would also govern trading activities. For the second phase, once Viet Nam opens its distribution market, drafters worked out several major tasks. Markets in rural areas will be considered key distribution channels, which, together with a system of retail stores and warehouses, will create a favourable circulation network for agricultural produce, food and manufactured consumer goods. During this period, retail sales via modern models such as supermarket and e-shopping should account for about 40 percent of the total retail sales. Trading floors for agricultural produce will be developed as well. Hoang Tho Xuan, director of the Domestic Market Policy Department under the Ministry of Trade, said it was high time for local business people to build large competitive distribution networks or they wouldn't survive. Vietnamese retail trademarks have been having a hard time to do effective distribution because of weak financial standing and poor business technology. Meanwhile, a series of large foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart (US), Carrefour (France) and Tesco (UK) are eying Viet Nam as a potential new market. Viet Nam ranked eighth in the 30 fastest growing retail markets worldwide, according to ATKearney 每 a consultant company. Economic observers said the Government's open policies and the country's high consumption potential (with 83 million people) were attractive to major retail chains like Big C, Metro Cash & Carry and Parkson, all of which were already present in Viet Nam. The General Statistics Office's figures showed that total domestic retail sale turnover last year reached VND335,000 billion ($20.9 billion). A survey by the Viet Nam High-Quality Goods Club found that this year, consumer spending was 18.4 per cent higher than the same period last year. Next month, a new domestic distribution system and retail chain worth VND6.1 trillion (US$395 million) will be launched by the G7 Trade and Service Company. Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of G7's management board, said the G7 Mart aimed to become Viet Nam's number-one distribution system as a counterbalance to foreign distributors and to assist Viet Nam's trademark development. There were 200 supermarkets, 30 trade centres, some 1,000 self-service stores and 10,000 smaller markets currently in operation nationwide, according to the Trade Ministry. Major local retailers include Saigon Co-op Mart, Intimex and Vinatex.
Gov't to Consider Legalising Betting HCM CITY 〞 The Government is considering legalising betting on football and has told the sports authorities to study the issue and submit a draft proposal, a senior government official says. Huynh Vinh Ai, vice chairman of the Sports and Physical Training Committee and also head of a committee set up to draft the proposal, said the measure was aimed at cleaning up the country's football set-up. The long-standing ban on football betting has only managed to drive it underground rather than root it out, in the process giving rise to match-fixing and other murky activities which have hurt the image of Vietnamese football, he said. Ai said several issues had to be considered before any betting system was set up: For instance, the committee had to decide if there should be a limit on the amount punters could bet. Another issue that would be considered, he said, was whether to allow betting on international matches or to limit it to domestic football. A major issue was money laundering under the guise of betting if foreigners were allowed to bet, he said. The committee would discuss the problem with authorities in other countries before deciding, he said. With the public unhappy with illegal betting and match-fixing attempts, its support for legalising betting was a given, he said. While no decision had yet been made on how the system would be run or who would run it, Ai ruled out any role for the Viet Nam Football Federation. The governing body did not want to be both player and referee, he explained. He estimated revenues from betting, once it was legalised, to run into hundreds of billions of dong.
Sustainable Development to Ease Poverty: VP Hoa HA NOI 〞 Viet Nam attaches great importance to co-operative economic development, particularly in its goal to wipe out poverty in the next five years, said Vice President Truong My Hoa. Vice President Hoa made the remarks yesterday at a reception for International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Chairman Ivano Barberini. Barberini is in Ha Noi to join in an ICA regional conference on the role of co-operatives in poverty alleviation in Asia. Hoa told the ICA chairman that poverty reduction has been given special attention by the Vietnamese government, and the State has set a target to reduce the poverty rate to 10 per cent in the near future. Hoa thanked the ICA for its support in carrying out poverty reduction activities and personnel training in Viet Nam. She also expressed hope that Viet Nam would continue to receive assistance from the ICA in the future so as to continue its fight to eliminate poverty. Chairman's support Chairman Ivano Barberini thanked Hoa for the reception and emphasised that the ICA works to support poverty reduction programme in all countries. He pledged to continue supporting Viet Nam. The Viet Nam Co-operative Alliance (VNCA) would certainly play its role in poverty reduction as part of the Government's commitment to development, he said. The ICA chairman spoke to Viet Nam News at the international conference to discuss the role of co-operatives in alleviating poverty in Asia. The ICA had helped its member, Viet Nam, with personnel training, technical assistance and the building of models, including the successful project for Micro Financial Management Improvement in Credit Co-operatives, he said. Future ICA help would include building a model for housing and health co-operatives and organising a seminar to discuss consumer co-operatives. Barberini said that he hoped the international conference would provide Viet Nam with more knowledge about implementing hunger-elimination programmes. Rich countries had a responsibility to build a fairer system for international trade, he told the two-day meeting that has drawn almost 100 participants from a number of Asian countries and international organisations. Sacrifices were also needed to promote more effective ways to fight poverty and create conditions for a widespread economic development, he said. But there was the difficulty of sensibility. An estimated 50 million people, including children, were dying of hunger and infectious diseases every year but because they were faceless, they rarely stimulated an emotional and concrete commitment from the majority of States. Poverty and hunger were long-term phenomena while emotion and solidarity were short-term and usually devoted to the alleviation of suffering caused by natural disasters. Only fair globalisation would ensure global stability and only an active recognition of the fundamental right to food, health and a decent job would achieve effective and coherent joint action promoted by the world's governments. A fair chance to access knowledge and decent, productive employment for both men and women was the major way to eradicate poverty; create social inclusion and a better future for hundreds of million of humans, he said. ICA had 800 million members in more than 100 countries, he added. The VNCA is a self-help organisation that is assisting and promoting economic development among 10.5 million members and 3.5 million co-operatives. Income of co-operative members has increased from VND4.2 million in 2000 to VND6.5 million last year. |
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BANGLADESH: Policy Being Framed to Protect Farmland DHAKA: Amidst an alarming depletion of cropland in the country, the government is now considering policy recommendations for regulating the use of rice land for non-farming purposes, official sources said. The recommendations for imposing restrictions on the use and management of rice land for protecting it are now lying with the ministries of finance and agriculture. Official statistics show that the country is losing farmland at an alarmingly high rate of 80,000 hectares a year from a total of 14 million hectares. Against this backdrop, Bangladesh Rice Foundation (BRF) last month prepared and forwarded to the government a draft 'National Rice Policy' recommending immediate policy intervention to protect the agro-economic base of the country. Farmers now require an overwhelming 70 percent of the total cropland for producing 26 million tonnes of rice to feed 150 million people of the country. As the population increases by about two million a year, farmers are facing the challenge of producing an additional 0.5 million tonnes of rice each year, and that again from less land."Since it (land) is a scarce and critical national resource, the use and management of rice land should be regulated through a combination of legal administrative measures and incentives keeping in view the greater national interests," says the BRF's proposed National Rice Policy. It recommends, "Non-agricultural or less productive land should be earmarked in each mouza or village for building cluster houses, village markets, rural industries, brickfields and other non-agricultural purposes. Essential development projects should be allotted space only on non-agricultural or low productive land. "Upazila and Zila Land Use Committees headed by the UNO and the DC respectively should be formed to consider and recommend land allocation for non-agricultural purposes." Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister MK Anwar has expressed deep concern at the decrease of farmland at a rate of around one percent a year. "Theoretically speaking, there would be no cultivable land left in Bangladesh in 50 years if lands are taken away for non-farm purposes at the current annual rate," Anwar said at the 5th annual meeting of the Consortium for Unfavourable Rice Environment (Cure) in the capital on March 6. Envisaging no increase of cropland in the country, the minister emphasised gearing up agricultural research to raise productivity. But the BRF-proposed rice policy noted, "It is shocking to find that government expenditure on agricultural research has been steadily declining in Bangladesh." Farm research expenditure declined to less than 0.2 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) in 2002-05 from about 0.3 percent in 1999-2002, the BRF mentioned. Speaking at a city workshop on 'Diverse Agriculture and Agribusiness for Poverty Alleviation through Promotion of Secondary Crops' on February 27, the agriculture minister said allocation for agricultural research should be raised to 2.0 percent from 0.2 percent of the agricultural GDP to reduce the dependence on imports. The BRF has recommended, "The government should take prompt action to allocate more resources to rice research. The allocation should at least be 0.4 percent of the agricultural GDP." Agriculture ministry officials attributed the fast depletion of rice land to the growing demand for land for non-farm purposes like urbanisation, industrialisation and setting up habitations.
Agricultural Ministry Objects to Zero Tariffs on Some Farm Products New Delhi: The India-Asean Free Trade Agreement has hit a roadblock with Agriculture Ministry objecting to inclusion of farm products like pepper, rubber, palm oil, coffee and tea in the tariff liberalisation programme. The issue is all set to go to Prime Minister's Trade and Economic Relations Committee and subsequently to the Cabinet for a final decision in the face of the Agri Ministry's opposition. The Agriculture Ministry wants these commodities to be included in the sensitive list under the FTA, while ASEAN members, some of whom are single product exporting countries, want India to have zero tariffs on them, official sources told PTI. FTAs work on the principle of 'all trade', meaning that at least 80 per cent of the trade of a country should be covered under the agreement. In this case, if these commodities are kept in the sensitive list, then single product exporting countries like Malaysia (which exports mainly palm oil) will not meet the criterion of all trade as also the argument being put forth by ASEAN, which wants these items out of India's sensitive list. As per the Agriculture Ministry, these commodities form a part of its list of Special Products in the World Trade Organisation and have sensitivities involved. So under any FTA, it cannot agree to have zero tariff on them. In some of the commodities like pepper and palm oil, their rising imports from Sri Lanka under the Indo-Sri Lanka FTA has impacted this sector, which mainly consists of small growers and manufacturers.
TRAI Issues Regulation on Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy TRAI had been receiving complaints on billing related matters. These complaints cover areas such as inability to verify the bills, not having clarity about the tariff scheme on which they are being billed, delay in refund, non-adjustment of credits in the bills, etc. In order to understand the reasons for such complaints and also to define the parameters with benchmarks for fair and reliable metering and billing system, TRAI undertook a sample audit of the billing system of the mobile operators. The auditing of the billing systems of mobile operators revealed that while the billing systems being used by various operators are comparable to other systems being deployed by major international players, some of the process/ procedure being followed by the mobile operators leads to customer complaints and the attendant customer dissatisfaction. The Authority had, therefore, in order to bring standardization and transparency in the procedures being followed by various operators, developed a Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy in India, which has benchmarks for metering and billing system.
MALDIVES: Cabinet Approves Gayoom's Roadmap MALE: The Cabinet discussed and approved the roadmap of the President's democratic reform agenda on Sunday, the President's Office stated in a press release. Due to be published this week, the roadmap will include ※milestones for all the important aspects of his democratic reform agenda,§ the President's Office says. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) remains deeply skeptical about the government's willingness to implement meaningful political reforms, which are likely to loosen the President's grip on power. Speaking to Minivan News earlier this month, MDP Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) said ※the roadmap is likely to be more of a maze... We have been in this game of snakes and ladders before.§ The government maintains it is ※trying hard to bring about reform in a holistic and ordered way, [while] the MDP continues to look for excuses to justify their own refusal to join in the journey towards our country's future.§ Commentators question whether the roadmap will include a timeline with firm dates for the implementation of specific reform measures.
NEPAL: Government Formulates Policy for IDPs The government has formulated policy to address the issues of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), which is expected to be endorsed by the cabinet on Thursday, a newspaper report said. Nepal Samacharpatra daily quoted a high level government source as saying that the policy was discussed by the bill preparation committee of the cabinet early this week. Minister for law and parliamentarian affairs, Secretary at the same ministry, State minister for labour and transport management, representatives from the Home Ministry and other concerned authorities also took part in the meeting. The policy has been prepared amidst criticism from national and international bodies saying that the government had ignored the plight of internally displaced people. According to the report, the new policy will empower the chief district officers (CDOs) to issue certificates confirming a person's displacement. The certificate will be valid for receiving facilities like citizenship and passport from any part of the country, getting old age allowance from the place displaced people are living at present and arrangements for lodging and food for old people. The policy also states that the displaced persons will be provided with loans for those willing to go for foreign employment and will also enjoy right to vote from any part of the country. Special arrangements will also be made for education of displaced children. The policy was prepared by the Home Ministry and sent to the committee for review after one round of discussion at the Council of Ministers. The UN Rappoteur on IDPs will be presenting the situation of internally displaced people in Nepal during the meeting of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva beginning Monday. Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey is leaving Kathmandu later this week to attend the meeting. He is expected to present the government's policy, among others, at the meeting. Special representative of the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, Prof. Walter Kalin, last year had criticized the Nepal government for not addressing the issue and had recommended for immediate formulation of policy to that effect. The government had reported to the UN that there are less than 8,000 internally displaced people in the country while national and international organisations estimate the number to be more than 200,000.
PAKISTAN: National Assembly Body Discusses Four Privilege Motions ISLAMABAD: National Assembly's Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges here on Friday discussed four privilege motions. The committee's meeting chaired by Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshak, MNA/Chairman discussed privilege motions moved by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, MNA against the misbehaviour of S.M. Khalid, Post Master General Quetta, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Minister of State for Railways and other MNAs regarding misbehaviour of R.A. Chughtai, President, ZTBL, Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur, MNA regarding Police and Mrs Fouzia Habib and other MNAs against the Murree Administration. The committee after thorough deliberation on the privilege motion moved by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, MNA, directed the Director General Pakistan Post Offices who was also present in the meeting to examine properly and submit a comprehensive reply before the Standing Committee. The movers of the privilege motion against the President ZTBL severely criticised his indifferent behaviour towards the members of the Parliament who called him many times to resolve the grievances of the people. They also pointed out many irregularities in the bank including contract employment.The President, ZTBL clarifying his position said that whatever he was doing was in the best interest of the bank and under the rules. Due to paucity of time the deliberations of the Committee on the alleged misbehaviour of President, ZTBL were deferred along with the other two villages motions moved by Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur and Mrs Fouzia Habib. Besides the Chairman, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, MNA, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, MNA, Kunwar Khalid Younus, MNA, Zulfigar Ali Gondal, MNA, Syed Naveed Qamar, MNA, Chaudhry Imranullah Advocate, MNA, Imtiaz Safdar Warriach, MNA, Ghaulam Ali Nizaman, MNA and Syed Ahmad Alam Anwar, MNA were present during the meeting. The Movers, namely, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, MNA, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Minister of State for Railways, Sardar Tufail Ahmad Khan, MNA, Raja Pervez Asharaf, MNA, Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur, MNA and Mrs Fouzia Habib were also present during the meeting.
Social Protection Policy to Be Finalised in May ISLAMABAD: A social protection and development policy, having the basic theme of making the existing support system more effective and transparent, will be finalised by the end of May in collaboration with the Planning Commission. "The World bank is also co-operating with us to finalise this policy which would bring a positive change in life of the poor and bring transparency in the present support system," said Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zubaida Jalal on Sunday while talking to APP. The minister said, performance of social safety nets like Bait-ul-Mal, Workers Welfare Funds and others is being reviewed before finalising of this policy." We are reviewing whether they are really supporting beneficiaries or there are some flaws," she added. She said this policy would have a prominent position in the Planning Commission's Vision 2030. "Our real objective behind this whole exercise is to bring stability in the supporting programmes through micro credit and skill development," she added. Zubaida Jalal said the policy would be discussed at Pakistan Development Forum likely to be held in May and would be finalised after thorough discussion with participating countries. She said the role of our ministry will be mobilisation of resources and ensuring co-ordination at national and international level after finalising this policy. The provincial and district governments will ensure implementation of the policy and we will have the role of monitoring and evaluation," she added. To a question about Child Support Programme, the minister said the government is committed to the objective of Education for All under Millennium Development Goal. "Every family of a poor school going child will be given Rs 200 while Rs 350 will be given to each family sending more than one child to school," she added. She said National Plan of Action for disability would be implemented in May." The plan likely to be published during April would cover the aspects of education, rehabilitation, skill development and employment in the quake areas." Zubaida Jalal said report of National Task force for vulnerable groups has been finalised following the directions of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The report has been finalised through the mutual co-operation of Ministry for Social Welfare and Special Education and Unicef. It specifically stresses rehabilitation of widows, orphans, disabled persons, elderly citizens, single parents and children, she said. The National Task Force had representatives from UN Agency, NGO, Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, Federal Relief Commission, Ministries of Health, Education, Social Welfare and Special Education. The implementation on this report would be started after the approval of the Prime Minister," she added. She said the government would also support quake survivors living under extended family system so that they could lead an independent life.
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IRAN: Legislature Ratifies Budget Outlines The general outlines of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's annual budget were approved by the legislature on March 2, IRNA reported, with 161 legislators voting in favor, 31 against, and seven abstaining. The budget, which legislators began debating on March 1, is supposed to come into force on March 21, the start of the Iranian calendar year. Government spending will be higher than last year, "Sharq" reported on March 2, with more money being earmarked for job creation and public projects. The administration's priority, the article continued, is to ensure that the masses and its allies are satisfied. The article went on to warn that the budget will not only fail to satisfy people, but will stoke inflation and worsen the current situation. BS From http://www.rferl.org/ 03/03/2006
Iranian Legislature Approves Nuclear Budget The legislature has approved the money that was budgeted for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, state television reported on March 12. The actual amount of money was not disclosed. The legislature also authorized the establishment of firms connected with the production of nuclear energy and nuclear fuel, state television reported, and instructed the executive branch to commence surveys and feasibility studies on locations for future nuclear plants for electricity production. BS
KYRGYZSTAN: President Raises Education, Research Wages Kurmanbek Bakiev signed decrees on March 20 raising the wages for 26,000 employees in the education and research fields effective April 1, Kabar reported. Employees of higher educational institutions, scientific centers, and social workers will receive a 50 percent raise. Workers at the National Academy of Sciences and employees of retirement homes will get a 15 percent increase, and the employees of state-run cultural institutions will see their pay go up 35 percent. The state budget has set aside 118 million soms ($2.85 million) for the pay hikes. DK
KAZAKHSTAN: Parliament Passes Law on Electric Power Deputies of the senate have passed the law "On changes and amendments in the law "On electric power," Kazakhstan Today correspondent reports from Astana. The passed changes correct terms of introducing the balancing market of electric power in the real time regime (not from January 1, 2006, as per the law on electric power, but from January 1, 2008.) This measure is passed in relation with the backlog in equipping the wholesale market subjects with automated systems of commercial registration of the electric power. Also a provision regulating the operations of one regional electric power network company on the territory of one administrative territorial unit is excluded from the law.
Government Ordered to Prepare Draft Law on Local Self-Management ASTANA. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, has ordered to the government to prepare a draft law on local self-management and present it for consideration in the Parliament in the 1H 2006 today, March 24, at a meeting of the State Commission for Preparation and Concretisation of Democratic Reforms in Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Today correspondent reports. "The government must complete creation of the legislative database for decentralisation of authority and introduction of local self-management, therefore I order to the government to present a corresponding draft law for consideration in the Parliament in the first half of 2006," - he observed. Besides, the government has been ordered to resolve together with the regional governors all organisational issues for the election of district governors this year. "The fact that we have conducted the election of district governors has shown a growth of responsibility of the regional governors before local executive authorities," - he said. "At the local level I propose to start introducing real self-management. In relation with this I propose to hold elections in villages," - he added.
TAJIKISTAN: President Lauds Women's Achievements, Unveils Plans President Imomali Rakhmonov addressed women's issues in an address to more than 1,000 women in Dushanbe on March 7, the day before International Women's Day, RFE/RL's Tajik Service and Khovar reported on March 8. Rakhmonov said that more than 15 percent of state officials are women and that women occupy 24 percent of civil-service posts. Rakhmonov said plans to construct luxury hotels and a textile plant in Dushanbe will create more than 10,000 jobs for women. But Rakhmonov also noted that more women are becoming involved in the drug trade, Varorud reported. He said that 329 Tajik women have been convicted on drug offences over the past three years. DK
UZBEKISTAN: President Signs Law on Eurasian Economic Community Islam Karimov has signed a law enabling Uzbekistan to join the Eurasian Economic Community, ITAR-TASS reported on March 9. Uzbekistan began the entry process last year and the lower and upper houses of parliament ratified the protocol on entry in February. The Eurasian Economic Community's primary objectives are to coordinate efforts to gain admission to the World Trade Organization, to harmonize customs tariffs, and to develop common border regulations. Eurasian Economic Community members are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. DK
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Australia: Moveing to Make Up for Lost Momentum in India JOHN Howard has announced initiatives in trade and investment as well as aviation and tourism, as Australia makes up for lost time in tapping into the Indian economic bonanza. An Indian carrier will enter the Australia-India aviation market either alone or in co-operation with an Australian carrier. Indian tourists 〞 Australia's second-fastest growing tourism market 〞 will find it easier to travel, thanks to changes to their visa arrangements. The two governments signed a trade and economic framework agreement yesterday, which will encourage co-operation in lucrative sectors including energy, mining, infrastructure development, and information technology. Mr Howard, addressing a business lunch in New Delhi, also announced $25 million over five years to support bilateral collaboration in research. A biotechnology memorandum of understanding has been finalised. Sport is also a winner, with the Federal Government contributing $1 million towards a Bradman Exhibition tour of India. Mr Howard described the exhibition as a "unique display of Bradman memorabilia", which was "unparalleled in the cricketing world". The exhibition was being assembled specifically for India, he said. The economic framework agreement is quite distinct from a free trade agreement, which has been ruled out for the foreseeable future. India's strong agricultural protection would make such an agreement difficult. Mr Howard again highlighted the potential of the Indian 〞 and global 〞 middle class. "You have created a middle class ＃ with enough disposable income to make them eager, brand-conscious consumers," he said. "This is helping to propel what I regard as one of the momentous developments in the 21st century 〞 the emergence for the first time in history of a truly global middle class." He said it was estimated that India and China combined could easily produce middle classes of 400-800 million people over the next two generations 〞 "roughly the size of the current middle class populations of the United States, Western Europe and Japan combined". He said that based on what we knew about the relationship between income growth, health standards, political participation and environmental stewardship, "the growth of this global middle class represents an enormously positive development 〞 for India, for Australia, for the world". India seemed to be approaching its own "unique rendezvous with destiny" he said, while Asia "is poised in coming decades to assume a weight in the world economy it last held more than five centuries ago". He said the Australian and Indian economies complemented each other, giving substantial room to develop the bilateral relationship. Two-way trade in goods and services in 2005 was $9.4 billion. India is now Australia's sixth-largest merchandise export market, and has grown faster than any of our other top 30 export markets over the past five years. Mr Howard said the trade relationship was still maturing. Further relaxation of barriers hindering the free flow of goods and investment would allow it to prosper further. A large business delegation 〞 including representatives of the resources, banking, transport, retailing, and education sectors, among others 〞 is accompanying the Prime Minister.
Analog Reprieve in Media Shakeup TELEVISION networks will be restricted from multi-channel programming and the 2008 switchover from analog to digital TV transmission will be pushed back, under a long-awaited shakeup of media laws to be unveiled today. Communications Minister Helen Coonan, in a speech to business, will finally outline plans to scrap the 20-year-old cross-media rules and wind back the foreign investment limits that restrict the big proprietors from expanding. The media industry will be given about a month to respond. John Howard, wary of an industry backlash, has intervened to ensure broad media reforms have less bite than first expected. The Prime Minister is understood to have signed off on the media discussion paper on Friday, during a meeting with Senator Coonan in Sydney. The Nationals are also promising to cast a careful eye over the reform plan, and could scuttle the changes if they believe they will lead to fewer media services in the bush. Nationals senator Fiona Nash said last night it would be "very difficult to support" changes that led to a loss of media diversity in any regional area. The removal of cross-media ownership restrictions -- which prevent media companies from owning both newspapers and broadcast operations in the same market -- is expected to trigger a series of mergers. But Senator Coonan has flagged the introduction of a regulation to ensure a diversity of ownership: each capital city market will need to have five different media owners and each regional market will need four. The reform plan will be announced a day after a government-commissioned report found that Australia's digital media industry was lagging and in danger of being swamped by global competition. The Digital Content Industry Action Agenda warned that traditional media and telecommunications regulations "have ceased to accurately reflect the dynamics" of the digital age and were stifling investment in new capacity. "So we are further behind," said the industry group's chairman and chief executive of Media Zoo, Tom Kennedy. "We only get one opportunity to correct this and it's all tied in with media reform and telecommunications reform." One source said the Coonan plan might prevent free-to-air networks from offering multi-channelling -- where networks use spare digital spectrum to broadcast up to five different signals -- until the switch from analog to digital transmission. This follows a campaign by pay-TV operators, who say unfettered multi-channelling would harm their businesses if introduced immediately. At the same time, pay-TV operators will have to wait longer until the Government relaxes the present anti-siphoning rules. These ensure that viewers can watch protected sporting and cultural events, such as the Ashes, on free-to-air television without being forced to subscribe to pay-TV. Under existing legislation, analog services are to be switched off in 2008, but this date is certain to be pushed out, probably to 2012. The ban on a fourth TV network is also expected to be retained. But free-to-air networks are likely to be prevented from bidding for spare digital television spectrum, which had previously been reserved for datacasting. Datacasting is designed to use vacant spectrum for broadcast services that are not like TV. Existing rules prevent the broadcast of TV sitcoms, drama, news services and documentaries, while allowing information programs, including home shopping and educational programs. A relaxation of these restrictions would allow datacasters to provide programs for devices such as mobile phones.
Australia Seeks to Overhaul Media Ownership Laws (Associated Press via NewsEdge) The Australian government wants to remove foreign ownership restrictions on Australian media companies as part of a radical shake-up of laws rendered out of date by the rapid advance of digital technology, according to a discussion paper released recently. "There is a compelling case for change, and if the government does not act, then there is a genuine risk that Australia will become a dinosaur of the analogue age," Communications Minister Helen Coonan said in a speech. Current media laws bar foreign companies from controlling more than 15% of a television company and more than 25% of a newspaper publisher. Under the proposed new framework, those restrictions will be eliminated, although foreign investment in Australia's media sector will require government approval. "These reforms marry the government's long-standing policy of changes to cross-media laws in Australia and relaxation of the foreign ownership restrictions with reforms to ensure Australia will not be left behind as the world converts to digital," Coonan said. Canberra also wants to relax current media laws that ban newspaper, radio and television companies in the same city from holding more than 15% of each other's shares, a regime known as cross-media restrictions. But while relaxing that restriction, the government wants to legislate to ensure each state capital has a minimum of five media owners and each regional market a minimum of four.
Dealing Begins as New IR Laws Bite MANUFACTURING workers, low-paid contractors, meat workers and public servants are likely to be the first employees to strike deals under new workplace laws next week. Qantas and Westpac are also likely to be among the first companies to use the Federal Government's new laws in enterprise negotiations with workers. As employers and unions absorbed hundreds of regulations released by the Government at the weekend, the ACTU said its renewed media campaign against the changes would begin on Sunday 〞 a day before the new regime commences. ACTU secretary Greg Combet repeated his threat to refuse to pay fines of up to $33,000 for including banned clauses in agreements that protect jobs. "I will ask for people to be treated fairly and I'm not going to pay a fine for doing it," he said. Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Victorian secretary Dave Oliver, whose union is renegotiating 1100 manufacturing agreements over the next six months, said he would join Mr Combet in a campaign of civil disobedience. "They might have to build bigger prisons to accommodate us all," he said. Mr Combet said employers in the meat industry were becoming more aggressive. He claimed Wangaratta abattoir G. A. Gathercole was likely to be one of the first companies to make use of the new legislation. About 30 workers at Gathercole were on strike last week. A spokesman defended the deal offered. "The workers will end up with more money in their pay packets at the end of each working week," he said. Certified agreements covering 40,000 defence and Tax Office employees are due to expire in the first half of this year, as are 1100 manufacturing agreements. Mr Oliver expects Qantas to seize on the new laws in union negotiations. Westpac also has indicated it wants to look at the new laws after talks with staff over a new agreement broke down more than a year ago. A spokesman said the bank would be happy to negotiate a collective agreement. Workplace Minister Kevin Andrews labelled attacks by the unions and Labor as "hysterical outbursts" and called for critics to look at the facts. He said it was appropriate for him to receive weekly reports on strikes, and regular reports on all new agreements. Prime Minister John Howard yesterday defended the changes, saying the legislation was "not extreme".
MP: Investments of $1 Billion in Australia's Water Future On World Water Day it is important to remind ourselves of the challenge that all Australians have to ensure that our precious water resources are managed sustainably. I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government has committed to supporting 28 water conservation projects across Australia involving initiatives worth over $1 billion with contributions from the Australian Government's Water Fund of $392 million. Twelve of these projects have already been announced. I am delighted to announce a further four projects today. Further announcements will be made shortly. Four projects in New South Wales worth $70 million will receive more than $17 million from the Australian Government's Water Smart Australia programme. Hunter and Gosford-Wyong Regional Water Sharing Project The Australian Government is providing $6.61 million as part of a total investment of $37.76 million to ensure sustainable future water supplies for the rapidly growing Gosford-Wyong and Hunter regions. This will be achieved through the construction of a pipeline that will enable water transfers between the systems, making better use of these water resources. Water Loss Management Programme for NSW Regional Water Utilities The Australian Government will invest $7.39 million in a $22.16 million project which will result in 33 NSW Regional Water Utilities , coordinated by the Water Directorate, recovering up to 15 000 megalitres of water a year by better identifying, prioritising and undertaking on-ground work to reduce water leakage across council owned town water systems. Chatswood CBD & Civic Place Integrated Water Management A $5.64 million stormwater harvesting project in the centre of Chatswood to reduce potable water consumption in the Civic Place development by 81 per cent, compared to standard practice, will be supported by an Australian Government grant of $1.88 million. Stormwater discharge to local creeks and Middle Harbour will also be reduced by 14 per cent as a result of this project. Multi-source, Multi-purpose Water Conservation and Harvesting Project The Australian Government will also invest $1.5 million towards a $4.96 million project towards for the extension of a reclaimed effluent system for irrigation and non-potable household use around a housing estate in Albury . Funding will also support water conservation work at a nearby school and new systems to use reclaimed water from the Norske Skog Paper Mill outside Albury. These measures will reduce water extracted by Albury City from the Murray River by seven per cent. The 900 megalitres per annum of water saved from this project will be transferred to the Living Murray Initiative . In addition to funding for major water infrastructure and conservation projects, my Government has also recently announced funding of $61 million for 1750 community water projects under the Community Water Grants Programme . Through these projects approximately 18 billion litres of water - equivalent to 18,000 Olympic swimming pools - will be saved across Australia. These projects demonstrate that all Australians including local communities, local businesses and local government can play an important role in the efficient use and storage of our precious water resources. Both the Water Smart Australia and Community Water Grants programmes are part of the $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund , an investment by the Australian Government in better water management for all Australians. A further call for funding proposals under the Water Smart Australia programme is expected today and guidelines and further details can be obtained from the National Water Commission website at www.nwc.gov.au . (by John Howard )
Digital Television Regulatory Framework Review Reports The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, today tabled a series of reports on reviews into the digital television regulatory framework. The reviews, which were required by legislation, fed into the formulation of last week's discussion paper on reform options for Australia's media industry. ※The reviews of the digital television regulatory framework raised a number of issues and the discussion paper, Meeting the Digital Challenge: Reforming Australia's media in the digital age , outlines potential policy responses,§ Senator Coonan said. Following consideration of submissions to the discussion paper, the Government will finalise its policy on media reform and develop a Digital Action Plan, to energetically drive take-up of digital television in the lead-up to analogue switch-over. The series of statutory reviews undertaken over the last two years are related to a range of issues including: the restrictions on additional programming provided by free-to-air broadcasters, including multichannelling and whether the prohibition on free-to-air broadcasters offering other types of services, such as pay TV channels, should be modified; matters relating to the end of the moratorium on the issue of new commercial television broadcasting licences, which concludes on 31 December 2006; the efficient allocation of spectrum for digital television; legislative provisions relating to under-served markets; and high definition digital TV requirements. A review of the duration of the analogue-digital simulcast period was conducted in late 2005. Submissions to this review will also contribute to the Digital Action Plan. The report for this review has not yet been finalised.
CONTROVERSIAL anti-terrorism laws will be introduced into Northern Territory Parliament tomorrow. But NT Police Minister Paul Henderson says he hopes they will never need to be used. The laws, being rolled out across Australia, give police unprecedented powers to apply to people for up to two weeks, and declare an area a special area enabling them to stop, search and detain people. "All of the states are passing these laws to ensure that our police forces across Australia have the capacity to act on intelligence as it comes forward," Mr Henderson said. "I hope that these laws are never used, but it's the responsibility of governments to ensure that our population is protected at all times." The legislation, to be reviewed in five years time, is expected to be passed in May.
NEW ZEALAND: Minister Promises Action on JPS Bill Associate Justice Minister Clayton Cosgrove is promising action on a bill to update the law for Justices of the Peace. The Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill would amend the 1957 Act making changes to training, discipline and retirement. Mr Cosgrove defended the lack of action in the area when he spoke at the Royal Federation of NZ Justices' Associations conference today. "I want to make it clear that I have never expressed the view as has been reported, that the bill had 'no likelihood' of being introduced to the House in the foreseeable future." Mr Cosgrove said he had "battled" to get the legislation onto the Government's programme for the year and said he aimed to get a first reading and select committee consideration by the end of the year. He said MMP and the Government's promises to support parties put pressure on the legislative programme. Non controversial changes, such as provisions on retirement and training, may be able to be included in the annual Statutes Amendment Bill.
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Wolfowitz: No Money for Corrupt Governments World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is putting words into action: corrupt governments can say good-bye to aid money, reports Dutch daily Volkskrant. In a short period of time, Wolfowitz halted disbursement of aid money to a number of projects out of uncertainty the money would be well spent. Nongovernmental organizations are full of praise for his fight against corruption. ※It is fantastic that Wolfowitz takes the fight against corruption so seriously,§ says Huguette Labelle, the President of Transparency International. Financieele Dagblad (Netherlands) writes that the World Bank is stepping up its fight against corruption through a policy of zero tolerance. ※The future of millions of people is at stake when money disappears into corrupt pockets. Kids cannot go to school because they don't have books, and pregnant women don't receive adequate heath care. Every form of fraud needs to combated,§ Wolfowitz said in The Hague, where he met with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm, and Minister for Development Cooperation Agnes Van Ardenne. The financial daily notes that two countries in particular experienced recently what it is like to deal with the stricter anti-corruption measures of the World Bank. The Bank has notified Kenya that it will not disburse five loans worth $250 million. A loan to Chad was also recently suspended. According to Wolfowitz this was because future oil revenues would not benefit the poor. Wolfowitz however noted that talks with the Chadian government on how to resolve the issue were ongoing. Agence France Presse meanwhile reports that Wolfowitz said in The Hague that Africa had to be the international lending institution's top priority. "Africa has to be the first priority to the World Bank and I'm pleased to see that it's a priority in Dutch development efforts," he said. Developing transparent institutions, Wolfowitz said, was crucial to fight corruption. ※We also owe it to the taxpayers of the developed countries to make sure that the money is used for what it's supposed to be used for and that it is giving poor people a chance to build better lives.§ Dutch news agency ANP adds that the Washington based development bank considers the eradication of corruption as a means to getting closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The focus on fighting corruption within the Bank is not new, however. A special division within the Bank was set up a few years ago under former Bank President James Wolfensohn with the aim of eliminating fraud.
Corruption Destroying Largest Asia-Pacific Forest: Report Illegal logging and corruption in Papua New Guinea are destroying the largest remaining tract of primary tropical forest in the Asia-Pacific region, Agence France Presse reports an environmental watchdog said Tuesday. Malaysian interests dominated the multi-million dollar logging industry while much of the timber was processed in China for consumption in Europe and North America, Washington-based Forest Trends reported. Working conditions were described as "modern-day slavery," while forests were effectively being "logged out," the international non-profit organization said in its report "Logging, Legality and Livelihoods in Papua New Guinea." BBC News Online notes that most evidence is drawn from reports commissioned and published by Papua's government with World Bank support. But Forest Trends says they have never been pulled together into a single body of work, nor have they been acted on. The conservationists hope that consumer pressure from the destination countries will change the loggers' ways. The existing laws in Papua New Guinea would suffice if they were enforced, and the local form of community-based land ownership is conducive to sustainable management of the forests, they argue. But if felling continues the way it is done now, they warn, Papua New Guinea could be bereft of its natural cover in a decade. Reuters adds the group said illegal felling of timber is feeding an appetite for wood in the West and Asia at the expense of local people whose cultures and livelihoods are closely linked to forests. The primary markets for raw logs are in China, Japan and South Korea and many of the logs are processed in China for consumption in Europe and North America, it said. Some environmentalists estimate more than 250,000 hectares (625,000 acres) of virgin forest are destroyed each year in Papua New Guinea, most of which is still covered by rainforests. Forest Trends said its surveys conducted over a five-year-period showed most commercial forestry operations in Papua New Guinea were illegal and ecologically unsustainable. It said 14 logging projects covering 3.17 million hectares were operating unlawfully in the region. In 2004, these operations produced 1.3 million cubic meters of logs with an export value of $70 million. Agence France Presse says that the report was released on the day environmental group Greenpeace launched an initiative to establish a "global forest rescue station" in a remote part of PNG to support tribal rights against the logging industry. Less than one percent of forests in Papua New Guinea had any form of protection and more than a quarter of a million hectares of primary forest were lost each year, Greenpeace said.
Japan Proposes Minimum U.N. Contribution from Permanent Security Council Members Japan on Friday proposed requiring each permanent U.N. Security Council member to pay at least 3 percent of the world body's budget, the Foreign Ministry said. Japan, home of the world's second-largest economy, pays 19.5 percent of the U.N. budget -- second only to the United States -- even though it doesn't have a permanent council seat. Tokyo has been increasingly dissatisfied with its high U.N. dues, especially as its high-profile campaign to win a permanent seat on the powerful council has garnered little international support. A Foreign Ministry statement laid out two plans for U.N. contributions, one with a 3 percent minimum and one with a 5 percent minimum. The plan would have an immediate effect only on China and Russia, since all the other veto-wielding members of the council -- France, Britain, and the United States -- already pay more than 5 percent. China currently pays 2.05 percent of the U.N. budget, while Russia pays 1.1 percent, the ministry said. The U.S. pays 22 percent, Britain pays 6.1 percent and France pays 6 percent; Germany, another non-permanent member, pays 8.7 percent, the ministry said. Contributions should reflect each country's economic situation and take into consideration each member's position and responsibility in the U.N., the ministry said in a statement.
The new head of the World Bank is ruffling feathers, but his intolerance of crooked politicians should be applauded, writes former economics correspondent at the Far Eastern Economic Review, Salil Tripathi, in a commentary published in The Guardian (UK). World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has suspended loans to powerful countries, strengthened the internal department of institutional integrity, reshuffled officials, and brought in new staff with the aim of making the organization - and its borrowers 每 accountable ( ＃ ) Wolfowitz is on the right track on corruption. For too long, aid money has been squandered by unscrupulous officials and he appears to be keen to turn that around. In recent months, loans to Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Uzbekistan have been put on hold. The Bank's disbursements to Chad have been suspended after the African country went back on its commitment to use revenues from a controversial pipeline with Cameroon only for agreed development targets. Individually, Wolfowitz's decisions may seem like unconnected, reflex-action measures. [But] to understand his crusade against corruption, think of his time as the US ambassador to Indonesia in the 1980s. Anyone who spent time in Indonesia during that time would have seen how corruption was undermining Indonesia. The Suharto regime had made the country self-sufficient in food, built infrastructure, and made serious attempts at spreading literacy, but the government was reeking of graft and hobbled by corruption, which raised costs at all levels. But few in the international community complained at that time, because Indonesia was the model pupil of the World Bank [until] change came abruptly, when the rupiah collapsed and debt-laden Indonesian firms went under. The story of many developing countries is similar, if less stark and spectacular, writes Tripathi. Corruption hurts poor countries at all levels. It raises costs, diverts resources and undermines integrity. It forces people to act dishonestly. Big business passes on such costs by increasing prices, thereby passing the cost to consumers. At the petty level, bureaucrats who exercise discretionary power seek bribes even from the smallest of businesses - rickshaw drivers or shopkeepers. How will Wolfowitz measure, or eliminate, this? Governance indices from the World Bank, particularly from its innovative recent research on business procedures, such as the Doing Business reports, show that countries which have multiple and cumbersome procedures grow more slowly. When juxtaposed with the corruption perception index of Transparency International, the anti-corruption watchdog, there is often close to perfect correlation. Indeed, Wolfowitz's predecessor James Wolfensohn called corruption "cancer" as early as 1996, in a speech still cited widely within the Bank, writes Tripathi. One way to address corruption is by setting examples and punishing bad behavior. That, Wolfowitz has already demonstrated. The other is to establish clear procedures that everyone can understand. While headline-grabbing suspension of loans, such as in the case of Chad, are useful and may even be necessary, in the longer run Wolfowitz will need a more coherent strategy. To do this, he should also think beyond natural resources: oil is not the only culprit. The other elephant in the room is infrastructure - there is a reason why public works departments in many countries are known as "plunder without detection." The Bank needs to develop clearer criteria by pulling together the various anti-corruption initiatives in one framework. For every Chad there is a Cameroon, and the World Bank cannot say no to all loans, all the time, the author concludes.
Nobuaki Tanaka Named as U.N. Undersecretary General U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on March 17 named Nobuaki Tanaka, Japanese ambassador to Pakistan, as undersecretary general for disarmament affairs.
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CHINA: HKSAR Govt Mulls New Agency to Regulate Electronic Communications The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced Friday to launch a three-month consultation on the establishment of the Communications Authority as a unified regulator for the electronic communications sector. The new authority would be responsible for enforcing the existing Telecommunications Ordinance and Broadcasting Ordinance while the existing statutory power and functions of the Telecommunications Authority and Broadcasting Authority would be transferred to the new authority, according to the government. Announcing the proposal at a luncheon meeting organized by the local information and communications technology organizations, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Joseph Wong said technological convergence had been blurring the boundary between telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology. "It is only natural that convergence at the technological and market levels be matched by restructuring at the regulatory level," he said, adding this has been the international trend, from the Federal Communications Commission in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, to the more recent establishment of the Office of Communications in Britain. As Hong Kong is in the forefront of convergence, Wong said "there is an urgent need to establish a unified regulator to enhance regulatory efficiency and further promote consumer benefits." After carefully studying the overseas experience, the HKSAR government suggested adopting a two-stage approach in rationalizing the regulatory regime. In the first stage, the government would set up the authority by merging the existing two regulators in broadcasting and telecommunications. In the next stage, when the new unified regulator was in place, the new authority would participate in reviewing and rationalizing the two ordinances with the administration. Wong said the staged approach would enable the HKSAR government to set up the unified regulator as soon as possible to meet the challenge of convergence. "Upon the inception of the authority, we will review the legislation pertinent to the regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications with special attention to those provisions related to competition and strengthening the protection of consumers' interests," Wong said. The government also proposed to merge the Office of the Telecommunications Authority and the Broadcasting Division of the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority to form the Office of the Communications Authority as the executive arm of the new authority. According to the outcome of the consultation, the government plans to introduce the necessary legislation on the establishment of the new unified regulator into the Legislative Council by the end of the year.
Local Governments Mired in Overspending Local governments, especially counties and townships, have overborrowed and are mired in a debt crisis totaling more than 1 trillion yuan (US$125 billion), the government was told yesterday. Lawmakers and political advisers meeting in Beijing have been urging central and lower governments to rein in their spending and complaining the public is burdened by overspending. "According to 2004 figures, the local government debts totaled at least 1 trillion yuan, with half of the money borrowed by provincial and city-level governments, and the rest shared by county and township-level governments," said representative Feng Peien. He is a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body. Addressing more than 2,000 advisers in Beijing, Feng said that his survey has showed that average debt owed by township-level governments now stands at 4 million yuan. "The financial crisis of local governments has reached alarming levels and could lead to bankruptcy of government credit and undermine social stability," Feng said. Gan Yuping, another CPPCC National Committee member, attributed the ballooning local government deficit to an unreasonable revenue-sharing system between local and central governments. He said local governments are overburdened in paying for public welfare in education, health and rural infrastructure construction. However, some advisers blamed local officials for wasting public funds on dining and wining, unnecessary meetings and constructing extravagant office buildings. "The administrative cost for maintaining government operation in China had increased by 87 times in a period of 25 years from 1978 to 2003, while the governments' financial revenues only rose by 21 times during the same period," said Ren Yuling of the CPPCC National Committee. Feng said all local government debts should be "thoroughly investigated and registered," and that a "scientific local government debt' management system" should be set up to control borrowing.
Corruption in Mining Investment Faces Action A senior work safety official yesterday vowed a further crack down on illegal investment by government officials into coal mines this year, in a drive to clean up the industry. "As Premier Wen Jiabao has required, we will continue to strike hard at any illegal investment in coal mines by government officials," said Zhao Tiechui, vice-minister of the State Administration of Work Safety. Zhao, also director of the State Administration for Coal Mine Safety, issued the warning on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. In his government work report to the NPC on Sunday, Premier Wen placed an unprecedented emphasis on improving work safety. "We will conduct in-depth investigations into cases of dereliction of duty and corruption related to work safety and severely punish those responsible," Wen said. Illegal investment in coal mines by government officials has been widely blamed for their disregard of illegal or unsafe operations in the lucrative business. Last year, 5,938 coal miners were killed in 3,341 accidents, accounting for almost 80 per cent of the world's total. By the end of last year, the government has forced 4,878 officials and heads of State-owned enterprises to withdraw 562 million yuan (US$69 million) of investment in coal mines as part of a special campaign. Zhao yesterday encouraged the public to report on corrupt practices and help seek out the officials who had invested in coal mines. "We will firmly depend on the support of the public to push ahead with the work," he said. The senior official also emphasized that his administration will step up efforts to close down unsafe coal mines through better supervision. To curb rampant coal mine accidents, Zhao's administration issued new safety rules for coal mines in September last year, ordering the closure of illegal mines and the suspension of those that failed to meet safety requirements. A total of 5,243 illegal and unsafe mines had been closed down by the end of last year. "Despite the initial progress, it cannot be ruled out that some unsafe coal mines are still in operation, and we will continue to strengthen our supervision and inspection," Zhao said. As China's coal industry is often hitted by deadly accidents, the vice-minister said he spends at least half of his working time investigating coal mine accidents each year. hao expressed his hope that the central government's greater attention on work safety will pay off with greatly improved mining safety. Earlier, Premier Wen said the central government will allocate 3 billion yuan (US$371 million) in treasury bonds to control coal mine gases, which are a major cause of coal mine blasts.
China's Govt to Fight Against Official Negligence China's administrative departments will join hands with procuratorates in the future to handle criminal cases involving negligent officials in accidents which have caused huge losses of life and property. A provision, jointly issued by the Ministry of Supervision, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the State Administration of Work Safety, stresses increased cooperation between administrations and procuratorates in future investigations into major accidents. It stipulates that investigation groups which are organized or authorized by the State Council, China's cabinet, are obliged to invite the Supreme People's Procuratorate to join the team. For groups authorized by local governments, procuratorates at the same level should take part in the investigation. Probe groups must hand over relevant evidence and materials to the relevant procuratorate members promptly once criminal cases involving negligence officials are spotted, according to the provision.
Localities Authorized to Release Epidemic Information China's Local health departments have been authorized by the Ministry of Health to independently release reports of major epidemics and public health incidents from Tuesday. Local health departments should implement the report-releasing plan made by the Ministry of Health and provide timely and concise information to the public, said the ministry. Health authorities in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities should provide weekly or even daily updates to the public if required, it said. Early warnings of public health incidents should be announced without delay, it added. All the information to be released must be reported to the ministry before being made public, so that the ministry can inform relevant regions, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and international organizations, noted the ministry. The Ministry of Health used to be solely responsible for releasing information on epidemics and emerging public health events, such as SARS, HIV/AIDS, and the bird flu.
China Appoints New Top Statistician The State Council, China's cabinet, has appointed new top statistician. Qiu Xiaohua was appointed director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), replacing Li Deshui. Born in 1958, Qiu Xiaohua is a native of East China's Fujian Province. He graduated from the department of Economics of Xiamen University in Fujian in 1982. Qiu was appointed NBS' deputy director in 1999. He served as chief economist and spokesman for NBS between 1993 and 1998. Li Deshui was born in 1944 and a native of East China's Jiangxi Province. He graduated from Jiangxi Metallurgical Institute in 1968. Li was appointed deputy director in 1992 and director in 1996 of the Comprehensive Department of former National Economy of State Planning Commission, which was renamed as the National Development and Reform Commission. Li became vice mayor of Chongqing Municipality in November 1996 and deputy director of Research Office of the State Council between 1999 and 2002. He was appointed NBS director in April 2003.
China Hunting Runaway Corrupt Officials Lian Rongguan, a former bank official and deputy mayor of Renqiu City in North China's Hebei Province, was arrested at his hideout in the coastal city of Yantai, in eastern Shandong Province, last month after he fled with a huge amount of public money. Lian is one of over 400 runaways who have been captured by Chinese authorities in a new campaign to hunt former government officials who have pocketed public money and possessions and gone into exile. He new round of hunting for these runaways, the second in the past five years since 2001, was triggered by a 2005 report by the anti-corruption bureau of the Supreme People's Procuracy, which says more than 4,000 grafted officials were in exile. The failure to arrest these officials swiftly may be detrimental to the efforts to create a harmonious socialist society in China the foundation of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), says the report. In fact, it has been a regular job for procurators and police to chase after these runaway officials. The authorities captured 596 suspects in 2003, 614 in 2004, and 703 in 2005, respectively, according to a report by Jia Chunwang, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuracy at the recent parliamentary session. So far, the authorities have published the names of these people on the Internet, which has obliged many runaways to give themselves up and encouraged the general public to tip off law-enforcement departments. In Henan Province, central China, local authorities arrested 28suspects only 20 days after they publicized a list of 222 names. This time, the authorities have published the cost of capturing these hiding suspects. It costs 10,000 yuan (about 1,250 US dollars) of public money to capture one of these runaways - it may cost 10 times higher for major cases. "Some cases may even cost 1 million yuan (about 125,000 US dollars) or more," said Wu Heping, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, recently. In some cities, people have been paid 3,000 yuan (about 375 US dollars) after they gave information to the authorities about a suspect. Meanwhile, the authorities have confirmed that among the 4,000 runaways, approximately 500 have gone into exile overseas, far less than the figures reported by some media. "They may have confused the number of corrupt officials in hiding and the number of those in exile," said a procurator from the Supreme People's Procuracy. "We will chase after those who taken a large amount of public money and have caused serious negative impacts at any cost," he said.
JAPAN: Reduce Public Servants to Be Reduced TOKYO (UPI) -- Japan aims to reduce the number of its public servants by 5 percent within five years, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday. The plan is the outcome of years of debate on administrative reform, the newspaper said, and will be included in a bill to be submitted to the current parliamentary session after its approval by the Cabinet next week. The target will be met by curbing new recruitment, streamlining official procedures and public works and outsourcing to the private sector. The bill will empower the government to reshuffle public employees across the boundaries of ministries and agencies. Local governments are also required to target a 4.8 percent net reduction of their current human resources in the same period. The bill also stipulates the integration of public financial institutions into one unit in 2008, as well as the disposal of public estates.
Local Government Plans to Ask Noisy Public to Be Quiet, Please! HEGURI, Nara -- The Heguri Municipal Government proposed a bill for an anti-noise ordinance to its assembly on Tuesday in a bid to regulate excessive noise made by the general public. Heguri officials plan to crack down on noise in the area after a woman was arrested for constantly playing loud music, leading to a neighbor's illness. Under the proposed ordinance, Heguri officials will tell those who make excessive noise to stop. Those causing sounds over 65 decibels from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and over 60 decibels from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. are subject to regulations, but the ordinance provides no penalties. An unemployed woman in Heguri was arrested in April 2005 for playing loud music over a two-year period. As a result, a neighbor suffered high blood pressure, headaches and sleeplessness. Prosecutors at the trial at Nara District Court have demanded the 58-year-old woman spend three years in prison.
Gov't Oks Bill for Medium-Term Administrative Reforms (Kyodo) _ The government adopted Friday a bill to mandate medium-term programs to streamline the bureaucracy and carry over the reforms into the administration following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's. The Diet is expected to set up special committees in both chambers to deliberate the bill, a centerpiece in the latter part of the current regular session through June 18. The administrative reform bill features realignment of the eight state-run financial institutions into a single financier in fiscal 2008, and a 5 percent cut in the roughly 687,000 government employees over five years on a net basis. Koizumi, who plans to leave office in September, has shifted his focus to the bill to realize what he calls a "simple and efficient government" since the enactment last fall of his top priority policy of privatizing Japan's postal system. The bill, approved in Friday's Cabinet meeting, sets policy goals in five areas -- consolidation of state financing, a review of independent administrative agencies, restructuring of special state accounts, a cut in public payrolls and a reduction in state assets. With the aim of curbing an anticipated increase in taxpayer burdens in a graying society, it stipulates such numerical targets as halving the outstanding balance of state lending at the end of fiscal 2008 from four years earlier, and its continued downsizing. It also calls for the long-term goals of reducing in 10 years the ratios of annual government payrolls and the fiscal year-end value of state assets to the gross domestic product of that year close to half those ratios in fiscal 2005. In line with the government policies determined in December, it says a new policy-based financier will be created through the merger of five conventional state-run financial institutions, with its role contained to supplementing private-sector financing. The National Life Finance Corp., Japan Finance Corp. for Small Business, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corp. and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation's international finance division would merge in fiscal 2008, and then absorb Okinawa Development Finance Corp. in 2012. The JBIC's other division in charge of foreign aid loans would be taken over by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which has been spun off as an independent administrative agency. The Development Bank of Japan and Shoko Chukin Bank, which specializes in loans to smaller businesses, would be made fully privately-owned over five to seven years from fiscal 2008, and the Japan Finance Corp. for Municipal Enterprises would be scrapped in fiscal 2008. The envisaged review of independent administrative agencies, meanwhile, comes after their birth in 2001 with the major realignment of central government ministries and agencies. By restructuring the government's 31 special accounts, the bill aims to contribute about 20 trillion yen over five years to rebuilding the debt-laden state coffers. It also seeks to review the accounts' necessity in fiscal 2011 and every five years thereafter. The planned cut in government payrolls would be realized not only through the minimum 5 percent cut in state employees over five years to March 2011 but also reform of its pay system with such measures as the introduction of a performance-oriented personnel management. The national government would also demand that local governments reduce the number of their employees by at least 4.6 percent over five years to April 2010, and that independent administrative agencies trim at least 5 percent of personnel costs over five years, the bill says. The bill also calls for setting up an administrative reform headquarters chaired by the prime minister with all Cabinet members within a month after the proposed law takes effect.
DPJ Should Join Debate on Administrative Reform The government submitted an administrative reform bill to the Diet on Friday. This is an opportunity to jump-start Diet deliberations, which have been stalled since Hisayasu Nagata, a House of Representatives member of the Democratic Party of Japan, made a false allegation against a son of the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, based on a fabricated e-mail. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has described the bill as the centerpiece of his reform efforts and pledged that it would be discussed and enacted in the current Diet session. The bill is also designed to put Koizumi's imprimatur on the administration that will succeed the present one, ensuring it will continue to promote his structural reforms even after the prime minister retires in September. The fabricated e-mail scandal has badly damaged the biggest opposition party. It has sent the DPJ into a malaise, and the party members have stopped pursuing the responsibility of the government and the ruling coalition parties in connection with four recent controversies--the U.S. beef import ban, the Livedoor scandal, fabrication of earthquake resistance strength data and collusive bidding practices involving the Defense Facilities Administration Agency. Nonetheless, the DPJ is still trying desperately to return fire, saying it will not hesitate to boycott Diet deliberations if necessary. However, since its confrontational policy line has been proven to be a failure, it might be a constructive choice for the DPJ to return to a policy of making counterproposals to major bills submitted by the government and the ruling coalition parties. Discussions on the administrative reform bill afford it an ideal opportunity to do just that. Government must slim down The bill is designed to promote reforms in five fields--government-affiliated financial institutions, independent administrative bodies, special accounts, total labor costs of government employees and assets and debts of the central and local governments--with the aim of creating a simple and efficient form of government. At a time when the nation's population is decreasing, the combined long-term debts of the central and local governments are expected to hit 775 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2006. The times require a streamlined and downsized government capable of dealing with various problems effectively. During the latest debate with the LDP leader at the Diet, DPJ President Seiji Maehara voiced the same opinion and told Koizumi his party could compete with the LDP to realize such a government. The administrative reform bill only stipulates concepts and basic guidelines. How to put flesh on these ideas and materialize them remains to be worked out. An across-the-board reduction of personnel and costs will not necessarily make the government less unwieldy and more efficient. More staff and funds should be invested in areas such as security and education, if necessary. There are many issues to discuss. The negative sides of the Koizumi reforms, which have been pointed out not only by the DPJ, but also by members of the coalition parties, should be discussed thoroughly. Blueprint for future needed The prime minister said his reforms inevitably would draw protests from government ministries and agencies, political parties and individual lawmakers. One example is the target of reducing the net number of government employees by at least 5 percent over five years. A panel on the reform of total labor costs has already requested concerned ministries and agencies to present their net reduction plans in specified fields, including the compilation of agriculture and forestry statistics, but the plans they have submitted show virtually no reductions. The DPJ should not become a "resistance force" itself by trying to protect the vested interests of labor unions, a major support base of the party. Competition with the ruling coalition parties through Diet deliberations on the future of the nation and the life of its people, and on a "road map" to realize such a future also would be a way for the DPJ to restore the public trust that was lost in the e-mail scandal.
The Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to promote administrative reform, an important legislative item to cap off reforms initiated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The bill was submitted to the Diet later in the day. The bill stipulates the total number of governmental employees would be reduced by more than 5 percent, and specifies the integration and abolishment or privatization of government financial institutions. The bill sets a course for reform even after Koizumi steps down in September. The government and ruling parties plan to establish special committees in both chambers of the Diet to discuss the bill along with a bill concerning reform of the public corporation system and another bill to reform public services through introducing greater competition. Koizumi told Cabinet ministers at a meeting Friday, "I want you to help the bill pass the Diet quickly and make efforts to promote reforms incorporated in the bill." The bill to promote administrative reform sets "realization of simple and efficient government" as a goal. The bill stipulates numerical targets and implementation dates for five key objectives: -- Reform of government-affiliated financial institutions. -- Review of independent administrative organizations. -- Reform of the government special accounts. -- Reform of government personnel costs, such as by reducing the number of government employees. -- Reform of state assets and debts. Under the reform of public lenders, five state-run financial institutions, including the National Life Finance Corporation and the Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business, will be integrated or abolished in fiscal 2008 in principle and unified into a new state-run financial institution. The bill is aimed at preventing retiring government officials from specific ministries and agencies from heading the new financial institution, under the amakudari practice. The Development Bank of Japan and Shoko Chukin Bank will be privatized. To reduce government employees by more than 5 percent for five years starting from fiscal 2006, the bill calls for streamlining jobs and projects at government offices. The bill stipulates operations of the Construction and Transport Ministry's Hokkaido Development Bureau and food management by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will be streamlined. The bill includes concrete measures to outsource some operations of Hello Work job-placement offices and the Social Insurance Agency to the private sector. Under the bill, the government will create a system under which government employees to be cut will be transferred to other ministries and agencies, and another system to train those transferred. Regarding reform of state assets and debt, the bill stipulates assets such as unused state-owned land will be sold through securitization of real estate, and aims to halve the ratio of debts to gross domestic product by the end of fiscal 2015.
Reforms Promoted at Public Colleges (Kyodo) _ Unique reforms have been undertaken at seven public universities since they were turned into independent administrative entities, with a non-Japanese national appointed as president of Yokohama City University and student evaluation systems introduced at six schools, an education ministry survey showed Monday. Yokohama City University appointed Bruce Stronach, a U.S. citizen, as president, while Akita International University appointed Australian Gregory Clark as vice president, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Yokohama City University also allows students to pay fees for some classes at convenience stores. Six of the seven universities, including Nagasaki Prefectural University, have introduced tenure systems, while another combination of six, including Iwate Prefectural University, enables students to evaluate teachers. The other universities turned into independent administrative entities were Tokyo Metropolitan University, Osaka Prefectural University and the University of Kitakyushu. There were 73 colleges operated by prefectural or municipal governments in Japan as of April last year.
SOUTH KOREA: President Replaces Four Ministers President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday (March 2) nominated candidates for four ministerial posts, picking up his senior secretary for innovation and management Lee Yong-sup, 55, as the new minister of government administration and home affairs. He also named Kim Myong-gon, 54, movie director and former director of the National Theater of Korea, as minister of culture and tourism; Rho Jun-hyong, 52, vice minister of information and communication, as the head of the same ministry; and Kim Sung-jin, 57, administrator of the Small and Medium Business Administration, as minister of maritime affairs and fisheries. ※Today's reshuffle largely affects the ministers who are to run for the upcoming local elections,§ senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs Kim Wan-key said in a press briefing. ※We took into account the consistency and continuity of policies in the course of selecting new ministers.§ Kim added the personnel screening team has also examined a couple of candidates for the post of environment minister, but could not make the final decision. ※The candidate for environment minister will be announced as soon as possible,§ he said. Under the law, the nominated candidates are required to go through hearings at the National Assembly before their formal appointment, possibly late this month, although the legislature has no legal power to boycott the nomination.
Supreme State Energy Organization to Be Launched in September A supreme state organization to deliberate and coordinate treatment of high-level radioactive waste, other energy policies and conflict resolutions will be launched in September, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy on Wednesday (March 1). The State Energy Commission is chaired by President Roh Moo-hyun and consists of relevant ministers, representatives of civic bodies and private-sector experts. The 25-member panel will be charged with formulating 20-year state energy plans every five year and promoting stable energy supplies and an energy welfare policy for low-income residents. The ministry said the commission's formation is linked to September's implementation of the Basic Act on Energy. The panel will deliberate the treatment of high-level radioactive waste for a few years and will seek a national consensus on the matter. The waste is projected to reach saturation point in 2016. The basic energy law was intended to combine and streamline the functions of the 30 current energy-related statutes, including laws on petroleum, petroleum replacement fuel business and the electricity business. The commission will be composed of ministers from Commerce-Industry-Energy, Finance-Economy, Foreign Affairs-Trade, Planning-Budget and the Environment, five representatives recommended by civic organizations and experts from industry, academia and institutes.
Foreign Government Officials to Benchmark E-Government of Korea Korea's success building a knowledge-based and e-government-driven administrative structure will be dispersed to 15 countries in Asia, Central and South America, Africa and Oceania. The Central Officials Training Institute (COTI) announced that it plans to operate the ※International Administrative Information Management Program§ jointly with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) from March 6 to March 17. The participants include 16 high-ranking government officials in charge of administrative informatization in 15 countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Panama, Haiti, Senegal, Sudan and others. This program is to introduce the strategy of participatory government in government reform and its outcome, realization of e-government in Korea, structuring of the IT basis, vision toward an e-society, and outstanding policy cases. The program also includes on-site learning by visiting the National Tax Service, Gangnam-gu Office, Cheongju City Hall, Informatization Village, KT, Samsung SDS and other pertinent institutions and companies. In addition, the program features a seminar ※Case Study and Status of Structuring E-government by Participating Countries,§ to share case studies and experience from among the 15 countries. A COTI official said, ※This program introduces developing countries to the outstanding policies and systems of our government to narrow the digital divide and to greatly contribute to promoting friendly cooperation between Korea and the participating countries.§
Ministry to Reorganize Government Staffing The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said on Monday (Mar. 6) that focus of government organization management will be shifted to 'results and customer service' to effectively handle bureaucratic organization and personnel. The ministry said requests for additional personnel will be decided after a number of factors are deliberated. The factors concern suitability of the tasks of the requesting agencies, the availability of using existing workforce as well as of solving the matter through improved work process and informatization and finally an analysis of their benefits if reinforcement is inevitable. In deliberating bureaucratic organization, it will review the performance of personnel reinforced for the last five years and, on the basis of the review, will cut staffing or transfer them elsewhere if the agency in question failed to produce desired results. The new management organization is intended to break the public's perception that bureaucratic organizations tends to swell in the absence of measures for restructuring and to keep a constant check on the optimal government workforce tailored to tasks and results.
Prosecution Cracks Down on Illegal Electioneering Prosecutors have decided to mobilize more investigative personnel and intensify a public campaign to root out illegal electioneering for the May 31 local elections. Prosecutor General Chong Sang-myong on Monday (March 6) presided over a meeting of some 68 prosecution officials overseeing local elections across the country to discuss a wide array of measures aimed at cracking down on political parties and candidates involved in illicit election campaigns. ※The purpose of this meeting is to build a more effective and nationwide monitoring system to prosecute anyone who may engage in illegal electioneering. We should spare no effort to make this year's elections clean and transparent,§ Chong said at the meeting. The prosecution decided to assign more personnel to investigate election irregularities, closely monitor political organizations and candidates, educate investigators specializing in election cases and step up a publicity campaign to prevent illicit electioneering. To more effectively investigate election illegalities, prosecutors plan to encourage the public to report illicit activities and make a list of chronic election brokers who campaign on behalf of candidates. They will also publicize that individuals receiving money or gifts from candidates face fines up to 50 times the value of the goods accepted. The prosecution plans to distribute about 10,000 election booklets explaining what constitutes illegal electioneering and how courts ruled on past election irregularities, as a preventive measure.
Financial Supervisory Service Head Yoon Wins Award for Financial Supervision Yoon Jeung-hyun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the nation's financial regulator, has been named winner of the Asian Banker Achievement Award 2005 for Financial Supervision. Yoon was credited by The Asian Banker, a Singapore-based financial magazine, for his deregulation drive to improve the profitability and soundness of Korean banks, the FSS said. The award, whose votes were cast by peers within the banking industry across Asia, was given to 24 financial experts to recognize outstanding achievements in the financial services sector. Yoon is the only award winner in the financial supervision sector. The award ceremony was held during the Asian Banker Summit in Bangkok March 15, 2006.
Roh Nominates Woman Legislator as Prime Minister President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday (Mar. 24) nominated Rep. Han Myeong-sook of the ruling Uri Party as the new prime minister, the presidential office announced. Han, 62, if confirmed by the National Assembly, will be the first female prime minister in the nation's history, replacing Lee Hae-chan. A two-term lawmaker and former pro-democracy activist, Han served as minister of gender equality in 2001 for the government of former President Kim Dae-jung and minister of environment between 2003 and 2004 for the incumbent administration. ※In the past three decades, Han has made strenuous efforts to improve women's rights and the nation's democracy. She has also been active in addressing environmental issues,§ Lee Byung-wan, presidential chief of staff, told reporters, while announcing the nomination. Lee added that Han's experiences as Cabinet ministers and a lawmaker have contributed to President Roh's choice of the female legislator as the next prime minister.
Korea to Set Up Financial Hub Promotion Committee The government will set up a Financial Hub Promotion Committee headed by the economic deputy prime minister that will deliberate and promote necessary schemes to foster South Korean entrance into the Northeast Asian financial center. The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said on March 26 that it will make advance notices on details of a bill for the financial hub plan before seeking approval from the National Assembly's extraordinary session scheduled for June. The establishment of the special committee is expected to follow the legislation of the law. Moreover, the government will guarantee prevention of unjust discrimination against foreign financial service firms by law and will be allowed to finance educational programs aimed at fostering financial experts, provided by universities and local research institutes. According to the bill drafted by the ministry, the government will create the Financial Hub Promotion Committee consisting of 30 or less committee members. Ministers of key government ministries, including the Ministry of Planning and Budget, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Construction and Transportation and Ministry of Justice, will join the committee from the government side. From the private sector, economists with the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) and university professors will head six sub-departments. Heads of local banks and chairmen of the Korea Life Insurance Association and Korea Non-life Insurance Association will also be appointed as committee members. "There is not a single discrimination against foreign capital by the origin of the capital, but we stipulated in the law by including a clause banning any unfair discrimination against foreign capital as some foreign countries expressed concern over such possibility," said MOFE director Lee Won-sik. In addition, the ministry said it will establish a financial hub ombudsman center that will help swiftly remove bottlenecks suffered by foreign financial service firms seeking to make inroads into Korea and by domestic financial institutes wanting to advance into overseas markets.
Foreign Government Officials Benchmark Korea's Education of Public Servants The education program of the Central Officials Training Institute (COTI) will be dispersed to 15 countries in Central & South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. COTI will operate the ※International Public Sector Training Development Program§ from March 27 to April 7 jointly with the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The 19 participants include high-ranking officials and faculty members in charge of education and training of government officials in 15 countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Columbia, Georgia, Honduras, Panama, and Tunis. The course comprises government innovation strategies and outcomes of participatory government; personnel innovation of Korean government employees and development strategies of personnel capital; program development of education and training for government employees; competency assessment and education of government employees; action learning facilitation techniques and e-learning education. The seminar's mandate is education and training for competency of participating countries' government employees as well as to share examples and experiments of the 15 countries. A COTI official said, ※COTI will disperse know-how and innovation of education and training on the premise of education. It will greatly contribute to the promotion of friendly cooperation between Korea and participating countries.§ COTI was established in 1984 for foreign government official courses with approximately 150 courses for 2,800 trainees in 104 countries. Known worldwide, it undertakes a significant role in diplomatic aspects through education. This year, 11 courses are offered for about 300 government officials in foreign countries.
MOGOLIA: Democrats Meet to Discuss Future Last week the National Consultative Committee of the Democratic Party, an advisory board of the party, called an irregular session to discuss proposals for forming a shadow government with the Civil Will Party. Talks on the shadow government have been underway for several weeks within both parties, but a lack of substantive progress has left many party members questioning the value of the partnership. The meeting also focused on the pending vacancy of the party chairperson. R.Gonchigdorj, chairperson of the Democratic Party, has submitted a request to resign his seat on a voluntary basis recognizing the failure of his party to maintain a working relationship with the coalition government headed by Ts.Elbegdorj. Until the irregular session takes place on March 30, R.Gonchigdorj will continue acting as the chairman of the party. The most likely people to replace him are Ts.Elbegdorj, ex-Prime Minister, and E.Bat-Uul, a member of Parliament.
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INDONESIA: Solid Retirement Plan Lures Thousands to Civil Service Dreams of a better future and a long-term career motivated thousands of people in Yogyakarta and Papua to take the civil service recruitment test Tuesday. By Yogyakarta standards, Muhammad S. Amin has a comfortable life, as he brings home over Rp 3 million (US$322) a month from his job at a national media company. But uncertainty about his retirement prompted the 32-year-old graduate of Soedirman University's School of Sociology to apply for a job as a civil servant. "It's true I might earn less as a civil servant, but I would feel more comfortable with the status, since I could live peacefully in my old age," said Amin. He estimates that he might get around Rp 1.4 million a month in the civil service, but he likes the certainty and the retirement plan. "If I continue working for a private company, I'll have a higher salary, but when I am old and no longer productive, how can I feed my children?" The hope for a secure retirement makes the civil service appealing for many; more than 80,000 people applied in Yogyakarta for 3,157 available jobs. Contract teacher Wahyuni, 30, took the test despite being nine months pregnant. "A little trouble is fine. Who knows, maybe I will be accepted. I don't want to waste years of studying by not working," said the graduate of Yogyakarta State University. Her colleague, Surono, 31, has repeatedly taken the test, but failed each time. "I've been a teacher's assistant for two years, and previously I was a contract teacher for seven years. I've taken the civil service test 10 times, but failed all of them," she said. "We hope the government will give us priority because we've been teaching for many years." In Papua, more than 60,000 applicants took the test for over 8,000 available posts, most for health workers, teachers and technical staff. The provincial employment bureau chief, Yesaya Buinei, said the administration had 344 available jobs, of which 194 would be for health workers and teachers. He said contract workers who already had served for more than 20 years and were over the age of 46 would be accepted without a test, only based on interviews. "The administration office has already hired 10 contract workers as civil servants," Yesaya said. He said since January this year, the administration had stopped hiring contract workers. In selecting civil servants, he said the administration set aside 80 percent of available posts for ethnic Papuans. "This policy has been in effect since 2000 ... and after the test in 2004, 86 percent of those hired were Papuans." The results of Tuesday's test, he said, would be announced in April, and he warned candidates not to be lured by assurances they would pass the test in return for money. "Don't get duped by such promises. If there's an offer made, report it to the police," he said.
Is the Corruption Fight at State Firms Hurting Economy? The anticorruption drive being conducted by several law enforcement bodies is creating anxiety in the boardrooms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the offices of many government ministries. Approvals for capital expenditure by the government, as well as by some SOEs, have been slow in coming lately. This is because officials responsible for authorizing expenditures have to assure themselves that their decisions will not create problems with the authorities in the future. Addressing the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club recently, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani expressed concern that the current anticorruption drive was seen as rather excessive, discouraging government officials from making decisions, thus jeopardizing the economy. Fuel price and interest rate hikes slowed the country's GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2005. But the slowdown in GDP could have been reduced had the government been able to spend in a timely manner the money allocated for job creation. Some Rp 17 trillion in development expenditure funds allocated for 2005 was reportedly never spent, instead being carried forward to 2006. In an effort to eradicate corruption the government has tightened bidding and procurement procedures, as stipulated in a 2003 presidential decree, resulting in much lengthier tenders. Many government contractors have complained about the lengthy process of bidding. Moreover, some contractors say that when they completed their projects, they did not receive their payments on time, as government officials authorizing disbursements had to take precautionary steps to ensure their signatures authorizing payments did not create problems for them with the law in the future. For medium and small-scale contractors, the long wait for payments puts the survival of their businesses at risk. As these contractors employ hundreds of thousands of workers, the effect of delayed payments on their welfare and purchasing power could be severe. State Minister for State Enterprises Soegiharto acknowledged recently slow downs in capital expenditures had occurred at PT Telkom and state power firm PT PLN due to the reluctance of their directors to take decisions, for fear of stepping foul of the corruption fight. Tanri Abeng, PT Telkom president commissioner, said the company had to postpone capital expenditures of US$1-2 billion slated for this year because of rising concern among its directors of the current graft fight. If such an attitude becomes more widespread among SOE directors, then the problem could become more serious, since it would dampen investment growth and could adversely affect the quality of public services. A reluctance of PLN directors, for instance, to take prompt action in replacing old generators could disrupt the electricity supply. The public would face a situation whereby SOE directors would rather sacrifice public interests than sacrifice their personal safety. It would be ironic if a deterioration in public services occurred, not because of a lack of funds, but because of the war against corruption. So, what should the government do to address these problems? First, the government should strengthen the internal audit units both in the ministries and in the SOEs. Everybody knows that the audit units within the ministries, or the inspectorate generals, have been weakened over the years by corrupt political authorities, so that they are practically powerless to prevent corruption. One of the reasons why external audit bodies like the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) have to be more meticulous and thorough in carrying out their audit is because the inspectorate generals have lost their credibility and trust. If the credibility of these inspectorate generals could be restored, then they could serve as working partners for the BPK. The external auditors then would not have to probe so deeply into department accounts. By being less intrusive, these external auditors would be less intimidating to officials. The skill of law enforcers should also be improved. Currently there is a wide gap in the interpretation of what is legal and what constitutes a violation of the law between government officials and law enforcers. Law enforcers could interpret what is seen as a normal business practice by the directors of the SOEs as a legal violation. Some SOE directors, for example, were at a loss to understand why a decision to purchase a highly specific piece of equipment in an emergency situation at a price higher than the benchmark set by the BPK could trigger an investigation and result in indictments. The directors of state banks have to be prepared for questioning by the police or by the Attorney General's Office if a loan extended to a particular company turns into a non-performing loan. If a non-performing loan can trigger an investigation by the authorities, do not blame the banks if the economy suffers a slowdown because the banks are not lending more. Efforts have to be made by the government and the anticorruption bodies to provide clear guidance to both the government as well as SOE employees of what constitutes corruption in legal terms, so that they have more confidence in carrying out their duties. Anticorruption bodies like the KPK, the police and the Attorney General's Office have been under enormous political pressure to speed up the filing of corruption cases. Reports on corruption cases have been piling up in their offices, coming from their own investigations, audit findings as well as reports from the public. These anticorruption bodies, given their limited resources, should concentrate only on big corruption cases with strong evidence. And more importantly, they should be able to pick up cases where the evidence of corruption can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court trial. This means they should not carry out unnecessary investigations of cases with sketchy evidence and avoid their intimidating presence in government offices. After all, the main objective of combating corruption is to accelerate economic growth, since corruption is one of the culprits that hampers economic growth. (by Winarno Zain)
KPK Seeks Anticorruption Courts in Provinces Overwhelmed by new cases from across the country, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) urged the Supreme Court on Saturday to establish anticorruption courts in every province. Regional anticorruption courts would make the war on corruption more effective, deputy KPK chairman Syamsa Ardisasmita said. Since its establishment on Dec. 27, 2003, the KPK has had only one court in Central Jakarta to handle graft cases from around the country. Statistics show that, since its inception, the KPK has received 10,692 graft reports, 82 percent of which came from outside Jakarta. Syamsa recommended that priority be given to the establishment of regional anticorruption courts in East Java, North Sumatra and Central Java, where most of the complaints from outside the capital arose. "These courts are urgently needed," he said. The anticorruption court, which has nine ad-hoc judges, has won praise from observers, with verdicts at least as severe as prosecutors had demanded. The idea received strong support from Parliament Watch secretary-general Sebastian Salam. He said the existing court was increasingly overwhelmed by the incoming caseload. "These courts should be started as soon as possible. People are pessimistic about the integrity of the regular courts," Sebastian said. Sebastian added that collusion between governors and local legislative council members was a common concern in the regions. "Collusion involving governors and councillors is usually difficult to uncover," Sebastian said. The KPK hopes to set up branch offices in every province by the end of 2007. Syamsa said the commission's main problem was that it only had three months to probe a case and transfer it to the court. Failure to meet the deadline meant the case had to be dropped. "If we had regional anticorruption courts, we could handle cases in a faster, cheaper and more efficient way," he said. As an example, he pointed to the trial of the former governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Abdullah Puteh, who was part of a Rp 3.6 billion (US$3.8 million) corruption case. It cost the KPK Rp 320 million to transport witnesses and material evidence from Aceh to Jakarta in 2005. "If we had an anticorruption court in Aceh, we could just send our team to Aceh to observe the trials," Syamsa said.
MALAYSIA: PM: More Corruption-Related Arrests Made Last Year A total of 485 corruption-related arrests were made last year, an increase of 43% from 2003, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Monday.
PHILIPPINES: Senate Passes P2,000 Workers' Allowance The Senate on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a proposal to give government workers a P2,000 additional monthly allowance. Malaca?ang had proposed a P1,000 allowance hike. If approved, the increase will take effect on July 1. The senators decided to increase the proposed allowance at a caucus Monday night. Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said the P1,000 additional allowance is very small, considering the high cost of living. National Treasurer Omar Cruz had certified the availability of only P13.1 billion to fund the allowance increase. Drilon said the senators would try to work within the amount certified by Cruz. He explained that the additional allowance might take effect only in July to stay within that certification. The ※bidding war§ for the allowance of state workers began after President Arroyo issued Executive Order 144 providing for the P1,000 increase ※because the Senate had been sitting on the proposal.§
SINGAPORE: Government Relaxes Workfare Bonus Eligibility to Allow More to Qualify SINGAPORE : More people can now qualify for the Workfare Bonus. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says the government has decided to relax the eligibility condition, following feedback from Members of Parliament and the public. It will allow those who have worked for at least six months last year to collect the bonus, even if the employment period is not continuous. So it does not matter if the worker had switched from full-time to part-time or contract work. Mr Lee says the Workfare bonus marks a significant step as it provides low wage workers with a cash bonus. But he has a note of caution. Mr Lee says: "We should experiment and gain experience with this scheme first, before considering whether we need a more permanent work-based assistance scheme, and if so what form that should take. We can afford to make mistakes with a once-off scheme. But with a permanent scheme, mistakes will be harder to correct. "However, as the Workfare ideal evolves, we must never allow this to expand into a permanent, needs-based welfare scheme that is not conditional on work. That is the way to fiscal ruin. Worse still, it will breed a crutch mentality." Mr Lee reminded Parliament that the government has periodically shared the fruits of growth with Singaporeans when there are budget surpluses. With the Progress Package, it is taking a more targeted approach by giving more to the older, lower income most affected by economic restructuring and to the elderly most worried about medical and retirement needs. Mr Lee also countered Opposition MP Low Thia Kiang's claim that the government is not spending enough for Singaporeans who need help, saying the Opposition MP's memory is selective. Mr Lee says: "Mr Low said that after giving out the new Singapore shares and holding elections in 2001 and after the elections we pushed up the GST rate. But what we also did which he forgot to mention is that before we raised the GST, we also provided $2.7 billion worth of economic restructuring shares to help Singaporeans cope. So the GST was completely buffered by the ERS. "Furthermore, Mr Low has nothing to say about the Progress Package. Indeed, Mr Low had nothing to say about his alternative proposition as to how the Workers' Party proposes to take Singapore forward to help low-income Singaporeans. Nothing. It really shows he is not interested whether Singaporeans are getting the help they need. He is only interested in scoring political points." Concluding, Mr Lee says the budget is all about staying ahead and staying together. Mr Lee says: "The budget balances competitiveness and cohesion. To lay the foundation for a strong and prosperous Singapore, it offers a better life for all Singaporeans. "And that is our shared responsibility - getting the courage and commitment of every citizen, adapting, upgrading and seizing opportunities and having a strong and competent leadership from the government focused on the long-term and in touch with the people and their needs." Mr Lee called on Singaporeans to work together to make the nation the best home and to build a brighter future for all. ( by S. Ramesh )
Singapore Enhances Financial Aid to Families with Children SINGAPORE, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Singapore government will earmark 100 million Singapore dollars (about 61 million U.S. dollars) to support needy families with children in the next two years, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan announced here Thursday. "Over the next two years, about 70 million Singapore dollars (about 43 million U.S. dollars) will be spent on programs for children and youth from needy families and help them break out of the poverty trap," the minister said. Needy parents will get enhanced financial aid in various forms such as conditional housing grants, educational bursaries and kindergarten fee subsidies, childcare and student care subsidies, as well as utilities and training grants. Part of the money will be used for co-funding social work programs to help at-risk students and out-of-school youth with their study and work skill training so that they would not become low income workers of the future. The remaining 30 million Singapore dollars (about 18 million U.S. dollars will go into the Com Care Work Support Program, aiming to help unemployed or low wage parents upgrade their skills and go out to work so as to become self-reliant. The program is expected to benefit more than 2,200 families per year, according to Balakrishnan. This assistance package for needy families with children is based on some of the recommendations proposed by the Ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers to the government in January this year.
THAILAND: Govt Urged to Support Public Role in Draft Bill The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) will ask the government to encourage more people to participate in drawing up a draft bill to solve violence-related problems in the deep South. Somboon Ahmad Bualuang, a NRC member and former academic at Prince of Songkla University in Pattani, said yesterday that NRC members believed the proposal was necessary to finally solve problems in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Mr Somboon said the draft bill was necessary because the NRC wanted all people in the deep South to have a say in dealing effectively with problems. The government could play a leading role in encouraging southern people to participate in helping draft the new law, he said. "I didn't say that all existing laws concerning the solutions to violence-related problems in the deep South were not effective," he said, adding the laws had been drafted by the government, but most had been abused by state officials. The proposed law was one of several NRC recommendations that will be submitted to the government for consideration by the end of this month. (by Anucha Charoenpo )
VIET NAM: Delta Reforming Education System MEKONG DELTA 〞 Ministries and authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces have been reaching many important solutions to the implementation of a Prime Minister's decision on the development of education and vocational training in the delta. According to the PM's decision dated January 20, 2006, the region's educational system is supposed to reach certain targets by 2010. By that time 65-67 per cent of children from three to five years old should be enrolled in kindergartens and 90-95 per cent of five-year-olds should go to senior kindergartens. Also, 99 per cent of children at primary education age should attend school, 87-99 per cent of children at junior-secondary school age should go to school and more than 50 per cent of senior-secondary school students should be in school. The region furthermore has to reach the national standard on universial primary and junior-secondary education, and should have 150 university students for every 10,000 residents. All the districts are supposed to have established continuing education centres and 90 per cent of communes and wards should have community study centres by 2010. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan said the provinces should have a strong determination to reach these goals and implement the programme timeously to reach the targets because, at present, the education standards in the delta are lower than that of other regions. Luan said the ministry will present a draft for specific implementation of the programme, especially to work out targets for developing educational and vocational training in the delta. This year, the provinces should have kindergartens in all the communes. Each residential area should have at least one or two primary schools or kindergartens, each commune should have a junior -secondary school and each district and town should have a senior secondary school. By 2010, each district should have at least one kindergarten or school complying with the national standard. Each province should ensure that 18-20 per cent of primary seconary schools, 12-15 per cent of junior high schools and from 15 to 20 per cent of senior high schools have reached national standards by 2010. The ministry has decided that all provinces, cities, districts and towns must have vocational training schools and continuing education centres. All the communes should have community study centres. The ministry will help build two or three high-quality vocational schools in Can Tho and the Ca Mau Peninsula (including Bac Lieu, Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces), and two vocational schools for ethnic minority students in Soc Trang and An Giang provinces. The deputy minister said this is the first time that education and vocational training in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta will be developed following set plans and focuses. However, there are still obstacles to the effective implementation of the programme. Recent surveys show that most localities are still short of school infrastructures and educational facilities. They also lack qualified teachers. For example, Hau Giang Province now has a deficit of more than 1,000 junior and senior-secondaryschool teachers, mostly in the arts. Two thousand classrooms in the province are still below standard but the province has been unable to upgrade them. Similarly, because of poor investment, in Soc Trang Province more than 78 per cent of classrooms are badly built and very old.
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BANGLADESH: Next Elections to Test Democracy in BD DHAKA: President of Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentarian League (JBPL) Shin Sakurai believes the next general elections will prove whether democracy has taken deep root in Bangladesh or not. Veteran parliamentarian Sakurai told The Daily Star in an interview that though the major political parties have acute acrimony, the country's politics is still functional and peoples' life depended on the politics. Sakurai was on a four-day visit to Bangladesh that ended yesterday. "It's very important that the opposition does not boycott the elections. If the parties have strong discontent, they must come up to the public and explain their points," said Sakurai who has been visiting Bangladesh on and off since1988. "In the past Bangladesh has had two assassinations. Such incidents make relationship with other countries difficult. To make sure such situation never arises, Bangladesh should strengthen its police system and improve law and order. "Japan is assisting Bangladesh in this regard along with the European nations," said Sakurai, adding that Bangladesh is faced with challenges of terrorism and poor transportation and communication problems. "The arrest of the JMB chief is a great achievement. But I heard that a young Awami League leader (Masudur Rahman Iman Ali) was murdered (soon afterwards). This should not happen," said the chief of the JBPL, a 10-year-old platform of about 60 Japanese MPs from both ruling and opposition parties. He noted that in the early 90s when former president HM Ershad was put behind bars, he was afraid that he might be killed there. "We came to Dhaka along with six ministers requesting the government not to kill him," Sakurai said. "Dealing with terrorism is very important. Making the democracy take root is also very important," he said linking the two issues with each other. "Both the ruling and opposition parties should hold consultative meetings in parliament and discuss seriously their differences to sort them out," he pointed out. During his four-day visit Sakurai met Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina, some ministers, the speaker, deputy speaker, Jatiya Party chief and a host of parliamentarians. "I have urged them to unite and ensure sound democracy," he said. "Democracy has become stable and the politicians of Bangladesh have made great progress in recent years. Japan believes that the country will continue to make progress in this area." A parliamentarian for around three decades, Sakurai finds the Bangladeshi caretaker government system as a good one. "I observed three elections. The party in power may be tempted to control election in its favour and the opposition may be tempted to criticise the results ＃ in this regard the caretaker system is functional," he observed. "But everything is being done by human beings. No system will be perfect. All systems may evolve," he added. Explaining the function of the JBPL, he said this league intervenes in the areas when the public and private sector cooperation in certain areas of the two countries are not functioning their best. The JBPL at this point wants to play a role at parliament level of the two countries to improve these areas.
Planning for Transition to e-Government Procurement (e-GP) It is a great pleasure to join this very important workshop on Planning for Transition to e-Government Procurement (e-GP). We see e-procurement as a key element of public procurement reform in Bangladesh and are pleased to see representatives from government, private sector, and business, along with the contracting, consulting, and NGO communities, and development partners, gathered here to discuss the way forward on e-procurement. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning, and to the State Minister, Mr. Anwarul Kabir Talukder, in particular, for leading this exercise. Procurement reform is clearly a crucial building block in improving governance and public sector management and accountability in Bangladesh. Poor public procurement practice lends itself to corruption and wastes scarce public funds. It is now well documented that corruption in public procurement also affects economic growth and worsens the investment climate, skewing public investment and spending to those areas where the opportunities for personal gain are highest and away from those that the economy needs most. At the most fundamental level, corruption in public procurement causes erosion of public confidence in government and its leadership, seen or suspected to be acting in their own, not the national interest. In more than one country in recent memory, governments have been voted out of office by a disillusioned electorate, voting in a ※cleaner§ government. As you may know, the World Bank's new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) puts governance at center stage. Governance will be the core focus in every sector we engage, and sector governance reform will be the target of every Bank-supported project. The strategy also aims to enhance transparency and accountability and reduce opportunities for corruption by (i) strengthening "core" governance institutions, including such key "watchdog" agencies as the Comptroller and Auditor-General (C&AG), Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Public Service Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Bangladesh Bank; and (ii) the "core" governance processes of public financial and budgetary management and public procurement, among others. Mainstreaming governance is also at the heart of our ※Joint Strategy§ partners' programs〞ADB, DFID, and Japan. Before touching on e-GP, let me say a few words about the new draft Procurement Law, tabled in Parliament and awaiting approval in the next session. Procurement reform is never an easy undertaking, and we know the law has encountered opposition〞even in very high quarters. We therefore congratulate the government for its persistence in this important reform. A comprehensive Procurement Law, properly implemented and enforced by the government, will provide a strong platform for better governance, specifically, for better governance of budgetary spending, with economy and efficiency in public purchases.
BHUTAN: An Advisory Committee Formed to the Planning Commission A 11-member committee comprising professionals from the government, private sector and non-governmental organisations has been formed to advise the Planning Commission on all aspects of development planning. According to the Planning Commission, the committee will advise the commission on national development planning and on formulation of growth and development strategies and facilitate coordination of national and local plans, policies and programmes. The functions of the committee will be to review socio development policies, carry out research, studies and surveys of specific issues concerning the economy or of a selected region as may be required by the commission. The committee will also have the authority, to call agencies and individuals for clarifications, explanations and presentations. It will be headed by a chairperson nominated from amongst the members and will meet quarterly to review achievements and challenges. The creation of an advisory committee to the Commission was one of the recommendations of the Good Governance Plus document launched last November, which list a number of actions for the government to undertake to bring about good governance. The move came months after the Commission was reconstituted as an independent body from a department under the finance ministry following a resolution passed by the 84th session of the National Assembly. On December 15, the prime minister, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, took over the Commission as the Chairman. The members of the commission are the nine ministers and the commission's secretary. The erstwhile planning commission was dissolved in June, 2003, and the secretariat transferred to the finance ministry as the planning department. The Commission in its second meeting in January after it was reconstituted also reviewed the functions of the policy and planning divisions in the various ministries and agencies and planning units in the dzongkhags with that of the Commission.
INDIA: Prime Mister of India Sets Up Task Force on Health Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a task force to map the gaps in the health sector, beset by a shortage of doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians, and identify new opportunities. The move is based on the recommendations of a recent report submitted by National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, highlighting the huge gap in human resources in the health sector. "There are growing opportunities with India emerging as a major international centre for low cost health care. The fact that India is demographically a young nation gives it an opportunity to have its trained personnel meeting the health care needs of the demographically aging countries," said a release from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
National e-Governance Plan to Be Launched The Government will soon launch the National e-Governance Plan. Twenty five projects in mission mode will be launched in 2006-07. Among them is Project MCA-21 to enable companies to file returns electronically and a project for setting up of common service centres and assigning unique ID to BPL families. This was announced by the Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram while presenting the Union Budget of 2006-07 here today. The Finance Minister said that the Government's intention was to bring a number of services online, in a web-based mode, including applications under the Right to Information Act, applications for house sites, ration cards, transfers of teachers, inclusion in the electoral roll, filing of police complaint, and issue of birth/death certificates and copies of land records.
INDIA: Congress Party Leader Sonia Gandhi Resigns from Office over Charges of Violating Constitution New Delhi: She was born in Italy, but Sonia Gandhi is fast turning the ancient Indian virtue of renunciation into a political art form. For the second time in two years, the leader of India's Congress party has shocked the country and wrong-footed the Opposition by standing down. In 2004, Gandhi declined to become Prime Minister despite leading Congress to a surprise election victory. On Thursday she quit her LS seat and NAC chairperson post, after charges she had violated the Constitution by holding both posts. In doing so, she took the wind out of an Opposition campaign to unseat her, and regained some of the moral high ground. "Suddenness and surprise has worked in her favour, and has caught the Opposition on the wrong foot. The Opposition is trying to hit a stationary target, and she keeps moving the goalposts," said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan. But this was no direct repeat of 2004, when the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was portrayed as making another supreme 'sacrifice' for India, and rising above an Opposition campaign against her Italian birth. Hindustan Times lauded Gandhi's masterstroke, and said she had reinforced the credentials she had burnished two years before, others were not so complimentary. "A cynical 'sacrifice'," said the Statesman newspaper, which 'crowns the ham-handedness' of the whole affair. "If Sonia Gandhi's 2004 'renunciation' gave her a halo, her 2006 'resignation' is the moment when we get to see the swathes of sellotape that keeps the halo in place," Indrajit Hazra wrote in another newspaper column.
SRI LANKA: President Seeks Transparency in Bribery and Corruption Complaints COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapakse insists on more transparency and efficiency in the conduct of inquiries into complaints of bribery and corruption pledges better facilities for the Bribery and Corruption Investigation Commission without any delay to achieve these objectives. President Rajapakse gave this assurance when the retired Supreme Court Judge Amir Ismail, the Chairman of the Bribery and Corruption Investigation Commission, handed over the Commission's Progress Report for the year 2004 to the President yesterday. According to a media release by the President's Office yesterday, the President further observed that the Commission's responsibility involves investigation of frauds and corruption on the part of State officers as well as the causes of their tendency towards bribery and corruption and emphasised the urgency of formulating and implementing measures more widely and intensively to check such tendencies. The President further pointed out the importance of linkage with international organizations to retrieve people from corrupt practices as such linkage is applicable to raids against the drug menace and assured that necessary facilities such as personnel and vehicles and office equipment will be provided to the Commission early. The officials of the Commission informed the President that there had not been a salary increase to the Commission's employees since 1994 and pointed out the need to allow officers attached to the Commission to serve it for at least five years. The President instructed the Secretary to the President to take steps to secure the salary increases as recommended and pointed out the importance of preparing a review and progress report of the Commission once in two months and instructed President's Secretary to take steps soon to obtain membership in the Asia Pacific Organization relating to Bribery and Corruption.
President Appeals for Free and Fair Election ANURADHAPURA: President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday appealed the party supporters of the United People's Freedom Alliance to commit themselves to a free and fair election without unleashing violence against the members of the other political parties. President Mahinda Rajapakse made this appeal yesterday in a message to all UPFA candidates contesting the forthcoming Local Polls from the Anuradhapura district. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake read out the message addressing the UPFA candidates at the Anuradhapura Urban Council indoor stadium. President Rajapakse further appealed to the candidates not to cause any undue trouble with other political party activists and also to refrain from competing with other candidates to draw more preferential votes. "All candidates should give first priority to make the UPFA victorious at the forthcoming elections", the President added. The President's appeal came yesterday after a JVP member was seriously injured in a incident that took place on Saturday night. The JVP supporters staged a peaceful protest yesterday in Anuradhapura condemning the attack in which the JVP member was seriously injured. Meanwhile, in another incident 12 JVP members including Galle district MP Thilakaratna Withanachchi were injured and admitted to Karapitiya teaching hospital when they came under attack from the party supporters of another political party in Nagoda, Ethumale junction in Galle at 4.30 pm yesterday.
MALDIVES: Cabinet Recommends to Abolish Electricity Bureau and Establish Energy Authority MALE - The cabinet has recommended to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to abolish the Maldives Electricity Bureau and to establish a new government body in the name of ※Maldives Energy Authority§. The decision was made after discussion among members on a paper presented to the cabinet by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. Noting that the Maldives Electricity Bureau was essentially mandated to regulate electricity generation and distribution in the Maldives, members of the cabinet emphasised the need to establish a regulatory body with a broader mandate to oversee energy and power usage, in line with ongoing efforts to strengthen energy policy in the country. The cabinet also noted that the abolishment of the Bureau and the establishment of the Authority would not result in an increase in the staff quota or budgetary expenditure. Highlighting that, at yesterday's sitting of the People's Majlis, a ＆no-confidence motion' against the Minister of Home Affairs, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, was defeated by an overwhelming majority of the Majlis, the President congratulated Minister Thasmeen Ali on the outcome. The Minister of Home Affairs thanked members of the People's Majlis and his cabinet colleagues for the confidence and trust that they showed in him.
NEPAL: Government Pushing Parties Out of Constitution Chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Pashupati Shumsher Rana has said that the government was conspiring to push parliamentary parties out of the ambit of the constitution. Speaking at a program in the capital Sunday, Rana said, "The government frequently talks about unity among the constitutional forces but it is trying its best to force the seven-party alliance to go outside the constitutional framework." Rana squarely blamed cabinet vice-chairman Dr Tulsi Giri and Home Minister Kamal Thapa for not creating an atmosphere for talks between the royal palace and the political parties. The RPP chairman said the cabinet duo were the major obstacle to the parties-king dialogue, which is essential to bail the country out of the present crisis, adding, "The conspiracy to widen differences between the king and the parties is aimed at denying the king even a constitutional status that is well-accepted by the parties." The government should take the initiative for dialogue and understanding between the constitutional forces, he added. He further said that the arrest of CPN-UML general Secretary Madhav Nepal, seizure of communication equipment and computers from his home and search of his residence were examples of arbitrariness. He alleged that the government promoted anarchism in all the government mechanisms including army, police and civil servants. Stating that anarchy would prevail in the country until peace and democracy were restored, Rana further said even civil servants were feeling demoralized in the present situation.
PAKISTAN: Pakistan Soon to Have a Separate Human Rights Ministry Lahore: The Pakistan government has reportedly decided to set up a federal ministry for human rights, and similar ministries in each of the four provinces. As a precursor a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) would be established under an act of parliament, reported the Dawn. The Commission would be headed by a chairperson preferably a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court. Quoting a senior officer of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Ministry, the paper said that the government has introduced a bill in the National Assembly for a legislation and the NA's standing committee is considering the bill clause by clause, says. The bill is expected to be passed by the NA in the second session most probably in June, it added. The unidentified officer reportedly said that the federal cabinet had approved the draft law about two months and soon after the ministry moved the bill n the National Assembly. Earlier, a similar ministry was set up by former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto during her second stint as PM. But, the ministry was abolished by the Nawaz Sharif government, which gave this subject to the interior ministry under which a human rights wing was established. When the Musharraf regime took over, the wing under the interior ministry was dispensed with and human rights portfolio was given under the Law and Justice Ministry. Later, the ministry set up human rights wings in provinces with the objective of monitoring the rights violation in collaboration with NGOs. However, the provincial wings exposed their weakness as a public sector department and the government has not been satisfied with their performance which, it was felt at the highest level, did not get the required help from provincial departments, particularly police, in mitigating rights abuse.
Servants in Politics to Be Sacked UMERKOT: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim on Saturday said government servants found involved in politics would be sacked.He was talking to newsmen at the residence of provincial Adviser Jadim Mangrio in village Haji Wali Muhammad Mangrio near Dhoro Naro. Regarding a suggestion about life-long presidency for Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said President Musharraf would keep this office with him till he had the blessings of Allah. On the razing of some Sindhi colonies in Karachi, he said a committee had already been set up to review this issue. He said no action would be taken against any old village, whose name was present in the record. However, he made it clear that encroachment on government lands would not be tolerated, and all involved elements would be taken to task. On the issue of Hyderabad transporters, he said this would be settled in the interests of general public. Earlier, Dr Arbab offered Fateha and condolence to Faqir Jadim Mangrio on the demise of his son. Later, he attended a luncheon hosted in his honour by Jadim Mangrio. Speaker of Sindh Assembly Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, PML Sindh additional secretary general Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi, MPA Dost Muhammad Memon, district Nazim Faqir Manghan Mangrio and others were present.
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AFGHANISTAN: President Reshuffles Cabinet President Hamid Karzai reshuffled his cabinet on March 22 and presented it to the Afghan National Assembly the same day for approval, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 21, 2006). The most high-profile change was at the Foreign Ministry. Karzai gave the post, occupied for four years by Abdullah Abdullah, to one of his former foreign affairs advisers, Rangin Dadfar Spanta. It was not immediately clear why Abdullah was replaced. In other changes, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel's temporary post as interior minister was made permanent and Suraya Rahim Subhrang replaced Masuda Jalal as the minister for women's affairs. Fourteen of the 25 ministers in the new cabinet served in the old cabinet. Karzai's spokesman Khaleq Ahmad told Tolu Television on March 22 that in addition to the cabinet members, the president also presented to the National Assembly changes to the composition of Afghanistan's Supreme Court. Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari, a conservative, retains his position. AT
IRAQ: New Parliament Convenes in Baghdad Iraq's Council of Representatives opened its first session on March 16, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reported. During the roughly half-hour session, parliamentarian Adnan Pachachi, by virtue of being the oldest member of parliament, oversaw the swearing-in of the parliamentarians. The parliamentarians pledged to "preserve the independence and the sovereignty of Iraq and to take care of the interests of its people." Outgoing parliament speaker Hajim al-Hasani opened the session with a moment of silence for the victims of the 1988 chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabjah. The first order of business for the parliament will be to elect a speaker and presidency council. Once the council is established, the parliament will address the prime minister's nomination. Outgoing president Jalal Talabani told reporters on March 15 that he expects a government of national unity to be formed by the end of March, RFI reported on the same day. KR
KYRGYZSTAN: Parliament Elects New Speaker Kyrgyzstan's legislature elected Marat Sultanov as its speaker on March 2 , akipress.org reported. Sultanov's candidacy was approved in the third round of voting, with 45 legislators for and only 14 against him, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Sultanov said that he will try to promote a conciliatory line in the legislature's relations with the executive branch, Interfax reported. He said, "If the opinions of the executive authorities and the parliament differ, we will object. But we will not start a confrontation." Sultanov succeeds Omurbek Tekebaev, who stepped down after making derogatory comments about President Kurmanbek Bakiev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 9, 2006). DK
KAZAKHSTAN: President Appoints New Security Head Nursultan Nazarbaev issued a decree on March 2 appointing Amangeldy Shabdarbaev head of the National Security Committee (KNB), Kazinform reported. The Senate (upper chamber of parliament) approved Shardarbaev's appointment with a unanimous vote of 34 in favor, "Kazakhstan Today" reported. Nazarbaev, who released Shabdarbaev from his current position as head of the presidential guard on March 2, said that the new KNB head "has no negative recommendations and enjoys wide authority." Shabdarbaev succeeds Nartai Dutbaev, who stepped down as KNB chairman (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 23, 2006) after five members of the KNB's Arystan special-forces unit were arrested in connection with the murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 22, 2006). Queried about the fate of the special-forces unit, Shabdarbaev said, "I can't draw snap conclusions, but measures will be taken," "Kazakhstan Today" reported. Before being appointed to head the president's guard in 2002, Shabdarbaev served as Arystan's commander in 1997, Interfax-AVN reported. DK
TURKMENISTAN: President Demotes Finance Minister Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree removing Atamurat Berdiev as economics and finance minister, Turkmen TV reported on March 9. Niyazov appointed Berdiev head of the State Tourism Committee. Berdiev had served previously as deputy prime minister and oil and gas minister; he was removed from those posts in December in the course of a government reshuffle (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 23, July 25, November 2, and December 19, 2005). DK
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AUSTRALIA: Tax Reform Not on Agenda, Says PM AS HE prepares to leave for a trip to India, John Howard last night effectively ruled out drastic reshaping of the tax system, saying it would be too difficult 〞 and people really wanted tax cuts rather than tax reform anyway. The Prime Minister said it was "quite hard" to bring about a further radical change without interfering with the existing family tax benefits system. "And I can assure you we're not going to interfere with that because it's very much at the core of the help we provide to Australia families in the middle," he told ABC TV's 7.30 Report . Mr Howard's stance comes after Treasurer Peter Costello announced a review of the tax system, clearing the way for tax cuts in the budget. Mr Costello on Wednesday outlined his vision of policy priorities for the nation 〞 as Mr Howard did too last night, at a celebration in Sydney of his 10 years in power. Mr Howard's five "national challenges" are: preserving national security, continuing economic modernisation, adapting government services to a changing society and ageing population, ensuring the nation's natural resources are put on a sustainable basis, and maintaining national unity. Australia faced big challenges in coming years, he said. These included terrorism, the threat of weapons proliferation, and the rebalancing of global power that was likely to accompany the rise of China and India. Mr Howard will follow the steps of US President George Bush when he and leading business figures make a three-day visit to India next week. Mr Bush is now in India but will have left by the time Mr Howard reaches New Delhi on Sunday evening (Indian time). The US yesterday finalised a nuclear pact with India under which it would provide nuclear technology and co-operation. Australia is a major uranium exporter but while officials have been watching the US progress with keen interest, Australia's policy remains to export only to signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty 〞 which India is not. "That's a hard and fast rule, which won't be bent," a spokeswoman for Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said. Apart from business and official functions, Mr Howard will call on Sonia Gandhi, widow of the former prime minister Rajiv, meet the Bollywood cast of Salaam Namaste , which was shot in Melbourne, and drop in on a cricket school where Dennis Lillee coaches. Topics for discussion with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ministers will include terrorism. Australia and India have a memorandum of understanding on counter-terrorism and both are moving towards a trade and economic framework agreement. Toorak next stop on PM's party circuitIN THE walled gardens of a celebrated Toorak mansion tonight, there is to be an exceedingly private extravaganza for Australia's most public of individuals. Victoria's captains of industry, commerce and conservatism will gather to honour the decade-long ascendancy of their champion, Prime Minister John Howard. The mansion is Cranlana, the largest property in Clendon Road, built for the founder of the Myer retail dynasty, Sir Sidney Myer. Yesterday, hired vans were making deliveries at the wrought iron gates. Cranlana these days is the home to the oldest of Sir Sidney's sons, Baillieu, and wife Sarah, but nobody from the Myer family was responding to phone calls yesterday about tonight's events. Cranlana's property manager denied knowing about any party, but society caterer Peter Rowland confirmed his firm would be providing sustenance. "I can assure you it won't be pies and sauce." The party is the third in three days for the PM, after Canberra on Wednesday and Sydney last night. Protesting gatecrashers are expected. (by Michelle Grattan)
ARC Gets Tough on Research Rules UNIVERSITIES will face continuing audits of their commonwealth research grants as part of moves to monitor more closely how they spend public funds. The Australian Research Council, which administers an annual $540 million in grants, will begin the audits within three months after pilots at Monash and RMIT last year. The reviews will assess whether universities and their researchers are complying with their ARC funding agreements, which stipulate how grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent. The move comes as the University of Technology, Sydney investigates allegations of misconduct against three staff members in relation to ARC grants. "The university is treating the allegations seriously, and when the investigation is complete it will review recommendations and take necessary action," UTS said in a statement. Sydney's The Sunday Telegraph obtained internal audit documents that alleged three professors had falsified information to get research grants. Chemistry professor and chairman of the academic board Tony Baker is alleged to have supplied "incorrect and deliberately misleading" information to obtain a $113,000 medical grant, the newspaper said. The HES tried unsuccessfully to contact Professor Baker. The ARC audits were planned more than a year ago, well before the UTS case emerged. But ARC chief executive Peter Hoj told the HES the council had been in contact with UTS over the case. "We are aware of that issue and of course we are concerned about the allegations," Professor Hoj said. He also urged anyone who knew of any cases where ARC funding was not being spent appropriately to come forward. Universities sign on to funding agreements with the ARC if they are successful in winning research grants. These stipulate how they use the funds and their obligations to inform the ARC if there are any changes to the way the money is spent. Research grants are partly covered by universities' own audit processes but this is the ARC's most concerted attempt yet to make sure institutions have proper systems to monitor grant spending. "It's public money so I don't have a problem with having it [being] audited," said Margaret Sheil, deputy vice-chancellor, research at the University of Wollongong. Professor Sheil, who heads the group of deputy and pro vice-chancellors, research, said her university was told about the audits last year and that it was "not a major issue". The first audits are expected to begin in May or June, with four to six institutions to be reviewed this year. They include universities, research institutes, museums, CSIRO and any other recipients of ARC funds. The University of Sydney's acting deputy vice-chancellor, research, Don Nutbeam said the rolling audits were a useful reminder to all researchers of their obligations to report any substantial variations to the way their grants were spent. It also reminded institutions that they must be capable of auditing their grants, he said. ARC funding was more than doubled under the federal Government's innovation program, Backing Australia's Ability. With the extra money has come tighter scrutiny of ARC funding arrangements and public criticism of some projects that win grants. Professor Hoj said he did not think there was much misleading use of funds but there was room to tighten up the process. "From time to time the ARC does ask institutions to show cause why we should not ask for our funding to be returned," he said. "So you can imagine that when you run 5000 grants that there are things that for one reason or another are not executable in the way it was intended." He said the best way to ensure that commonwealth money was spent well was to put a lot of effort into selecting who was getting that money, a process done through international peer review. The ARC would try to fulfil its audit objectives without creating unnecessary red tape, he said. When Professor Hoj took over the top job at the ARC in October 2004, he foreshadowed closer scrutiny of research outcomes, particularly with the big-ticket items. "We have to be able to follow our investments all the time," he said then. "I want to make sure we are able to do that."
Aboriginal Welfare Plan Has Merit: PM THE Federal Government was considering a major overhaul of the welfare system, including cutting payments for Aboriginal parents who do not send their children to school, Prime Minister John Howard said. The controversial welfare experiment 每 the brainchild of indigenous leader Noel Pearson 每 also aims to get young people in remote communities off the dole. School attendance will be linked to family payments, meaning there will be consequences if children skip school. And young people who fail to look for work or study will also face reduced dole payments. Mr Howard today backed the plan, which is set to be trialled in four communities on Cape York in far north Queensland. "It is a proposal that has emanated from the Aboriginal community and we are examining it," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting. "It is obviously something that would have a lot of practical challenges but, as a concept, what Mr Pearson is getting at is good ... I do not object to it being looked at as a concept." Mr Howard also signalled the plan could be implemented more broadly. "Anything that instils a greater level of responsibility in all parents 每 I am not just talking about Aboriginal children 每 I don't think it is something that if you are serious about, you should limit it to Aboriginal children," he said. Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said the Government was close to giving the go-ahead to a raft of changes to Aboriginal welfare, which he hoped would be in place before the end of the year. "We are very advanced in looking at ... the Noel Pearson opportunity ... we are looking very closely now as to how we may be able to fundamentally change the social welfare policies in these indigenous communities," Mr Brough told Sky News . "We're also very advanced at looking at having indigenous people own their homes on their own communities, which has never happened before. "I think that if we take that sort of approach we can make huge inroads into the disadvantages that these remote indigenous communities have had for many years." Mr Brough said the time had come to start making a real difference. "I have seen first-hand the destruction of the current welfare sit-down money 每 as it's referred to in the indigenous communities," he said. "Perhaps like no other time in our history, we now have many communities and their leaders saying `We want this to happen'. "We have a fresh approach from Aboriginal leaders, we have a strong will to work together by states and territory and federal governments, so I am very upbeat about our capacity to do this and do this quickly and hopefully in the next 12 months."
Childcare Rebate Safe: Costello THE Federal Government has again ruled out scrapping the 30 per cent childcare rebate after it was called into question for a second time in as many weeks. A growing group of government backbenchers is calling for a major revamp of childcare in the May Federal Budget as affordability and accessibility continues to decline. In a budget submission, the backbench bevy has proposed a payment of around $4600 to families with a child under five, allowing them to decide how the money will be spent. Liberal MP Alan Cadman says the existing family tax system punishes families who need both parents in the workforce and includes substantial disincentives to work. The interaction between welfare payments and paid jobs meant it could be a waste of time for the second income earner to go back to work, he said. "The tax impact and the effective marginal tax rates can go over 100 per cent," he told ABC radio. "That means it is just a waste of time in a financial sense of going back to work. "There may be other reasons for going back to work, but for financial advantage it may be so punishing that it may not be worthwhile going back to work." Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop, who chairs a parliamentary committee investigating work and family issues, is worried about how the family tax system could be disadvantaging people trying to start a family. "(We have) people who are single and have no children are subsidising people who already have children," Ms Bishop told ABC radio. "How does it impact women who are in relationships or in a partnership, trying to save up to get a home to have children, who are paying tax to support somebody else's children?" But Treasurer Peter Costello has ruled out scrapping the 30 per cent childcare tax rebate in response to the backbench concerns, which have been gathering momentum since former minister Jackie Kelly described the childcare system as a "shambles" two months' ago. A spokesman for Mr Costello said the government had no plans to change the childcare rebate. "The government is not looking at changing the childcare rebate," he said. In January, Ms Kelly called for spending on childcare to be increased by a further 50 per cent, and for companies to be able to claim a tax deduction for childcare places bought for employees in private centres. Ms Kelly also wanted the $11.5 billion budget surplus to be spent on fixing the childcare crisis instead of on tax cuts. She told AAP she was still hopeful the government would invest in childcare options in the budget and Mr Costello has indicated on a number of occasions this year's will be a family-friendly budget. National welfare group, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), last week proposed ditching the 30 per cent childcare rebate in favour of broadening the means-tested childcare benefit (CCB) to guarantee all families are paid at least 30 per cent of government-recommended fees. The childcare tax rebate is due to kick in this year for fees paid in the 2005-06 financial year. Labor says the backbench group, reportedly about 40 in number, has embarrassed the government. Opposition childcare spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said fixing the family tax system was not enough and the government should do more to tackle rising fees and falling accessibility and quality. Family First senator Steve Fielding, meanwhile, says families should have a $1000 increase in the tax-free threshold for each dependent child, which could be claimed as a rebate at the end of the financial year.
Health Insurers Split on Gap Cover GAP cover schemes designed to protect patients from being slugged with crippling out-of-pocket hospital bills vary wildly in their effectiveness, the industry watchdog has revealed. Biggest does not always mean best; some of the industry's smallest funds appear to provide better protection against gaps than many of the market leaders. St Luke's, a mostly Tasmanian-based health fund with a 0.4 per cent national market share, was ranked third in the overall effectiveness of its gap cover arrangements, with a score of 81.7 per cent - well ahead of the country's biggest fund, Medibank Private. The industry goliath, which has about three million members and holds 28.7 per cent of the market, came seventh with a score of 76.4 per cent for gap cover effectiveness - although that was still better than the industry average of 69.7 per cent. The figures - the first time such a comparison of gap cover has been made - were revealed in the second annual State of the Health Funds 2005 report, published yesterday by Private Health Insurance Ombudsman John Powlay. The best gap cover performer was BUPA, the country's third-biggest fund with a 9.9 per cent market share, which trades as HBA in all states except South Australia and the Northern Territory, where it is known as Mutual Community. BUPA's gap cover products were found to reduce gaps by 97.1per cent on average, compared with an industry standard of 84.3 per cent. And its overall gap cover effectiveness rating - a measure that reflects how widely the gap scheme is taken up by doctors - was 84.4 per cent. The report said the biggest factor behind the differences in gap cover was the extent of the funds' presence in NSW, where doctors charged much more than in other states and were less likely to adhere to insurers' fee schedules. The report also compared the performance of Australia's 38 registered health funds in a number of other areas, including administration costs, complaint rates, financial performance and benefits paid. The data has been used to provide individual fund "report cards" measured against industry averages. Complaints against funds fell by 14 per cent, from 2992 complaints in 2003-04 to 2571 the following year. Mr Powlay said of the country's 10 biggest funds, "none of them do really badly, with respect to gaps or anything else" when compared with the industry averages. However, he said there was "quite a bit of variation" in how much different funds paid out in ancillary cover for services such as dental, optical and podiatry care. Percentage of costs covered by funds for these services varied from 32 per cent in some cases to 77 per cent. "What surprised me was that a lot of the figures (for the proportion of ancillary service costs covered) were below 50 per cent," he said. "The only ones that went over 50 per cent were the smaller restricted membership funds - or the ones that are running at a loss, which is not necessarily to be recommended either." The health insurers' peak body, the Australian Health Insurance Association, and the Australian Medical Association said they were not to blame for the lower effectiveness of gap cover schemes in NSW. AMA vice-president Choong-Siew Yong said doctors' costs in NSW were higher than elsewhere and the funds' payment rates were too low.
NEW ZEALAND: Government Sends Out Razor Gang to Tidy Up Spending The Government has set up a razor-gang to review spending. Core departments and agencies will be scrutinised with a Cabinet committee as overseer. Associate Finance Minister Trevor Mallard said yesterday: "The reviews are not aimed at cost-cutting, they are intended to assist Government to get more nimble at moving resources to where they have the greatest impact." The review will spark nervousness in some agencies. Specific issues to do with the effectiveness of a number of them are raised in the Cabinet paper on the review released yesterday. Capital asset management costs are also blowing out and will be reviewed across the board, but with a focus on defence agencies and the departments of Corrections, Justice and Police. The value of the Crown's physical assets increased two-thirds between 2000 and 2005. In the last financial year, spending on them was $1.6 billion, but despite the increase, the paper said "gains from this spending are unclear". Labour has a policy of not selling state assets and Mr Mallard said the review would not involve "hocking" them off. But the Government wants better value-for-money regimes for management. Some Ministry of Economic Development business assistance programmes, on which spending has significantly increased in recent years, appear set to be axed. The paper calls for the reprioritisation of spending on the programmes "including possibly phasing out some components". Child, Youth and Family appears likely to come under particular scrutiny, with the Government concerned that while it has had a 50 per cent budget increase since 2003, "it remains unclear to what extent this has led to improved outcomes". The Government also appears likely to offer greater incentives for people to become permanent guardians of foster children, noting that the department has 5000 in its care. As already signalled, it wants greater productivity and improved performance from the health sector. Immigration spending, significantly up, will be reviewed and immigrants may face fee increases. The Ministries of Social Development and Transport will also be reviewed. National finance spokesman John Key criticised the decision to allow agencies to review themselves, saying it proved there was no real intention of overhauling spending. The review was "more akin to a toothpick gang than a razor gang".
Government and Treasury at Odds over Film-Subsidy Scheme The Government will keep funding large-budget films despite the Treasury's reservations about the assistance scheme and a report that shows its economic impact could in the "worst case" result in a $38 million net loss. Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard says the economic evaluation of the Large Budget Screen Production Grant should be treated with caution. He backs the scheme, saying that without it large-scale productions might be made elsewhere. The Government introduced the grant two years ago. Five grants have been made - to King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Without a Paddle, Hercules and Power Rangers - totalling $49.728 million. The grant provides a 12.5 per cent rebate on production expenditure of more than $15 million within New Zealand as long as the total spent here is greater than 70 per cent of the total production budget. Where production expenditure exceeds $50 million, the 70 per cent threshold is waived. The economic evaluation estimated the net economic impact of the scheme at between a "best case" $33 million net gain and a "worst case" $38 million net loss. Treasury officials said there was not sufficient robust evidence to support the view that there were large spillover benefits to the economy to justify the subsidy programme. The finding that the grant could have a negative economic impact raised doubts about its effectiveness, the Treasury said. But Mr Mallard said yesterday that in his view the overall benefits outweighed the costs of the grant. The economic evaluation said large-scale productions had injected $363 million into the economy and generated direct economic growth of $173 million and indirect growth - due to the impact of films on tourism - of $22 million. Tax receipts from the sector less the tax cost of the grant was $50 million. The report said there appeared to be sound economic reasons for the Government targeting the sector and assisting its growth. Mr Mallard said benefits that were not quantified included the goodwill the scheme generated with screen producers and the value of the international reputation New Zealand was developing because of its large-scale productions. He said the Government had decided to continue the grant in its current form. A full review of the scheme was planned for 2009. Tim Thorpe, executive director of the New Zealand Screen Council, said he was relieved the grant would continue.
First Maori Chosen to Head Defence Forces The soldier who led New Zealand forces in East Timor is the new head of the country's defence forces. Major-General Jerry Mateparae, 51, takes over command of 13,000 military and non-military staff across the three services and joint headquarters. He is the first Maori to head the New Zealand Defence Force. Major-General Mateparae came in for public attention when he commanded the peace monitoring group in Bougainville in 1998 and was the joint commander of the New Zealand forces in East Timor from 1999 to 2001. He said it was a huge honour to lead the defence forces and a role he began to aspire to only four years ago. "I think I bring the quality of consistency, carrying through on commitments made, the values that we hold dear in the Army and the defence force generally, in terms of professionalism." Prime Minister Helen Clark and Defence Minister Phil Goff said the major-general would be promoted to Lieutenant-General when he replaced Air Marshall Bruce Ferguson from May 1. As a result of the movement at the top Major-General Lou Gardiner will take over from Major-General Mateparae as Chief of Army, and Air Commodore Graham Lintott will be appointed Chief of Air Force, at the rank of Air Vice-Marshal, to take over from Air Vice-Marshal John Hamilton. Rear Admiral David Ledson has also had his term as Chief of Navy extended to April 30, 2009, to bring the appointment into line with the other senior roles. Air Marshall Ferguson said his successor had been a role model for years and would continue to be in his three-year term at the top of the military. Asked if the appointment was significant for Maori, Major-General Mateparae said: "You will need to go and speak to Maoridom. I have a view. I am immensely proud as a New Zealander, to serve. I am also immensely proud as a member of Ngati Tuwharetoa to be selected." The military promoted people on merit, he said. Helen Clark said Major-General Mateparae had a distinguished career and would serve New Zealand well as the head of defence. His appointment came as a result of a recruitment process by the State Service Commission, but ended up as a return to the tradition of rotating the top job through the three branches of the defence force - Army, Air Force and Navy. The Prime Minister also praised outgoing Air Marshal Ferguson and Air Vice-Marshal Hamilton for their outstanding service. Mr Goff said the new head of defence had melded the traditions of the Maori warrior and the British Army to produce great leadership.
PM May Reinstate Parker to Cabinet Prime Minister Helen Clark indicated she will reinstate David Parker to the Cabinet immediately if the Companies Office does not charge him over false declarations he made. She cited natural justice. That is in contrast to her attitude last week when she suggested that if Mr Parker had not resigned all of his portfolios, she would have sacked him. "It probably would have come to that but it didn't need to. He's an honourable person and that's the step he's taken," she said last Tuesday. Mr Parker resigned as Attorney-General last Monday after undisputed revelations in Investigate magazine that he had filed several annual returns to the Companies Office for Queens Park Mews Ltd that said all three shareholders had unanimously agreed not to have the company accounts audited. In fact, one shareholder, estranged former business partner Russell Hyslop, had not been consulted. Both Mr Parker and Helen Clark said on Monday that he should go as the Government's top legal officer but keep his other portfolios. The following morning he resigned from the transport, energy and climate change portfolios as well, after it was clear to Mr Parker that Helen Clark had changed her mind and could not justify having a different standard applying to different portfolios. She announced his complete resignation on her way to the Labour caucus. There was no suggestion he was standing aside temporarily until the outcome of the Companies Office inquiries. But at her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, Helen Clark turned what had been acknowledgments of "mistakes" at the very least by Mr Parker into "allegations". And she indicated that if he were not charged by the Companies Office for filing false returns, she would have him back immediately. "If this set of allegations doesn't stack up then it would not be natural justice to deny Mr Parker a place." She even hinted he might be reinstated as Attorney-General if he did not face charges.
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Poorest Countries Urge Transparency in Development Assistance BANGKOK (TNA-UNIS) - Sixty representatives from Asia's poorest countries meeting in Bangkok to review implementation of a road map out of their chronic poverty ended their summit this week calling on their trading partners to provide bound, duty- and quota-free access to all exports, and to simplify rules of origin. Prime Minister Bounnhang Vorachit of the Lao People's Democratic Republic stated that about 120 million people in the poorest Asia-Pacific countries still live below national poverty lines and that this number will rise if the international community does not fulfill its commitments in the Brussels Programme of Action. The 14 Asia-Pacific region LDCs are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Co-organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), the meeting marked progress for some, but insufficient advances for nearly all. The region's least developed countries (LDCs) attended the meeting to review and compare their progress towards attaining the goals of the 'Programme of Action' adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in Brussels, Belgium in May 2001. ESCAP executive secretary Kim Hak-Su said that most the countries relied "on a narrow range of commodities and trading partners [and that] provision of government services may be limited or costly." Full implementation of the Programme of Action by both the LDCs and their development partners is critical if these countries are to attain their internationally agreed development goals, Mr. Kim emphasised. Anwarul K. Chowdhury, United Nations Under-Secretary General and High Representative for the LDCs sais that the last half decade saw more benefits of South-South cooperation for LDCs. Some developing countries became important markets, emerging as significant investors in or suppliers of technology, producers of medicinal drugs and providers of technical assistance as well as financial aid and debt relief of LDCs. Representatives from the LDCs urged their development partners to support their national priorities through consultation and dialogue. Also, the safety and security of migrant workers from LDCs are of major concern, UN iInformation Services said. Representatives attending the meeting also considered how implementing coherent regional support measures in financing for development, trade, migration, and technology transfer, environment land security could enable LDCs to attain their internationally agreed development by 2010.
Workshop to Explore Asia's 'Brain Gain' Potential from Overseas Professionals MANILA, PHILIPPINES - A workshop opens this week in Washington, DC, to explore the potential contribution to Asia's economic development of overseas professionals. The workshop on diaspora knowledge exchange opens on Thursday at George Washington University. It is organized by ADB and the School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the university, in cooperation with the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, Ayala Foundation USA, and Centre on Migration, Policy and Society of the University of Oxford. "Developing country governments and international donors are taking notice of diasporas' potential contributions to economic development," explains Clay Wescott, an ADB Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist. "Attention has primarily focused on financial remittances, which are estimated to outpace official development assistance. Yet overseas professionals can also benefit their home countries through social remittances and knowledge exchange." A study commissioned by ADB on Converting Migration Drains into Gains: Harnessing the Resources of Overseas Professionals, reviews such contributions, and government policies and programs to support them, in three case studies of Afghanistan, People's Republic of China, and Philippines. The cases provide empirical and anecdotal data relating to skills exchange/transfer, its potential relationship to financial remittances, diaspora motivations, and home country policies and programs. The potential for diaspora knowledge exchange suggests greater opportunities for gain than may be currently recognized and realized. "Officials, economists and others in developing nations worry about the economic impact of losing their best and brightest people to opportunities presented in richer countries," adds Mr. Wescott, who led the study. "However, our study and others find many positive effects of diasporas, such that in some situations there may be a net 'brain gain' rather than 'brain drain'." The two-day workshop will bring the three study team leaders together with scholars, overseas professionals, diplomats, and officials from international agencies to critically review the study results, explore how the findings can be used to improve development effectiveness in the three countries, and begin to define a research agenda for other Asian diasporas. This research builds on a previous study commissioned by the ADB on migrant remittances to the Philippines, and a September 2005 conference in Manila: "Remittances and Poverty Reduction: Learning from Regional Experiences and Perspectives," jointly hosted with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)/Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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CHINA: State Council Issues Incentive Policies for Innovation China's State Council issued here Sunday incentive policies encouraging scientific and technological innovation. The incentive policies target at creating friendly environment for carrying out the National Guidelines for Medium- and Long-term Plans for Science and Technology Development from 2006 to 2020. The incentives include promised increase of research and development expenditures, favorable taxation policies towards innovation-oriented enterprises, financial supports and governmental procurement. In addition, specific policies will also be worked out for licensing of alien technologies, intellectual property protection, human resources, improvement of public science awareness and favorable policies for state key research labs.
Thirty Chinese NGOs Win Awards For Innovative Poverty Reduction Projects Thirty Chinese non-government organizations (NGOs) have won awards totaling $650,000 in a competition sponsored by the World Bank for innovative poverty reduction projects, the Bank said on Saturday, reports Xinhua (02/25). The China Development Marketplace, a new initiative of the World Bank to support and strengthen grassroots civil society organizations (CSOs) in China, selected the top projects from 100 finalists. The winners proposed reduction of poverty through a range of different approaches. The winning ideas included supplying environmentally sustainable biological gas to single mothers in Hubei Province; creating support networks for waste collectors in Shenzhen City; teaching poor children believing in Islam in pasturing areas of Xinjiang vocational skills by providing them with micro-credit. He Shenghua is the winner of a project that will create community service centers to teach deaf youngsters vocational skills in East China's Jiangxi Province. She said teaching sign language enhances communication not only between deaf children and their parents, but also within the wider deaf-mute community throughout China. "Every penny of the grant from China Development Marketplace will be spent on promoting services for deaf people in society." Entitled "Supporting Innovations for Scaling-Up Services that Reach the Poor," the scheme reflects the World Bank's commitment to promoting the potential of CSOs to improve their communities, the Bank said. World Bank Vice President Frannie Leautier said China has made significant achievements in poverty reduction, but there are still challenges. "It is important and necessary for civil society organizations to play a key role in supplementing the government's efforts in the fight against poverty. "Often focusing on particular districts, and working closely with local governments, CSO interventions involve capacity building, training and service-delivery in micro-credit, agriculture, off-farm employment, education, health, water and sanitation, and other activities," said the vice president. The news agency notes that almost 1,000 applicants from all over China submitted their ideas on how to best reduce poverty. The 100 finalists with the best ideas were invited to Beijing for the two-day competition to showcase and share their unique ideas. A diverse and eminent jury selected the winners during the event. Many of these judges came from China Development Marketplace partner organizations, including government agencies, academia, non-profit organizations, media, Chinese corporations, multinational corporations and the international donor community. Each of the winners received up to $30,000 to implement their projects. David Dollar, China Country Director of the World Bank, thanked the finalists for their participation in the competition and for the role they are playing to reduce poverty around the country, saying, "In my mind they are all winners because they are doing important and rewarding work on the ground."In other developments, Xinhua and Asia Pulse (02/27) note that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz praises China's poverty reduction efforts in a new publication that details worldwide efforts to reduce the scourge of poverty. Entitled ※Reducing Poverty on a Global Scale: Learning and Innovating for Development,§ the book identifies the main factors that cause an increase or reduction in poverty and what this means for the World Bank and donor countries. An entire chapter is devoted to China which has worked closely with the World Bank to pilot innovative poverty reduction efforts in Southwest China, Qinba Mountain Area and northwest China's Gansu Province, and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The book outlines how the World Bank-sponsored programs helped raise incomes, improve food security, and expand access to basic services in 61 of China's poorest counties. These projects have played an important role in poverty reduction and rural development, it said. Meanwhile, Pakistan Press International Information Services (02/24) report the World Bank Thursday announced names of 33 finalists being invited to the first Pakistan Development Marketplace, scheduled for March 15, 2006 in Islamabad.
Shanghai Enters New Period of Innovation A recent report shows that the city's investment in research and the development of science and technology last year accounted for 2.34 percent of GDP, up 0.05 points from the previous year. Just days ago China announced a sweeping 15-year plan to invest in technologies ranging from genetics to energy-efficient cars in an effort to spur economic growth while safeguarding the environment. The plan, issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, calls for the country to raise spending on research to 2 percent of GDP by 2010 and 2.5 percent by 2020, while progress in science and technology will contribute at least 60 percent of the country's economic growth. In addition to finance, the input of human capital is a more important factor in R&D, Liu Junyan of the municipal science and development studies committee pointed out.
Govt Enhances Administrative Capability The Chinese government is striving to strengthen its administrative capability to beef up central policy enforcement and achieve the targets set in the 11th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. Premier Wen Jiabao said in his government work report at the national legislature on March 5 that "we will establish a sound administrative accountability system, improve the government's ability to perform its duties and strengthen public trust." "This term of government has realized the vital importance of administrative ability in successfully pushing forward reform and economic construction," Sun Zhaoxue, vice president of China Aluminum Co., Ltd., said during the current session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC)."A well-functioning administrative mechanism directly concerns the enforcement of the policies worked out by the central government," the NPC deputy said. Analysts pointed out that it is natural for China, one of the fastest growing economies of the world, to recognize that the importance of administrative capability is pivotal to the country's sustainable development. Despite the fact that the central government has issued a series of laws and regulations on environmental protection, many polluted rivers, smoking chimneys and heaps of stinking trash can be seen in many areas. "Writing administrative ability into the government work report helps make government reform more rational," said Wang Quanjie, an NPC deputy from East China's Shandong Province. "The government used to pay much attention to enacting policies and plans but sometimes ignore their effective implementation," Wang said, noting that "implementation is the crucial matter." China has proposed many big objectives for reform and development in the government work report and the 11th Five-Year Plan. Their realization depends on a strong implementation mechanism of the governments at central and local levels, Wang said. In fact, the Chinese government has, since January this year, issued a series of policies and regulations which carry a strong message to step up its administrative ability and policy implementation efficiency.
China Aims to Build Nationwide Product Tracking System by 2010 China aims to set up a nationwide product identification, authentication and tracking system by the year 2010, said officials from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on Wednesday. The system, which has been put into trial operation in north China's Hebei Province, aims to protect consumer and company rights and promote the overall social economic development. The system will be a national network for quality control, based on modern communication technology, network technology and coding technology, said the officials. It can be helpful for consumers to differentiate between fake and genuine products. Enterprises can have a better idea about product sales via the system. The system will also help the law enforcement departments to keep a close eye on the whole market. The administration is planning to implement the system in 100 key cities, which will cover 100 key products in the foodstuffs, agricultural and building materials sectors.
Nation Confident on 2020 Innovation Target China is confident that it will become an "innovative country" by 2020 despite arduous tasks ahead, Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua said on Friday. In 2001, China ranked 28th among 49 major countries in terms of comprehensive scientific and technological innovation capability. "We must enter the top 20 before we can say that we have realized our target," Xu told a news briefing on building an innovation-oriented country on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress. "Our per capita supply of energy, water and land resources is becoming more stringent as we face pressing problems in resources and environment," Xu said. Only by promoting science and technology can China solve these problems, he noted. According to Xu, Chinese enterprises are under increasing pressure from international competitors in globalization. They have to pay high patent fees, for example, 20 per cent of a mobile phone's price, 30 per cent of a computer's and 40 per cent of the price of a program-controlled digital machine tool, to foreign patents owners. To change the situation, the budget for science and technology this year will reach 71.6 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion), up 19.2 per cent year-on-year, according to Zhang Shaochun, assistant minister of finance. He said the government will ensure that expenditures on research and development (R&D) grow at a faster pace than fiscal revenues in the next five years. The government will also offer tax incentives to innovative businesses, he said. The new tax policies will allow an enterprise to use 150 per cent of its spending on R&D to offset payable income tax of that year. "In other words, the government will give tax rewards to companies that are actively involved in R&D," said Fang Hanting, a senior researcher with the National Research Centre for Science and Technology Development. Fang said the tax allowance will help reduce the financial risk of research-oriented companies and catalyze the emergence of more innovative firms. Besides, the new policy encourages companies to accelerate depreciation of research-related facilities. Zheng Chaocai, a tax official in Xiamen, Fujian Province, said the policy gives companies more tax preference. He called it a breakthrough in the country's tax policy. Beijing Vimicro Corporation said it is expected to double its sales income with the help of the tax incentives. At the end of last month, the government released a 58-point package of policies to help carry out its medium and long-term science and technology development programme. One of the highlights is to allow China Development Bank to issue loans with low interests to high-tech companies as an investor, Fang said. The bank has already started 50 such projects by investing 5 billion yuan (US$ 625 million) altogether. During the press briefing on Friday, Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, unveiled China's plans to build many major technological infrastructure projects in the next five years.
China's Innovation Campaign: Dos and Don'ts China has launched a national campaign to enhance its capability for innovation. But experts advise that does not mean China always has to be the original inventor. China has been exporting a large amount of commodities to overseas markets. While Chinese people feel proud that "Made-in-China" is everywhere around the world, it has long been a sore point when it comes to the label's profitability. A Chinese DVD player exporter can make only 1 dollar from each machine priced at 32 dollars, while 20 dollars goes to the foreign patent owners. That's 60 percent of the total value. And according to the Minister of Commerce, Bo Xilai, China must export 100 million shoes or 800 million shirts in exchange for the value of one Boeing aircraft. To change this situation, the Chinese government has made it a top priority to enhance the country's innovation capability."The 11th Five Year plan makes an important step forward. It's a major change, that is, it seeks to establish a basis of what it calls independent innovation." renowned U.S. economist and Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, made the comment at a seminar recently held by the China Center for Economic Research of Peking University: "in the past, China has been basically borrowing ideas, trying to close the gap." "What it recognizes that enormous amount of the rents that exist in the world associate with knowledge rents, the returns to the control of knowledge. So if China's income is going to be raised, it has to create a basis of independent innovation," Stiglitz added. The Chinese government plans to allocate over 70 billion yuan, or more than 8 and a half billion U.S. dollars, this year for investment in science and technology. That represents an increase of nearly 20 percent year-on-year.According to the Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Guanhua, China has to maintain an investment rate of 40 percent from now on, while the contribution rate of science and technology to GDP growth is slated to grow from the current 39 percent, up, to hit 60 percent. Otherwise, it is not possible for us to meet the target of quadrupling the current per capita GDP by the year 2020.But despite the increasing input, Justin Yifu Lin, Director of the China Center for Economic Research, insists that China cannot merely pursue original innovations. He said:" There are three types of innovation. One is the original innovation, which enables you core technologies; another is called integrated innovation, which refers to incorporating various features into different types of products; and the third is introducing and absorbing advanced foreign technologies and inventing new products out of them."Justin Yifu Lin added that innovation is a production and investment activity. China needs to consider the cost and risks during the process. Developed countries have made many innovations, especially original innovations, because they have abundant capital and strong risk-taking capabilities, where they hold comparative advantages. But for the Chinese mainland, if it overly stresses on original innovation, it is very likely that the benefits brought about may be overshadowed by the cost we pay." Ho-Mou Wu, a new comer to the China Center for Economic Research, cites the experience of some Taiwan companies as an example:" The contention for patents has a bearing on the life or death of a country's industries. Independent innovation is a very challenging task. Take the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd as an example. TSMC is a very important conglomerate in Taiwan. It has invested a huge amount of money in independent original innovation while the outcome has proved not necessarily as good as it was intended to be." He urged to draw up a patent map first and find out where there is room for self-innovation and whether the country is able to afford such innovation.However, even if an innovation is worked out, it still can hardly be widely adopted if others know little about it. In that case, the innovator needs to be a global citizen, speaking the globally acknowledged language. Professor Joseph Stiglitz said:" one of the advantages China has of being a large economy is that you can set your own standard. If they want to come in to China, they have to pay you. And if you have a global standard, you then have a bargaining chip in the global debate that says 'Ok, maybe we won't use our standards. But if you don't accept a lower fee, we'll go to our standard. This is part of the globalization today and it's only by having independent innovation, will you be able to enter into this global bargaining game on the basis of some degree of equality." The International Organization for Standardization has just rejected adopting a China-developed wireless encryption standard called WAPI for global use. But China says it will firmly support the technology and that failure in the international standard application will not affect its use domestically.
CPC Official Underscores Training For Party Officials A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Monday called for improved training of party officials, which was recently highlighted by CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao. More efforts should be made to improve the management and teaching methods of training programs in an effort to raise the quality and standard of training, said He Guoqiang, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, at Monday's inauguration teleconference of spring semester of three schools that train party officials. The schools should take the remarks of "eight honors and eight disgraces" made by Hu Jintao as an important part in their teaching and research, He noted. All party officials should realize their responsibilities that are outlined in the "socialist concept of honor and disgrace" and work to become models of learning and fully implementing the concept, He said. Organization departments at all levels should use the concept in evaluating party officials, He added. A total of 596 members attended the inauguration ceremony held in Jinggangshan Cadre School on Monday. The other two schools are located in Pudong of Shanghai and Yan'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Chinese President Hu Jintao recently called on the Party schools to fully utilize resources to improve the quality of training so as to raise the competence of Party officials at various levels.
Govt to Support Enterprises in Technology Innovation: Minister China will make more effort to support enterprises in the development of new technologies in a bid to enhance the country's overall innovation capability, according to Xu Guanhua, China's Minister of Science and Technology. Xu said at the China Development Forum 2006 on Monday that enterprises should be the driving force in the nation's innovation system. He said that Chinese enterprises are poor innovators due to insufficient investment in R&D. About 25 percent of Chinese enterprises have their own R&D institutes and their R&D expenditures only account for 0.78 percent of the sales revenues. Statistics show in developed countries, 80 percent of multinationals have established R&D institutes and they spend at least five percent of their sales revenue on R&D. At present, multinational enterprises have built up 750 R&D institutes in China. China's technological and scientific capacity has not kept pace with the country's sustained rapid economic development and China still buys or borrows key technologies from other countries. Insiders say the lack of an environment conducive to innovation is an embarrassment for China. Xu said the government should work out preferential policies in order to encourage innovation, noting that China will pave the way for small and medium-sized enterprises to attain more funds for their technology innovation, considering their important roles in China's economy.Multinational R&D centers in China are also part of China's innovation system, which will contribute to the development of technology innovation, Xu added
JAPAN: Companies Lack Flu Crisis Management (Kyodo) _ Despite a possible outbreak of a new strain of influenza, which is feared could kill more than SARS did in 2002, only a few of the Japanese firms with overseas offices have drawn up precautionary measures. "The risk the world's top managers are concerned with most is the outbreak of a new strain of influenza," Atsunori Yamada, consultant to the General Affairs Department of cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido Co., said at a crisis management seminar held in Tokyo in early February. To cope with various crises, the company has set up a permanent comprehensive risk countermeasure committee. In December last year, the committee worked out an action program to protect their employees' health and maintain business activities at times of a flu outbreak. If the Foreign Ministry issues an advisory against traveling to certain regions, Shiseido will in principle put a halt to sending out its staff. The offices in the affected locations will assess the situation and if deemed appropriate ask employees to temporarily return home for medical checkups, even if they show no symptoms, and to work from home for a week after arriving back in Japan. Shiseido will also increase the monthly inventory of their products by 50 percent, and oblige employees to wear face masks and use disinfectant in face-to-face sales. A summarized version of the action program will be posted on the company's intranet, thus raising awareness among employees, the public relations department said. Only a few companies have so far undertaken preparations for a flu crisis. "Depending on the firm, there is still a substantial lack of awareness," said Hitoshi Motegi, chief researcher at Tokio Marine and Nichido Risk Consulting Co. The consultant even receives inquiries on how to stockpile the anti-flu drug Tamiflu or on what measures other companies are taking. "Individually stockpiling Tamiflu, which requires a doctor's prescription, is illegal," he said. "In addition to a strong 'follow-the-crowd mentality,' many enterprises feel relieved after having worked out a procedure." Eiichi Okuzawa, deputy director at the Overseas Workers Health Management Center of the Laborers Health and Welfare Organization of Yokohama, said, "Before worrying about drugs, businesses should clarify who is in charge of crisis management and then start gathering information." One of the reasons firms are failing to develop adequate measures is the difficulty of predicting the impact the new flu could have on their business while the virus' infectiousness and pathogenic organism remain unknown. But Kiyosu Taniguchi, chief at the infectious disease countermeasure planning section of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said, "If we apply what we learnt from the SARS experience we should be able to deal with widespread crises, natural disasters and biological terrorism." In the United States, where crisis management is nothing new, the government is drawing up a check list for the public to prepare for the case of an epidemic. To businesses, the government is advising to ascertain in advance the minimum labor force and materials necessary to continue profitable business activities in the case of certain social turmoil. In Japan, a government-level countermeasure plan was worked out last year, but discussions about how in concrete terms enterprises, medical institutions and local governments should proceed have not been resolved yet. "At this stage, it is as if nothing has been prepared. If a wide-spread epidemic breaks out tomorrow, social organizations will come to a complete standstill," an expert on infectious disease countermeasures said.
Japan Boosts Science Spending to Stay Competitive TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is adding billions of dollars worth of spending for scientific research over the next five years, according to a plan approved on Wednesday, as it competes in a global race for scientific innovations. The 4 trillion yen ($34.12 billion) spending increase echoes similar moves by the United States and comes in response to rising competition from Asian nations such as China and waning interest in science among Japanese. The plan, approved in a science committee meeting attended by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, calls for 25 trillion yen ($213 billion) over five fiscal years from April to boost Japan's science and technology research, particularly in fields such as high-tech and life sciences. The previous five-year plan allotted 21 trillion yen of funding. "At a time when budgets are being cut back, our spending on science is one of the only increases," Koizumi was quoted as saying by Iwao Matsuda, state minister for science and technology. "I am calling on you to expand Japan's scientific capabilities," Koizumi added. Japan's cabinet is expected to give final approval to the plan by the end of the month, but that will be only a formality. Matsuda has in the past said international competition in scientific research has become much tougher, not only from long-term leaders such as the United States but also Asian nations such as China, one of only three countries in the world to put a man into space. Government spending for scientific research is highest in the United States, at 2.59 percent of GDP according to the most recent data, with Japan second at 3.15 percent and China third. In 2005, China devoted about 1.23 percent of economic activity to research and development, academics say. But China's State Council, or cabinet, last month issued a long-term plan calling for spending on research and development to reach 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. In the United States, concern about maintaining its scientific leadership is growing to such an extent that U.S. President George W. Bush proposed in his State of the Union speech last month to spend more on research and high-technology. "The United States has said that they will place priority on science, and we cannot afford to fall behind," economics minister Toshihiro Nikai was quoted as telling Wednesday's meeting. Japan will emphasize education in an attempt to foster more interest in science, and it aims to get industry involved as well, Matsuda said. "We hope that this will lead to the development of top-class scientific skills here in Japan," he added.
Hotline Near for People Who Blow the Whistle The Cabinet Office said Friday it will begin offering a hotline for whistle-blowers on April 3, two days after a law takes effect to protect corporate employees and civil servants who expose illegal acts from dismissal and other forms of retribution. The new service will be offered by the Planning Division of the Cabinet Office's Quality of Life Policy Bureau, with counseling experts receiving inquiries from and giving advice to employees, employers and civil servants between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. The Planning Division's phone number is (03) 3581-4989. The legislation, which cleared the Diet in June 2004, specifies that entities violating the law are barred from taking retaliatory action against those who unveil their misdeeds. The immunity law presupposes that whistle-blowers have reported the illegal acts by their firm or government agency to the entities that have jurisdiction over them. The law authorizes whistle-blowers to expose the illicit acts to the media and other outsiders if they fear the entities may destroy evidence of their wrongdoing. It also empowers whistle-blowers to tell the media and other outsiders of such illegal acts if those they accuse have not started an investigation within 20 days of being informed of the claims.
Which Management Strategies Raise Corporate Value? Window-dressing and other fraudulent acts aimed at boosting share prices have led many Japanese to doubt whether it is really all that important to "maximize corporate value." Needless to say, it is the foremost mission of a company to maximize its own value through persistent management efforts. Of course, management must fully comply with corporate ethics and act with good sense as a responsible member of society. While it is true that not much objective study has been conducted so far on how management strategies affect corporate value, the Keidanren has recently released a report featuring a statistical analysis of the financial data and stock prices of more than 1,600 major companies to find clues on which kind of management strategies increase corporate value. The report tries to examine the relationship between the value of a company -- assessed by the aggregate market value of its shares -- and its current performance. The survey showed that good performance in terms of profitability (higher profit margins), growth (higher sales), financial health (reduced interest payments), and return to shareholders (higher dividends) certainly raised value. In other words, these factors account for a major portion of corporate value. Still, a close look at individual companies showed that some enjoy a so-called "premium value" that cannot be explained by short-term performance. Such a premium must come from medium- to longer-term strategies that do not necessarily cause an immediate increase in sales or profits. Keidanren polled its member companies on the long-term strategies they use to get ahead of their competitors and tried to assess any links to market value. The result shows that the premium value of a company derives from such long-term efforts as: investing in good human resources, establishing clear corporate ideals, complying thoroughly with corporate ethics, increasing information disclosure, and eliminating environmental damage. The survey also confirmed that strategies that prioritize relations with a variety of stakeholders -- consumers, business partners, employees and society in general -- do not negatively affect shareholder value as gauged by the total value of the company's outstanding shares. In short, the interests of shareholders and others with a stake in the company's success do not conflict -- the two parties can coexist. The introduction of U.S.-style corporate governance, as exemplified by the separation of a company's management and its operations, is often touted as measure that boosts shareholder value. But the Keidanren's survey shows that this is not necessarily true. While these findings are based on a set of conditions, we hope that such an objective study will offer guidance to corporate executives as they devise future strategies. (by Yoshio Nakamura, acting director general of the Japan Business Federation)
SOUTH KOREA: 'Innovation Cities' to Be Built as Eco-Friendly, Low-Density Areas The government plans to build new eco-friendly, low-density "innovation cities" by 2012 that will become the homes of state-run companies, government officials said on Tuesday (Feb. 21). The plan also calls for the number of inhabitants in each city to be set at 20,000 to 50,000. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation, along with the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development, unveiled the plan at a meeting in the southwestern city of Jeonju, attended by President Roh Moo-hyun and 260 governors, mayors and local administration officials. The officials also said the cities will be designed to make maximum use of new and reusable energy and have wide stretches of parkland. South Korea plans to move 175 public companies from Seoul and its surrounding areas to the provinces as part of an effort to permit balanced national growth. Policymakers said giving provinces a chance to grow is key to fueling economic growth. Construction of the cities is expected to start in 2007, and the first state-run companies are to move in around 2010, with the rest following suit in 2012. Korea Land Corp., Korea Highway Corp. and the Korea National Housing Corp. are to make the move in 2010. At Tuesday's meeting, Roh said the new cities must be model urban areas that offer residents the highest living conditions and quality of life.
OECD Ranks Korea Among R&D Leaders South Korea ranked among the leading countries in terms of research and development according to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, government officials said on Monday (Feb. 27). The Ministry of Science and Technology said the report, ※Economic Policy Reforms, Going for Growth,§ placed South Korea along with the United States, Japan, Switzerland and four Nordic countries as top-tier performers. The research leaders were followed by Austria, Belgium, France and Germany, rated as average countries in R&D innovation, with Britain and Mexico coming in as below-average and poor-performing nations, respectively. The OECD findings, the ministry said, attributed South Korea's strength to its industrial structure that demands intensive in R&D investment and build-up to stay ahead of the competition. The report went on to advise lower restrictions on foreign direct investment, more management of R&D expenditures and improvements to intellectual property rights protection among the general public. The latest findings showed the country's R&D expenditure in relation to its gross domestic product standing at 2.61 percent as of 2003, placing it fifth among the 29 countries. The OECD also said South Korea ranked fifth in terms of intensive-level R&D among private companies in the 1999-2002 period, and second in math and science grades in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tally. The percentage of venture capital investment to GDP stood at 27.0 percent in 2000-2003, making the country fourth among the 27 countries assessed.
R&D Activities Get Boost in Korea Three high-tech multinational companies will be eligible for 1.22 billion won (USD$1.2 million) of government funds for their research and development activities. The three companies are AMD Far East Co. (of the US), Jatco Korea Engineering Corp. (of Japan), and Balzers Korea Coating Co. (of Liechtenstein). The Korean government signed memorandums of understanding with the three multinationals on February 27 as a way to encourage research and development activities by providing financial support in the form of wages for the workers at the R&D centers. Under the MOUs, the companies will be eligible for 1.22 billion won over the next three years, which will be spent on hiring and training researchers. The three companies have already built R&D centers in Korea and are expected to invest USD$37million in research and development over the next five years. AMD Far East Co.: develops microprocessor-based system through joint studies with Korean companies. Jatco Korea Engineering Corp.: builds strong R&D infrastructure for the development of auto transmissions. Balzers Korea Coating Co: seeks to make Korea's R&D center into their Asian regional headquarters. The government-led project is expected to provide engineering graduates with opportunities to work in global companies as well as to train local students to become highly competent researchers. The government first introduced the project of promoting multinationals' R&D activities in 2004. Last year, it provided 1.97 billion won for such companies as National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, ST Microelectronics, and PKL.
Korea's National Technological Innovation System in the Global Limelight In the face of global trend of knowledge-based economies, multiple governments and businesses are increasingly focusing their efforts to secure competitiveness on the back of technological innovations. In the Innovative America released in December 2004 by the Council on Competitiveness, one of the U.S. presidential organizations, "technological innovations" were stipulated as the single most important factor for the successful attainment of the 21st century U.S. objectives. Even Microsoft, the world's foremost enterprise in the field, has been investing 20% of its sales earnings in research and development in an effort to boost technological innovations. Recognizing science and technology as one of the core determinants for enhancing the national competitiveness and social development in this era of knowledge-based economies, the Korean government has steadily pushed ahead with major policy projects, with the "construction of science and technology-centered society" as one of its primary targets. Transcending mere copying of developed nations' technologies A comprehensive package of measures to put in place a creative national innovation system was drawn up in July, 2004, with ensuing pan-governmental efforts to that effect. In short, it is an attempt toward a shift in the structure of the national innovation system (NIS), aimed at departing from the former copying and/or partial modifications of advanced countries' technologies and to generate and employ creative, original ones instead. The new plan mainly presents a variety of approaches for the government, industry, academia and research to radically upgrade and cooperate in their innovative capabilities in science and technology, which resultingly incurs synergetic effect. Additional schemes are laid out to make the science and technology-related systems more efficient in terms of laws and institutions and to foster a more science and technology-friendly social atmosphere. Projects included in the comprehensive plan for the establishment of the NIS are being worked out and closely monitored under the cooperation between the Special Committee on National Technology Innovation and pertinent government bodies. As of January of last year, the majority of the projects reportedly were proceeding as planned without any hitches. Specifically, seven out of the total 65 projects were completed, with 45 still in progress. The legal and other required steps were being taken to implement the remaining 13 projects. 'Korea will emerge as a global research and development leader' Korea's science and technological innovations have drawn great global attention. In a report released in 2004, the EU pointed to Korea as an example of how science and technology can have impact on a state's economic development. Likewise, OECD, also in its 2004 report on technological innovations, appraised that Korea is streamlining its institutional complexity, backed by comprehensive innovations in the administrative system. According to the 2005 report compiled by Finland's National Technology Agency, Korea is poised to emerge as one of the global research and development leaders. The innovations of 2004 in the science and technology systems served a very significant role in this breakthrough. Evaluated by diverse countries and organizations as a stellar example of state innovations, Korea's science and technological innovation efforts have staggeringly contributed to the creation of a future-oriented national image. These positive appraisals by developed nations, on one hand, help the Korean people pump up their confidence in themselves and, on the other, evoke potential difficulties that may lie ahead of them. The more Korea's science and technological innovations attract global attention, the more developed countries are likely to recognize Korea their rival. A need for steady innovative efforts in science and technology There have already been increasing efforts by developed countries to keep Korea in check in terms of science and technology development, and their primary target has been state-of-the-art technologies such as semiconductors and displays. And this trend is expected to expand even further. In the past, Korea benchmarked its globally notable economic growth on the developed world's experience and know-how. If Korea is to achieve its second economic take-off, it should be poised to compete against the developed countries on the same "level-playing field" and explore new scientific fields and technologies. Korea's future in science and technology will lighten up when the government and the people in unison persistently fuel science and technological innovations. (by Han Seung-hee, Director-General of the Science and Technology Policy Bureau, the Ministry of Science and Technology)
50 Individuals and Organizations Honored for Anti-Corruption Activities The Rev. Kim Geo-sung, secretary general of Transparency International (TI) Korea, on Wednesday (Mar. 8) received the Moran Medal of the Order of Civil Merit from the government for his contributions to enhance transparency in society. The Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC), a government body for ensuring transparency, awarded a total of 50 individuals and organizations for their activities to eradicate corruption last year. Kim, who is also a permanent board member of the Council for the Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency (K-PACT), served as a key member for the signing of the K-PACT encompassing politicians, businessmen and civic workers last year, KICAC said in a statement. ※Kim contributed to spreading the pact throughout society and improving the international image of the nation's transparency, thereby helping the nation's ranking on the corruption perceptions index (CPI) to rise positively,§ it said. Namgung Min, an inspector official at the Ministry of Information and Communication, also received Red Stripes of the Order of Service Merit for his introduction of ※clean§ initiatives at the ministry. Partly thanks to Namgung's efforts, the ministry placed first in transparency among the government agencies when evaluated by the KICAC. In addition, Lee Duk-jin, a managing director at Yuhan Kimberly, a company known for its pro-environment drive, received the Civil Merit Medal. ※Lee has been a model manager, enforcing ethical regulations in his company,§ a KICAC spokesman said. Other than the Ministry of Information and Communication, organizations that were honored for anti-corruption activities include the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and ING Life Insurance.
MOGOLIA: Financial Cadastre System to Be Developed The State Land Relations, Geodesy and Cartography Authority (LRGCA) in cooperation with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) have started realizing a project Land Management and Financial Cadastre.The project activities were informed about today at a press conference called in the German Embassy in Mongolia. The LRGCA Head Mr. Sh.Batsukh said the project will be implemented for three years. The project main aim is to solve some pressing issues facing the land management and to evaluate land and real estate on the market standards. As a result of the establishment of a land evaluation database, a number of possibilities will be created to perform open real estate evaluations meeting the market requirements.
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INDONESIA: Supreme Court on Efficiency Drive JAKARTA: The Supreme Court plans to streamline its bureaucracy by cutting back on staff as part of efforts to improve efficiency and performance. Currently there are 1,400 administrative personnel at the court; well above the ideal 500 to 600 recommended by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Subagyo, who heads the Supreme Court human resources department, said over the weekend that the KPK and a presidential team would help with the efficiency drive. Chief Justice Bagir Manan has supported the reform idea, which was raised by KPK during a meeting with the President last year. The Supreme Court has been under fire for its poor performance with a backlog of 20,000 cases last year, not to mention allegations of rampant corruption.
MALAYSIA: Focus on Producing Highly Skilled Malaysians The Ninth Malaysia Plan will emphasise on producing more highly skilled and knowledgeable Malaysians, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The Prime Minister said this was to ensure that Malaysia achieved its target of becoming a developed nation by 2020. ※We are already at the second stage of the Vision 2020 plan where things should be implemented without any hiccup. ※We need Malaysians who are strong in every aspect and for this, human capital will be emphasised in the Plan,§ he said at the Bukit Mertajam High School's alumni dinner at Menara Kuala Lumpur last night. Abdullah was a former student of the school. The Prime Minister said he was aware that the task to achieve Vision 2020 was a tough one but he was confident that Malaysia would succeed. ※Vision 2020 is like climbing Mount Everest and we will soon begin our final assault. ※There is not much time left and I hope we are all ready for the final assault,§ he said. About 800 former Bukit Mertajam High School students attended the reunion dinner.
JPJ to Open e-Kiosks Soon for Road Tax Renewal The country's 15 million vehicle owners can soon renew their road taxes at special kiosks at Road Transport Department offices. The department's e-kiosk facility will allow the renewals to be carried out in a simpler, safer and faster way. The kiosk will print the road tax disc after the owner and vehicle information are keyed in and payment effected. ※The e-kiosk facility will be introduced soon. Three companies have demonstrated their prototype kiosks to the department. ※The kiosks will be secure and have the capability to renew and print road tax discs,§ said department director general Datuk Emran Kadir. ※The benefits are that there will be no more long queues at our counters.※ The public can renew their road tax anytime and pay via cash or electronic means such as credit card,§ he added. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy confirmed the department had submitted its technical evaluation and recommendations of the e-kiosk to the Cabinet. Emran said the e-insurance way of paying premiums on-line was introduced early this year to complement the e-kiosk. ※This will speed up road tax renewals, eliminate fraud and assure the public of insurance cover,§ he added.
Your Right to Expect Good Service Unhappy with the public transportation system? Then, lodge your complaint with the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB). Those relying on buses, feeder buses, taxis or the LRT can air their grouses with the board so that action can be taken to correct the situation and improve public transport, said board chairman Baharom Mohamad. ※For instance, if a transit bus is available in the morning but not in the evening, it means that the operator is not running the service according to the schedule set by CVLB. ※The public should make a complaint,§ he said, responding to The Star' s special report yesterday on the inefficiency of the public transportation system in major cities. Baharom said the public could lodge complaints through CVLB's hotline at 1-800-889600 or SMS 39900. For SMS complaints, go to ※write message§ function, type LPKP COMPLAINT (or LPKP ADUAN), followed by a space and the message, before sending it to 39900. He said CVLB would cooperate with all state governments to revamp or restructure the public transport system to provide better services to the public. In Penang , the state government expected bus services to improve once the Penang Municipal Council was delegated the powers to act against irresponsible public transport operators. State Local Government, Traffic Management, Information and Community Relations Commmittee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said the state government would discuss with the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry a provision in the CVLB Act 1987 that enabled the board to delegate its power to other agencies to act on its behalf. ※We want the council to be given the power to enforce the law to ensure a better public transportation service,§ he said, commenting on complaints over the island's poor bus services. He said a multi-agency enforcement squad would be set up soon, comprising personnel from the CVLB, Road Transport Department (JPJ), the police and MPPP. ※A new bus zoning system has been introduced for the island and the squad will monitor if all stage and mini buses follow the new regulations.§ Universiti Sains Malaysia School of Housing, Building and Planning lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Hassim Mat believed that motorists in Penang were unlikely to switch to public transport in the short term despite the fuel price hike. ※This is because of the poor and unreliable bus services. ※People may not want to risk being late for work if they take the bus,§ he noted.
PHILIPPINES: Gullas Urges Lgus to Hone LOCAL government units (LGUs) and the broadcast media play a vital role in honing the English communication skills of Filipinos and in preparing them to be more globally competitive, a legislator said. Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu lauded the initiative of Muntinlupa City to introduce an ordinance requiring all local public school personnel, including nonteaching staff, to use English as the primary medium of communication. Gullas urged other LGUs to follow suit and appealed to the broadcast media to allot more airtime for English programs, particularly for children. ※TV is crucially important because it is a virtual surrogate parent at home. In fact, studies show the average Filipino will have spent the equivalent of five years of his or her life watching TV upon reaching the age of 30,§ he said. Gullas is the author of a bill seeking to increase the school hours devoted to learning the English language. ※In Hong Kong, where English is an official language, Filipinos employed as babysitters and domestic helpers face stiff competition from young workers from China because they have better command of English,§ Gullas said, citing a similar instance in the Middle East where Indian and Chinese engineers, who can analyze and write good reports in English, edged their Filipino counterparts. He said that young Filipinos who are exposed to English at home and in school can easily master the language. ※We are pushing English as a tool, to give meaning to the constitutional mandate for government to provide full employment to all Filipinos,§ the lawmaker said. ※Given the severity of our unemployment problem, it is almost criminally negligent for us to ignore the fact that the inadequate English of our graduates is actually dispossessing them of productive and honest work,§ he said. Gullas cited a report by the John F. Kennedy Foundation-Philippines that of the 400,000 Filipino college graduates each year, less than 12,000 readily qualify for jobs in call centers and other business process outsourcing providers, mainly on account of poor English comprehension, speaking and writing skills.
SINGAPORE: Developing New Desalination Technologies to Boost Water Supply Singapore is looking into new ways of desalination that could potentially increase its water catchment areas to 90 percent. It is also building a plant to further test one technology of turning water from the sea, river, stream or even drains into usable water. Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said this would go some way to enhance Singapore's water sources. But even so, the Minister said efforts were underway to make sure Singaporeans continue to save water. The Public Utilities Board is looking at ways to stop Singaporeans from flushing away water unnecessarily. It may soon become compulsory to install dual-flush cisterns in all new buildings and those undergoing renovations by 2009. The Housing and Development Board will be carrying out a pilot project to have them installed in flats undergoing the Main Upgrading Programme. Dual flush models use less water as it allows users to choose a half-flush rather than a full flush. A new programme called the 10-litre challenge will also be rolled out this year. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said: "This programme aims to get individuals to reduce daily water consumption by 10 litres. I was told that just by reducing shower time by one minute, each person can save up to 9 litres of water." PUB will also work with grassroots organisations to form water volunteer groups. These groups will visit households to educate them on water saving habits. They will also be visiting lower-income and needy families to help them save on their water bills. Besides public education, PUB has been testing new systems to further enhance Singapore's water sources. And they have been successful. Dr Yaacob said: "The Membrane Bio-Reactor, The Membrane Distillation and the Variable Salinity Plant are just 3 examples of recent technological advances which have the potential to drive down cost of water production, enhance our water sources and provide Singapore with a leading edge in the global water industry." A pilot project is being conducted at this Membrane Distillation Plant which boils seawater and collects the water vapour. This technology is powered by waste heat released by Senoko Incineration Plant. This plant not only uses steam that otherwise would have been released into the air, but also consumes less energy as compared to reverse osmosis that's used in the production of NeWater and desalinated water. As such, PUB hopes that in the long run, water produced this way will be cheaper than desalinated water. The two cubic metres of water produced by this method has its salt content reduced by 1,000 times. The energy used is also 3 times less than that used in reverse osmosis. This pilot project has been going on since January and if all goes well, PUB will build a demonstration plant after the pilot trial ends its run next year. Another project - the Variable Salinity Plant - produces potable water from rainwater and seawater as well as smaller streams. PUB says this project can potentially increase Singapore's water catchment area from 67 percent to 90 percent. A demonstration plant at Sungei Tampines will be ready by year's end. The plant from the pilot project has been donated to the Maldives to desalinate water from the sea for potable use. Yap Kheng Guan, Director, 3P Network Department, PUB, said: "We have a water supply that is very robust and reliable so we are not dependent on a few sources but many sources so really, the promise of these new technology is to open our options widely." Dr Yaacob said: "If need be, Singapore can be self-sufficient beyond 2061. Besides ensuring a sustainable supply of water, we will also continue to uphold high standards of water quality, water supply security and reliability." PUB will also be looking at ways to enable the community to better enjoy the reservoirs and waterways by improving the aesthetics surrounding the water bodies. A pilot project to provide landscaping along a short stretch of Kallang River is in the pipeline in the second half of this year.
S'pore to Double Port Capacity by 2018 to Stay Ahead of Increasing Competition SINGAPORE : Singapore has regained its position as the world's busiest container port in 2005 - but PSA is not about to become complacent. Minister of State for Transport Lim Hwee Hua told Parliament on Thursday that preparations are underway for Singapore to have the capacity to handle 50 million standard container units by 2018. That is more than double the 23.2 million units handled last year. And besides reclaiming more port land at Pasir Panjang Terminal to beef up infrastructure, she says Singapore is also set on keeping its edge in operational efficiency. The Trade Xchange initiative has been launched to improve workflow - from October 2007. Mrs Lim adds that staying flexible is also key. She said, "Our terminal operators must continue to keep in close touch with the customers and remain responsive to their needs. For example, more shipping lines are now keen to co-invest in dedicated terminals to gain assurance of capacity. Our port operators must allow for this." She says that PSA is looking for other opportunities to expand its global presence, after failing in its bid for the UK ferries and ports group P&O recently.
Singaporean Hopes to Set Up Body to Provide Guide Dogs for the Blind SINGAPORE : Dogs are man's best friend and this is perhaps more so for the blind. Mr Kua Cheng Hock, who is born blind, gets around with his golden retriever Kendra who came to live with him last August. He got Kendra from the Guide Dogs for the Blind, an organisation in the United States that trains guide dogs and provides them free to the visually impaired. Mr Kua had tried to bring a guide dog into Singapore in 1982. As he was not getting enough support then, he had to send the dog back two years later. Now, 22 years later, he says people's mindsets have changed. For example, the Public Health Act has been amended such that guide dogs are allowed to enter places like supermarkets and restaurants. And Mr Kua's next step is to set up a Singapore version of Guide Dogs for the Blind, to let other visually impaired people like himself benefit from the use of guide dogs. Mr Kua, who is President of Independent Society of the Blind, says: "I believe that the safety issue for the blind will be enhanced - not that they are always facing danger - but they will definitely get about and they will participate more actively in life and activities if they have a guide dog than just a cane. "They will be motivated to get out and about because the obstacle issues no more hinder them. So I believe lifestyle for the blind can be enhanced and improved if they use a guide dog."
SDF Provides Training to Upgrade Skills of 166,000 Workers SINGAPORE : The Workforce Development Agency, in its report card for 2005, says more than 166,000 workers have undergone skills training last year. Forty percent were 40 years and above and 60 percent had secondary or lower education. Some 166,000 were trained under the Skills Development Fund and another 576 through the Place and Train programmes as well as the Strategic Manpower Conversion Programmes. The skills upgrading training covered 10 sectors ranging from hotel and food & beverage to textile and fashion and aerospace and precision engineering. The 10 sectors are hotel, aerospace, marine, process, electronics, construction, food & beverage, textile, fashion and precision engineering. WDA says this has helped workers gain new skills so they could take up new jobs. For example, 147 workers from diverse fields like engineering and aircraft industry made a mid-career switch and were trained to become nurses. Another 59 workers were trained to take on jobs like food & beverage and frontline supervisors, management trainees and cooks and kitchen assistants. WDA says during the year, the adult training infrastructure has also been strengthened through the establishment of skills standards and training competencies. More then 2350 workers in retail have undergone skills upgrading under the Workforce Skills Qualifications system, which allows easy access to training by not requiring academic qualifications. In addition to retail and finance, WDA says the system will be rolled out in more sectors such as tourism, food and beverage, precision engineering, infocomm and community and social services. To spearhead the drive to enhance service quality, it will work with its partners to develop service indicators to help the industry identify gaps in service standards. Turning to job placement, WDA says it helped 27,000 job seekers find employment in 2005. 79 percent have secondary or lower education and 54 percent are aged 40 years and above.
THAILAND: National Innovation Agency Give Financial Aid for Businesses The National Innovation Agency will allocate 300 million baht this year in financial aid to local entrepreneurs. Supachai Lorlowhakarn, the director of the agency, said that 400 projects had applied for financial aid last year, and 80 had been approved, resulting in some 3.5 billion baht worth of new investment. The agency is now receiving applications for its second annual National Innovation Award competition. About 300 applicants are expected to apply until July 31 for the competition, which aims to encourage local entrepreneurs and inventors to commercialise innovative ideas and concepts. Last year's winner in the business innovation category was a project for agglomerate rice starch filler for direct compression tablets, while the social project award went to a team proposing the development of artificial legs from used stockings. The winners were awarded prizes of 200,000 baht each.
Business Challenge Winners Seek Funding The growing number of student business plan competitions has helped to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among young people and build up the potential of new small businesses. The latest examples are three new ventures set up by the winners of the Bangkok Business Challenge 2006. For the past three years, the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University has organised the annual Bangkok Business Challenge, which focuses on the creation of ventures with real market potential. This year's fourth contest welcomed 18 teams from 11 leading universities across Asia. It was supported by Kiatnakin Bank, Bank of Ayudhya and the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). My Car, developed by a team from the National University of Singapore, won the contest, followed by first runner-up BioShield from Mahidol University's College of Management, and second runner-up Gissco from Sasin. The winner received the HM the King Award and a prize of 200,000 baht while the second and third runners-up received 100,000 and 70,000 baht, respectively. The members of My Car team began with a simple observation about consumer demand in Singapore. They cited a survey in which residents of the city-state listed a car as one of three necessities, after a credit card and a condominium. But owning a car in Singapore is not easy. Prices are inflated by extremely high licensing and registration fees as the government wants to limit the number of cars on the streets. ''In Singapore, 60% of the car's cost is taxes and duties,'' said team member Anand Agarwal. The key concept of My Car, he said, was to serve the low- to middle-income population. ''I felt there had to be a way in which the concept of budget airlines could be applied to road travel, empowering people to enhance the quality of their lives by fulfilling their needs. ''The chief driver of my thinking was that [personal] transport should be cheap enough to be comparable to public transport and secondly, it should provide a sense of ownership without the hassles of membership or elitism.' ' The team decided rentals should be available even by the hour, since some customers might only need a car for a short time to run some errands. The rental rate would be as low as S$3 (75 baht) per hour, comparable to public transport. Unlike other providers, My Car would not charge additional costs such as petrol, membership or registration. One reason is that the cars would be electric-powered. Nevertheless, the low service fees would not affect the company's ability to generate revenue, the members said. The reason is that the main source of income would be advertising placed on the cars. Visa International and the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather in Singapore were intrigued, and have agreed to join the group as business partners, the members said. BioShield and Gissco, the two winners from Thailand, are now seeking seed money or venture capital to help turn their winning projects into reality. Suteera Chulermkarnchana, the CEO of BioShield, said her team was seeking around 40 million baht to turn its concept into a business reality. The four-member team set out to commercialise a vaccine discovered by Mahidol researchers to prevent white-spot virus in shrimp. The company has devised production, marketing, distribution and financial plans to help market the vaccine to the right users. Ms Suteera, 26, who is studying for a master's degree in marketing at Mahidol's College of Management, expressed strong confidence in the product, given that shrimp exports are one of the country's most important industries. ''We believe there will be huge demand out there in the market, including overseas. The white-spot virus is considered a very serious disease for the shrimp business. It can wipe out all the shrimp in a pond within a week,'' she said. The team's key marketing strategy is to target manufacturers of shrimp feed, with which the vaccine must be mixed. It is in talks with the CP Group, the country's largest agribusiness group with extensive shrimp operations in other countries as well. ''And they are willing to join if the product proves to be able to truly prevent the virus as we claim.''
VIET NAM: Businesswomen Receive Golden Roses HA NOI 〞 Twenty-one business women received "Golden Rose" awards yesterday for their contributions to the country's economic development. At the ceremony, Vice State President, Truong My Hoa, hailed the contributions of women entrepreneurs, and said the prize was an acknowledgement of their achievements. Women should continue to work hard to improve their businesses and contribute to the country's economic development, Hoa said. Tran Thi Thuy, vice chairwoman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the prize, presented annually, was aimed to encourage business women who achieved remarkable results and made contributions for the country's development in general and the business community in particular. On the same day, the VCCI and Viet Nam Women Union's Central Committee held a seminar to discuss the role and position of women in the society and economic development process. Currently, Viet Nam has over 100,000 women directors and managers acounting for about 21 per cent of people holding such positions.
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BHUTAN: Education and Training Promoted Through Public Private Partnership The Ministry of Labour and Human Resource and the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote and strengthen vocational education and training through public private partnership. It is aimed at ensuring that in future the vocational training system offers sufficient, relevant and high quality programmes according to the market demand to ultimately create a skilled and productive workforce in the Bhutanese private sector. One of the terms of agreement is that the ministry and the chamber will strive to ensure the supply of competent workers by increasing the number of job seekers holding nationally recognized certificates of competence, assist employers to substitute foreign labour by suitably skilled nationals and ensure that all skilled foreign workers undergo skills testing and certification.
ILO Favours Skill-Based Education for Indian Women The International Labour Organisation (ILO) called for providing skill-based education women in India for their empowerment. "In the face of distress, women have proved that they are pillars of strength in a sea of chaos and suffering. But what we need the most is providing skill-based education to them for independence," said Leyla Tegmo Reddy, director of ILO India. Reddy said ILO has been working with the affected communities to contribute to reconstruction of livelihoods, through extension of skills development, social protection and promoting linkages with local development initiatives. She said on the eve of International Women's Day March 8, the government, social organisations and public in general must work together to provide "education to all". She said the ILO would from Wednesday work on mobilising women to take up vocational education in all parts of the country.
Training Programmes at Namma Dhwani Gained Good Reputation Namma Dhwani has gained a reputation of being perhaps the only community radio station in India to cablecast programs made by the community on a daily basis. Namma Dhwani as of date boasts of an archive of more than 800 hours of programming in areas like health, education, legal, governance, and culture and so on. Given this, there are a lot of communities and groups/organisations which approach Namma Dhwani for training either in content production or just to set up a station of their own. Namma Dhwani works with a team of four people who hail from the community of Budikote. All four of them are highly trained and skilled in areas like interviewing skills, presentation skills, editing, mixing and so on. The training is usually conducted for a period of three days which ensures that the training process is holistic and all areas are covered. Ideally each organisation or community which approaches Namma Dhwani for a series of trainings which involves atleast four or five training camps lasting for three days each. All these trainings are community to community trainings where the community members of Budikote and the Namma Dhwani team interact with the community which has approached Namma Dhwani for training. This ensures that communication is in the local languages and the learning process is efficient. All the people who have attended the training camps have appreciated this unique method of training.
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AZERBAIJAN: Business Forum of BSECO Countries to Take Place in Chisinau The international business forum of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSECO) countries is scheduled for October 7 in Chisinau, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan told Trend. The issues of trade-economic cooperation development, implementation of new projects, harmonization of the relevant legislation will be discussed at the forum, to which representatives of the regions' leading business structures are invited. Sitting of the BSECO board of directors is planned to hold within the forum. The Secretary General of the BSECO Permanent Secretariat Tedo Djaparidze is currently in Baku to discuss the involvement of the Azerbaijani side in the forum. BSECO was founded in 1992 and has 11 members.
KAZAKHSTAN: President Outlines Development Priorities President Nursultan Nazarbaev laid out his priorities for Kazakhstan's future development in an address before a joint session of parliament on March 1, Khabar reported. According to the text of Nazarbaev's address published by Kazinform, the first priority is the "successful integration of Kazakhstan into the world economy." The second is the "further modernization and diversification of Kazakhstan's economy." The third is a "modern social policy that defends the most vulnerable segments of the population while supporting economic development." The fourth is the development of education. The fifth is the "development of democracy and the modernization of the political system." The sixth is the implementation of a "national security strategy that is appropriate to modern threats and challenges." And the seventh is the continuing implementation of a "balanced and responsible foreign-policy course." In concrete policy terms, Nazarbaev proposed the introduction of a 10 percent flat income tax in 2007, and gradual reductions in the value-added tax in 2007-2009, Khabar reported. DK
State Commission for Democratic Reforms Opens Meeting in Astana ASTANA. The State Commission for Preparation and Concretisation of Democratic Reforms in Kazakhstan has started its meeting in Astana with participation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Today correspondent reports. The State Commission was created to develop national dialogue on modernisation of the political system in Kazakhstan and democratic reforms in the country. The Commission includes the Secretary of State, Chairs of Parliament Houses, one representative from each registered political party and from other public associations, from the leadership of deputy factions in the Parliament, deputies of both Houses, representatives of the government, public figures.
UZBEKISTAN: Conference Discuss ICT Development in Uzbekistan Tashkent Information Technologies University hosted a scientific-practical conference "Globalisation of information and national mentality" on 17 March. Committee on information and communication technologies of Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis organised the conference. The event was directed study results of development of information technologies, reforms in Uzbekistan, strengthening legal base and ensuring information security.
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AUSTRALIA: 16 Schools Facing Closure UP TO 16 schools could be closed and merged into super-size zones in an education overhaul being considered by school councils across the state. The Sunday Age can reveal that the mergers will cost up to $330 million, according to initial estimates, and the figure is rising as some of the state's smallest and most dilapidated schools create wishlists for redevelopment.Premier Steve Bracks recently announced plans to spend the state's $600 million windfall from the privatisation of the Snowy River hydro-electricity scheme on the 100 most dilapidated schools. Sources believe that a large portion of the money will go towards the schools projects, freeing up the Education Department's budget for works in schools not contemplating wide-scale changes. There are at least 13 regions in the state where schools are in talks with one group wanting to put four schools on one site. The plans are being driven by demographic change and the need to increase student numbers in order to offer more subjects. At Broadmeadows, where just four preps were enrolled at a school recently, eight primary school sites and one secondary school site would close from the 17 involved in talks. Five sites would be developed to create nine new schools, with one super-size site with four schools at the Hillcrest Secondary College site. Kindergartens would merge with primary schools under the plan. In one case, three primary schools are within 950 metres of each other. Initial estimates could see the project cost as much as $90 million. At Wodonga there are plans for a stand-alone senior secondary college and a multi-campus year 7-9 junior school. Last week the Bendigo region agreed to a proposal estimated to cost $90 million under which three schools (Golden Square, Flora Hill and Kangaroo Flat colleges) would merge to form two schools. The proposal would include a land-swap with La Trobe University, with the Golden Square and Flora Hill sites shutting. New year 7-10 schools would be built at Weeroona College and Eaglehawk Secondary College. The vote is believed to have been unanimous at all schools except Golden Square. Some parents petitioned against closures. Jeanette Laidlaw, who has two grandchildren at Golden Square, said schools were being coerced into closures because parents were told it was the only way to ensure new facilities. "I think that is like when the banks said they needed to close the branches to improve services," she said. Tim Mitchell, spokesman for Education Minister Lynne Kosky, said it was up to schools to devise plans to improve education in their area and that the Government would not force closures. (Deborah Gough)
Plan to Tackle State's Skills Shortage THOUSANDS of extra students will be able to get a "taste" of a trade while staying on at school under a pre-election assault on Victoria's skills shortages. Premier Steve Bracks will announce today the multimillion-dollar plan, which will include funding for an extra 4500 "pre-apprenticeships" 〞 training courses for school-age students who are interested in becoming apprentices. The extra places, at a cost to the state budget of about $33.2 million in the next four years, will be directed to industries suffering skills shortages, such as engineering, automotive, building and construction, and cookery. The Government intends to skew the extra places to areas of the state where labour shortages are particularly acute, such as the Latrobe Valley, which needs more electrical linesmen. The "skills statement" is also expected to allocate more than $53 million to creating extra TAFE places for mature-age students. In the past five years, about 18,000 school-age students have taken up pre-apprenticeships. They take 16 weeks on average, full-time. Students who subsequently take on an apprenticeship are given credit for their school or TAFE-based training, so often start on a second-year apprentice's wage. Education and Training Minister Lynne Kosky told The Age pre-apprenticeships were particularly valuable because they enabled students to stay at school while trying out a trade.
Skip School and Parents Lose Welfare ABORIGINAL parents who do not send their children to school will be punished under a radical welfare experiment to be trialled in remote communities. The proposal, put forward by indigenous leader Noel Pearson and designed to cut truancy rates and get Aborigines off the dole, will also test whether people should receive incentive payments for good behaviour. Under the scheme, which will create a unique welfare system for four communities on Cape York in far north Queensland, young people who fail to look for work or study will also face reduced dole payments. The Prime Minister's Department has begun drafting a proposal to implement the trial, applying different rules on welfare in an effort to break indigenous welfare dependence and end the cycle of poverty. The trial, outlined personally to several ministers, including John Howard and Peter Costello, means welfare payments will be overhauled. Some will be lowered and others increased so that indigenous people are pushed out of unemployment and into real work or study. There may also be incentive payments for community-endorsed behaviour, particularly those aimed at stamping out substance abuse and domestic violence. The communities that have expressed an initial interest are Aurukun, Mossman Gorge, Coen and Hopevale. A spokesman for Mr Pearson said the Government had agreed to work on the proposal. "We are seeking to design, in close consultation with communities themselves and the Government, a new deal that realigns incentives in the welfare system and addresses other key prerequisites for economic and social development. The trial would be confined only to communities that voluntarily 'opt-in' to these new arrangements," he said. Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said he was happy to look at proposals that had broad support from community leaders. "Those leaders know that the concept of money for nothing has been destructive rather than supportive of their community values," Mr Brough said. "I believe funds provided for Australian families and Australian children wherever they live should be spent to support those children to enjoy lives. That is a key objective of mine." Community members involved will have to voluntarily apply or "opt in" so there is no breach of the racial discrimination act. Last week, Mr Howard's handpicked National Indigenous Council was asked to look at the proposal. The Prime Minister's Department is working with other government departments, including Family and Community Services and Employment and Workplace Relations, to "customise" a system that works. It is understood that the rollout, which will require cabinet approval, could not realistically occur for another nine months. If it is successful, the Government will be able to roll out the system across the nation to other interested communities. In the trial, different criteria will apply for welfare payments, including linking family payments to school attendance and changing payment rates to encourage more people into work and study. Some payments, such as the dole and Community Development Employment Projects for young people, will be lowered but study allowances will be higher for younger Aborigines. And school attendance will be linked to family payments, so that there will be consequences if children skip school. Under the new system, the Government will increase spending in health and education programs for communities that take the brave step and join in. In December, Mr Pearson said the indigenous community should be prepared to be treated differently if it helped break the cycle of welfare dependency. "I don't think indigenous misery should continue and be perpetuated simply because governments want to treat everybody completely in the same way," he said. Indigenous Australians in Cape York, like those in the rest of remote indigenous Australia, face a life expectancy about 20 years shorter than mainstream Australia, an unemployment rate of 80per cent and Year 12 completion rates only one-quarter of those in the rest of Australia. Mr Pearson's Cape York Institute argues that a radical change to the incentives in the current welfare system is needed. In a proposal submitted to the Prime Minister's Department recently, Mr Pearson wrote: "The welfare system must create incentives for people in indigenous communities to engage in work and education." While truancy is a national problem, Queensland Education Department statistics show it remains endemic in some remote Cape York communities despite slight improvements since 2002.
Labor to Protect Buyers' Rights THE federal Opposition's Laurie Ferguson has committed a Labor government to re-establishing a consumer affairs ministry, overhauling financial services regulation and nationalising product safety. Mr Ferguson said the party was reviewing its consumer affairs policies and planned to turn around the Howard Government's lack of commitment to consumer rights. Mr Howard, who was the business and consumer affairs minister under prime minister Malcolm Fraser in 1975, abolished the portfolio in the wake of the 1998 election and folded responsibility for the issue into the Treasury Department. "Consumer issues have been relegated under the Howard Government," Mr Ferguson said yesterday. "Since 1996, poor regulation and oversight by inadequately resourced regulators have meant that a spate of multibillion-dollar corporate collapses have taken place. "Ansett, HIH, Arthur Anderson, Harris Scarfe and Pan Pharmaceuticals all collapsed right before the Howard Government's very own eyes. "One way or another, the cost of these collapses was borne by Australian consumers." A revamp of financial services regulation was top of the agenda list for Labor. Mr Ferguson said the range of financial services now available was wider and more sophisticated than ever, but consumers were confused about where to turn for support when things went wrong. Labor is interested in a dispute resolution scheme, similar to the British version, where assistance for financial services is available under one umbrella. Another issue of concern to the party was product safety and the disjointed nature of regulation on the issue. Mr Ferguson said Labor would consider establishing a national product safety commission, and that public and private sector accountability had seriously diminished under the Coalition. He said a Labor government would return consumer issues to the centre of policy-making decisions. He criticised what he called the Coalition's attempts to silence critics and consumer advocates by withholding funds from organisations such as the Consumers Federation of Australia, and committed a Labor government to re-establishing a consumer affairs ministry.
Call For $1bn to Revive Competition Reform THE states have called on the Howard Government to provide more than $1 billion in the federal budget to kickstart national competition reform. The push is being led by Victorian Treasurer John Brumby, who warned last night that the reform agenda would be put at risk unless Peter Costello agreed to pay the funds. John Howard and the premiers agreed last month to re-energise national competition policy. The Prime Minister agreed to compensate the states and territories, but rejected their request for billions of dollars in upfront payments. But Mr Brumby said yesterday the reform agenda would be "effectively meaningless" unless the funds were allocated for 2006-07 in the budget to be delivered on May 9. It is believed the states are seeking a commitment exceeding $1 billion. Mr Brumby will push the proposals when state treasurers meet their federal counterpart in Canberra on Friday. "It would be a disaster if the huge gains expected by the reforms were put at risk by commonwealth short-sightedness," a spokeswoman for Mr Brumby said last night. Mr Howard has said Canberra would pay its fair share, on a case-by-case basis. This would mean the states would have to demonstrate that opening up their industries will cost them in lost revenues, while also delivering broader economic benefits. "If there is a demonstrated situation on a case-by-case basis where the states have bought a disproportionate share of the cost of the reform, well there should be an adjustment," Mr Howard said last month. The commonwealth has agreed in principle to a regime of payments for initiatives taken under the economic reform program. Under the old competition policy, states were granted payments provided they achieved milestones in deregulating their economies. Money could be withheld on the recommendation of the National Competition Council if they did not. Under the new regime, the new COAG Reform Council will only have the role of monitoring state performance in achieving agreed outcomes, which could cover the full range of reform from health to deregulating ports. It will be up to a COAG committee to decide what payments are due, on the basis of how the costs and benefits of a reform initiative have been shared. The new program covers a wider range of government activity, including health and education, as well as traditional competition fields, such as energy.
NEW ZEALAND: Schools Introduce 'Friendship Seat' for Lonely Pupils Sharday Kelly thinks the "friendship seat" at her school is a "pretty cool" idea. If someone is sitting on it she will know they need a friend to talk to or play with. The 10-year-old's school, Redoubt North Primary in Manukau, is one of the first in the country to get one. The idea, which originated in Britain, is that children in the playground who are lonely or sad can sit in the seat to alert teachers and other pupils that there is a problem. It is hoped children will approach the one in the seat, make sure he or she is all right and ask them to play. In Britain, it also aims to help prevent bullying before it becomes a problem. The seat was presented yesterday by the children's charity Variety. Michael Forman, international president, who is in New Zealand for a week, said the seat was a key beginning to promoting friendship and kindness in youngsters. "We feel it will go a long way to help create a sense of community within a school," he said. Variety plans to provide more of the seats over the next few years. But some experts warned the idea needed to be treated carefully. Mike Williams, a school counsellor for more than 25 years, said there was a risk children could be singled out and targeted if they sat in the seat. "It seems like it could be counter-productive to all but the youngest children," he said. The seat is aimed at 5- to 7-year-olds. Massey University's Dr Juliana Raskauskas, an educational psychologist whose particular field is bullying, said it could work. "At that early age, being included and learning social skills are things that help to protect from bullying in the long run." However, it would not be effective for children any older as they became aware of the reactions to standing out. Paul Heff, principal at Laingholm Primary School in west Auckland, said he had introduced a friendship seat six years ago and a child had never been picked on after sitting on it. "It's nothing to do with bullying, but to help create a caring environment and it works really well." Redoubt principal Jane Milner said the success of the plan would depend on how the school introduced the seat.
Government Mulls Database of Children The Government is considering setting up a database of every New Zealand child, enabling authorities to be alerted to any problems. Personal details, including welfare and health concerns, would be entered into the database, which would be shared by health authorities, schools, and social agencies, The Dominion Post reported today. Social Development Minister David Benson-Pope told the newspaper he had sought advice in setting up the scheme to ensure children do not fall through gaps and monitoring of young people is as coordinated as possible. The programme has been welcomed by Families Commission chief commissioner Rajen Prasad, New Zealand Principals Federation president Pat Newman, and Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro. "We've got to get to a point where we stop picking up the pieces when everything goes wrong and start putting things in place to stop it from happening," Ms Kiro said. But the chairman of New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties Michael Bott said attempts by the Government to gather information about issues such as abuse would be an invasion of privacy.
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Asia 2015 Conference: Building Partnerships to Promote Growth and End Poverty More people have been lifted out of poverty in Asia over the past two decades than in any other region at any other time in history. In the next decade, there is the chance to fulfill the potential of this success story - the world is presented with an historic opportunity to end poverty in Asia. To achieve this ambitious goal, many challenges lie ahead. Despite Asia's success, two thirds of the world's poor still live in the region, held back by poor nutrition and health, limited educational opportunities and lack of access to water and sanitation. Tackling these issues will require sustained economic growth, good governance, and visionary leadership. On 6-7 March key stakeholders including Ministers, senior decision-makers, senior representatives of multilateral institutions, development practitioners and members of civil society from Asia and the international community will gather in London to attend a high-level conference hosted by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development and co-sponsored by ADB and the World Bank. The conference, Asia 2015: Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty, will seek to understand and learn from Asia's success in reducing poverty and promoting development; to identify the key challenges facing countries in Asia for sustaining growth and development in the future; and to build partnerships and understandings on priorities for action to meet these challenges and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Asia. ADB believes the conference will produce a number of important benefits for developing nations in Asia and the Pacific. It will: provide a vehicle for re-focusing the attention of the international community on the importance of continued - and increased - assistance to developing Asia. Donor countries' continued financial support for development work is essential for reducing poverty, achieving the MDGs, and fueling broad-based economic and social development in the region; be a high-level knowledge-sharing event during which lessons learned from Asia's development experience can be shared and the still-substantial development challenges elaborated and better understood. Most importantly, the discussions at the conference should lead to identification of strategic directions to be implemented to meet those challenges; highlight the vital importance of partnerships in the context of the global development architecture. Effective partnerships - both within Asia and between Asia and the international community - are essential if we are to accelerate economic and social development and address global and regional development challenges. Partnerships should go beyond "donor-client relationships" to involve governments, external agencies, the private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders and should be based on mutual interests and mutual accountability. The conference provides a timely opportunity to discuss how partnerships can evolve to become more relevant and effective; underscore ADB's role as an essential partner in contributing to further economic and social development in the region. ADB is ideally positioned to serve as a nexus between the international community and developing Asia. As both a regional and multilateral institution, ADB adapts the global development agenda to the specific context of developing Asia, while also distilling key lessons and experiences from developing Asia into the evolving global dialogue. ADB provides a conduit through which the international community can effectively support strategic partnerships in the region. A large number of papers have been prepared for the conference assessing the challenges facing Asia and presenting possible ways forward in areas including sustaining economic growth, education, energy, environment, governance, health, infrastructure, investment climate, poverty reduction, service delivery, urbanization, and more. All papers will be available in the Conference Papers section of the conference web site at www.asia2015conference.org. The web site is also hosting a discussion forum on the issues to be discussed at the conference.
Asia's IT Sector Growth Leaves North America Trailing The IT sector in the Asia-Pacific region is set to expand nearly twice as fast as its North American counterpart in the five years to 2009, driven by explosive growth in countries such as India. A new study, carried out by research consultancy IDC for Microsoft, predicts Asia's IT sector will contribute over 1m new jobs, $11.3bn in new tax revenue and some $350bn to the region's economies between 2004 and 2009. The findings, seen by the Financial Times, highlight Asia's rising importance within the global technology industry and suggest more international companies will set up in the region to take advantage of the sector's superior growth. The study, which excludes China because of the paucity of reliable data, will also help Microsoft and other companies to lobby governments to crack down on piracy and foster the development of a legitimate technology industry in Asia. According to IDC, more than 40 per cent of the Asian IT sector's employment and tax revenues 每 equivalent to more than $9.8bn 每 in 2004 came from the ※Microsoft ecosystem§, made up of the US software group, its suppliers and associated companies. ※Growth in the Asia-Pacific IT sector is rebounding and growth is expected to continue on an upward trajectory through 2009,§ the study says. Revenues generated by Asia's IT industry are expected to increase at an average annual rate of 8.6 per cent, nearly double the economic growth forecast for the region in the 2004-09 period. By comparison, the North American IT industry is expected to grow by 4.9 per cent a year, with Europe forecast to report average annual increases of 6.5 per cent, according to the report. The authors of the study say Asia's growth will be spurred by the rapid development of most of its economies, which will lead governments and companies to make more use of hardware, software and IT services. The addition of 1m new jobs to the 3m people employed in the IT industry will be driven by the creation of more than 19,000 new companies, with the fastest growth coming from software. Software's contribution to the region's IT industry is dwarfed by hardware and IT services. However, the report argues that as Asian economies mature, their need for more sophisticated IT products will fuel a rise in software spending. In India, software growth over the period is expected to be more than 19 per cent a year.(by Francesco Guerrera)
Nissan to Establish New Regional Centres to Facilitate Growth in ASEAN KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Nissan Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (NAP) has announced a new regional set-up and significant reorganisation of core regional functions to facilitate its growth plans for Asean. NAP president Keiji Shimada said a key component of Nissan's business strategy was to establish regional centres for various core functions to support its Asean business activities. For a start, Nissan planned to have two new parts consolidation centres up and running by 2007, he said in a statement released here Thursday. Located in Indonesia and Thailand, the two centres will allow Nissan to enhance its production parts business in Asean and reap benefits of costs reduction, growth maximisation, logistics control and parts quality assurance under a regional supply chain management framework. The gross commercial value of total import and export of production parts from and beyond Asean is estimated at US$30 million for 2006. According to Shimada, this figure is set to grow exponentially in the coming years. "For 2007, we expect the total value of our parts business to be 10 times the value of 2006, and this is primarily due to our increased production volume for vehicles and parts in this region," he said. In addition, a regional research and development (R&D) centre and international procurement office has been established under Nissan's regional operations outfit, Nissan South East Asia Co Ltd, in Thailand. "For 2006, we will continue to work as a regional cross-functional team to boost our total sales volume for both vehicles and parts and to improve the quality of our sales process," Shimada said. "We will also look into expanding our geographical coverage to include other fast-growing and high potential markets in Asia," he added.
Connecting Developing Countries Five years ago in Nigeria, there were 370,000 people with mobile phones. Just four years later, mobile phone users in the country topped 16.8 million. It's a result that has made the Nigerian mobile phone market the second largest in Africa. And in the Philippines, there are now more mobile phone subscribers than fixed telephone subscribers. By the end of last year, the Philippines had about 40 million mobile phone subscribers 每 six times more than in 2000. These two countries are among the 144 economies named in a new World Bank report, Information and Communications for Development 2006: Global Trends and Policies, which examines progress worldwide in rolling out access to information and communication technologies (known as ICT). According to Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank Group's Global ICT Department, the report shows the mobile telephone revolution has been a key driver behind increased access to ICT in developing countries. Mobile Phone Growth ※Developing countries have witnessed a remarkable progress in terms of connectivity over the past 10 years, ※Khalil says. ※In 1990, developing countries had only 20 percent of the total telephone lines in the world. Today they have 60 percent. And more interesting is that the growth is still in the developing countries and this is mostly due to the mobile telephony revolution.§ There are now more mobile than fixed phones and about 70 percent of the developing world's population - over 50 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa - live within footprint of mobile phone services. The report also makes the point that with prepaid services and calling cards, even poor households benefit from increased telephone access. By 2005, half the world's households had telephones. Among developing regions, the telephone subscription rate is highest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia 每 where it more than doubled from 2000 to 2004. But growth was highest in Sub-Saharan Africa 每 with the telephone subscription rate tripling 每 albeit to a still low 103 subscribers per 1000 people. Mixed Picture for the Internet Bank economist and editor of the report, Christine Qiang, says while the developing world has seen huge progress in the rollout of basic infrastructure for communications technology, the picture is more mixed for advanced uses such as the internet. Worldwide internet use quadrupled between 2000 and 2005. But as Qiang points out: ※while developed nations have more than 300 secure internet servers per one million people, developing nations have fewer than two. Canada has more secure servers than all the developing countries combined.§ Eastern Europe and Central Asia are in the lead among developing regions, with 117 internet users per 1000 people. That's six to eight times as many as in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The report also says developing countries still have far to go to make access to ICT commonplace in governments, schools and businesses. For example, while most developed nations have connected nearly all of their primary and secondary schools to the internet, only 38 percent of developing countries have done so. For Africa, the figure is less than one percent. The Way Ahead The report urges developing countries to work in partnership with the private sector to extend the reach and use of ICT. And there is also a need to break down existing monopolies in developing countries. ※The existence of monopolies still in about half of the developing countries, particularly over long distance and international communications 每 which have determined the course of internet service 每 is the main obstacle today for the dissemination of information services,§ Khalil says. ※The developing countries have to complete their liberalization process by bringing an end to the remaining monopolies and fully liberalizing the provision of services by encouraging the private sector to provide services at an affordable cost,§ he says.
IMF Sees 'Sharp But Short-Lived' Global Impact from Bird Flu Pandemic The global economy risks a "sharp but short-lived" impact from an avian flu pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday, recommending contingency planning to keep financial systems up and running, reports Agence France Presse. In a new analysis, the IMF said illness and high rates of worker absenteeism in the event of a bird flu outbreak among humans could damage growth worldwide. Growth in GDP would be hit during the first quarter of a pandemic, but would recover quickly, the IMF's assistant head of research, Sandy Mackenzie told reporters on a conference call. The Financial Times (UK) adds that while financial markets could be affected as investors flee to cash and low-risk assets, leading to a temporary decline in equity prices and a widening of corporate and emerging market bond spreads, the report did not quantify the risks to global growth. The IMF is working on such forecasts, to be released in the run-up to the meetings of the fund and the World Bank next month. Xinhua (China) notes that the IMF warned that there may be disruptions to global trade and transportation as countries impose restrictions on exports to control the spread of the virus. The IMF also said that capital flows to emerging markets may be affected "as a result of some combination of possible operational disruptions in the financial systems, loss of confidence in more vulnerable countries, and abrupt shifts in risk preferences." The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) further adds that this will expose vulnerable businesses to bankruptcy. Consumer spending would fall sharply and investments put on hold, exacerbating the economic impact. The report advises the world's central banks to build up supplies of currency notes to satisfy the inevitable rush for cash in the event of a flu pandemic. The Independent (UK) writes that the IMF warned that some countries have still not drawn up plans to cope with the "significant damage" to their economies that a bird flu pandemic would cause. The IMF said business continuity planning would become a critical component in preventing a crisis in the financial sector. The IMF said its staff began discussions with central banks, regulators and financial institutions to find out how prepared they were, and noted that countries with experience of Sars, and those with large, complex financial systems such as the UK, were well-prepared. The BBC (UK) reports that according to the IMF, in order to prepare themselves, businesses can : establish a senior crisis management team with deputies; prepare for a temporary or permanent transfer of authority; set up a remote location from which the business can be run; work through possible problems and solutions; assess the impact on key markets and operations; work out an emergency budget and ensure it is well funded; undertake regular tests of equipment and procedures; ensure key staff have access to vital information and data; prepare for people to work from home or off-site; and work out how to replace suppliers should they be forced to close. In related news, The Toronto Star (Canada) writes that in a separate report released yesterday chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, Sherry Cooper said that an avian flu pandemic would take a 2 to 6 percentage point bite out of global economic growth. The report noted that a pandemic could also cause birth rates to plunge and result in an older population, leading to sustained labor shortages. Cooper's report yesterday was the third she has released looking at the potential economic impact.
Asia's Future? It's All About Demographics (Bloomberg) -- A Manila train station may seem an odd place to gauge Asia's economic future. It's here where you will find graphic examples of the force that may trump all others over the next 20 years: demographics. Each day, thousands of people arrive from the impoverished provinces with visions of opportunity and wealth. It's a microcosm of a phenomenon playing out across Asia and on a much bigger scale in China and India. Demographic change isn't something that preoccupies investors. It doesn't figure in stock prices or debt yields. It's not something traders think much about, nor do central banks ponder the issue when setting interest rates. Yet it could be the main issue for Asia's future. ``Many Asian countries are on the cusp of a huge demographic bonus -- places like India, the Philippines and Indonesia especially come to mind,'' Ifzal Ali, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank, said in an interview in Manila. ``But it could also turn out badly. Very badly.'' Those looking for great things from Asia point to the region's fast-growing populations, many of which are relatively young. For example, more than half of India's 1.1 billion people are below the age of 25. It's a huge advantage over rapidly aging China, where officials face the risk of the population growing old before it grows rich. Blessing or Curse? All this raises a question of relevance to Asians and investors alike: What good is having a big demographic advantage if economies don't create enough good jobs to use it? ``Asia needs to make sure its demographic dividend doesn't turn out to be its biggest problem,'' Ali said. ``All those people arriving at urban train stations could be a big plus or a big minus.'' The region's economies are booming, as evidenced by strong growth and the healthy amount of investment. Amid the excitement, it's easy to forget that 1.9 billion people, or 60 percent of Asia's population, are living on less than $2 a day. Asians are enjoying an economic renaissance, though raising living standards is a different story. The key is to create millions of well-paid jobs to reduce poverty and transform Asians into the affluent consumers that investors hope they will become. If that doesn't happen, Asia's outlook won't be as bright. According to the Asian Development Bank, at least 500 million of Asia's roughly 1.7 billion-person labor force are either unemployed or underemployed. According to the bank's definition, an underemployed worker is one who doesn't earn enough to save or to afford education and health care. And that, Ali said, is a ``highly conservative'' estimate. Swelling Cities Hundreds of millions will be added to an already struggling Asian labor force in the years ahead. On top of that, a major shift in the breakdown of urban and rural dwellers will have huge economic implications. At the moment, about 60 percent of Asians live in rural areas, while 40 percent are urban. Ali said that in the next few years, the breakdown will be closer to 50/50. As soon as 2015, it could be 40 percent rural, 60 percent urban. ``This is a change of historic proportions that will pose huge development challenges,'' Ali said. ``You saw what happened with one flood in Bombay last year -- we could see similar and growing risks across Asia.'' The flood to which Ali referred killed about 1,000 people in the greater Mumbai area (formerly known as Bombay) last July. Poor infrastructure and, on a more basic level, scarce employment opportunities were responsible for a tragedy that dented India's economy in the July-to-September period. Prepare Now It also was a cautionary tale for Asia. ``Governments must invest, plan and safeguard against things like that,'' Ali said. ``At the same time, this region needs to increase the number of good jobs and education to prepare for fast-growing populations in cities.'' If not, Asia may run into a vicious cycle of rising poverty and worsening economic prospects. That would hurt corporate profits in a region on which executives around the globe are depending for growth. It also would strain state finances, boosting yields and forcing many nations to issue more debt. The good news is that some leaders understand these risks. China's sudden campaign to boost its neglected countryside is a case in point. China's Rural Plans China is increasing agricultural spending by 14 percent, or 42.2 billion yuan ($5.24 billion), to 339.7 billion yuan. The plan is to shift resources to rural areas, home to two-thirds of its 1.3 billion people, after two decades of growth averaging more than 9 percent a year mostly benefited towns and cities. It's a point that is often missed. When the press reports on Asia's second-biggest economy, the focus is almost always on thriving cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. Less attention is paid to the impoverished countryside, where the number of mass protests reached 87,000 in 2005, many fueled by anger over the seizure of farmers' land for development. The slums of Mumbai get plenty of media coverage, and Indian officials also are stepping up efforts to boost rural economies. The trick for the rest of Asia is to avoid Mumbai's experience as populations shift from the countryside to cities. The bad news is that enough isn't being done to prepare for a dynamic that will alter Asia's economies as rarely before. For a glimpse of the future, and an idea of what Asia is in for, leaders only have to visit their local train station. (by William Pesek Jr.)
Asia-Pacific Regional Network Set Up in Beijing The United Nations NGO (non-governmental organizations) Section launched its Asia-Pacific regional network in Beijing Friday. The network aims at boosting cooperation between the UN and NGOs in countries of the Asia-Pacific region, and promoting the implementation of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region. At a conference held Friday morning to mark the start-up of the network, NGO representatives from China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region held discussions on generating employment, eradicating poverty and promoting sustained economic growth for social development. The Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament, a Chinese NGO, was appointed by the UN NGO Section as a coordinator of its Asia-Pacific regional network in April, 2005, responsible for promoting the implementation of MDGs in the region. Initiated during the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, the Millennium Development Goals include reducing by half the proportion of people suffering from poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, eliminating gender disparity, reducing child mortality by two thirds and maternal mortality by three quarters, halting and reversing the incidence of major diseases, and reducing by a half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
Asian Development Outlook 2006 Launch on April 6 Can China sustain its breakneck growth? Is India the new Asian powerhouse? Can trade continue to propel Asia? What are the risks facing Asian economies in the year ahead? What are the opportunities to build long-term growth? Will Asia remain the world's most dynamic economic region? Dr. Ifzal Ali, Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank, will address these issues and others at the launch of the Asian Development Outlook 2006. The ADO is ADB's flagship economic forecasting publication. It includes comprehensive economic analysis of and forecasts for more than 40 economies in developing Asia and the Pacific, and examines aggregate trends and medium-term prospects by subregion - East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific - in the context of global economic movements. ADO 2006 includes a special chapter on the future of trade in Asia. The growth of free trade arrangements in the region has created an expanding "noodle bowl" of deals with convoluted and costly implementation rules that have the potential not just to divert trade, but to destroy it. How should developing Asia position itself to maximize the future benefits of trade? Date: 6 April 2006 Time: 10 a.m. Venue: Harbour Room, Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong. Please confirm attendance with Mr. Ramoncito dela Cruz at rpdelacruz@adb.org, (632) 632-5881, or Ms. Cristy Espino at cespino@adb.org, (632) 632-5877 before 3 p.m. on Monday, 3 April 2006.
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CHINA: System for Internet Domains is Set Up The Internet authorities in China have set up a new family of Chinese-language alternatives to .com and other popular Internet address domains. It is a move that bypasses the U.S.-sponsored organization that controls address information for the global Internet, and some analysts fear that it could enhance China's ability to censor its citizens' access to the Internet. The People's Daily reported Tuesday that the new system would feature Chinese versions of the existing .cn, .com and .net domains. "It means Internet users don't have to surf the Web via the servers under the management of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers of the United States," the report said. American control of Internet regulation is a point of contention with many foreign governments. Last year, the United States fended off demands to remove control of Icann from the Department of Commerce and put it under the auspices of the United Nations. American officials said that China and other countries wanted control of Icann to censor political and religious information on the Internet. Some analysts say that by setting up addresses that do not rely on Icann, China is gradually creating a domestic Internet that will be far more susceptible to censorship than the U.S.-controlled version. "Chinese users in theory right now will still have access to both," said Michael Geist, Internet law professor at the University of Ottawa. But over time, Geist said, the Chinese could completely disconnect from the Icann system and route all internal Internet traffic through their own domain servers. "It's now a Chinese-controlled system," Geist said. The process could make it easier for Chinese censors to block out "subversive" information from outside the country, he said. But Subramanian Subbiah, a former professor at Stanford University, said that the new policy was driven by the desire to make the Internet more accessible to Chinese speakers. Subbiah, co-founder of I-DNS.net, a Singapore company that sells Internet domain names created in non-Western writing systems, said that China lost patience with Icann, which has not made Internet addresses available in Asian writing systems. Chinese Internet users can type a Web site address in Chinese, until they get to the Internet domain, such as .com or .net. Those letters must be typed in Roman letters, because Icann has not adopted a technology for recognizing the words in Chinese, Arabic, Korean or other non-Western languages. "Icann sat around for eight or nine years, with everybody begging them," Subbiah said. "Go learn English, they said at first." So he began working with Chinese officials about two years ago to use his technology to solve the problem. Subbiah said censorship probably had nothing to do with China's announcement because the Chinese already control the Icann-linked root servers inside their country and are censoring Internet information. "They're doing it today; they'll be doing it tomorrow," he said. An Icann spokesman, Andrew Robertson, declined to comment on the Chinese announcement, saying that Icann officials needed more time to confirm the accuracy of the news report and consult with the Chinese authorities. Apart from concerns over censorship, disconnecting China from the standard Internet could cause a number of problems. Chinese traveling outside their country would not be able to access Internet sites using the Chinese domains, because the Icann-based Internet would not recognize the Chinese addresses. A new Chinese version of the .com Internet domain could cause a replay of the online gold rush of the late 1990s, said Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance at Oxford University.
Shanghai Sets Three-Year Goals For the Information Service Sector The local information service sector will surpass the information-related manufacturing sector in terms of GDP by 2008, according to a recently-released three-year action plan for the sector. The sector includes the software industry, telecommunications industry, Internet, and radio and television broadcasting. In 2005, the sector recorded 42.25 billion yuan of added value, accounting for 38.5 percent of the total added value achieved by the local information industry. The sector is expected to generate 60 billion yuan of added value next year, with Shanghai becoming a regional information service hub by 2008. In a bid to promote the sector, the city will build seven industrial parks in the next three years, including a software manufacturing center, a software export center, a digital information center in Xuhui District and a cyber game & animation center in Zhangjiang High-tech Park. It will also improve local networks for digital television, broadband and e-commerce transactions.
China to Renew 200 Mln ID Cards in 2006 Some 200 million computerized "second generation" ID cards will be issued to residents around China, replacing the old cards that have been in use for 20 years. According to a televised conference of the Ministry of Public Security, by the end of 2005, about 102 million new ID cards had been issued to residents since the massive renewal project kicked off last year. The renewal had been launched in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and 13 provinces like Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang last year, said vice minister Liu Jinguo. Liu said over 19 provinces have completed the update of population information, while 13 regions have set up population data and 41,000 local police stations have established a data management system, all benefiting the renewal project. The newly released plastic chip ID card contains information such as validity periods, authorization institutions and designs of the national emblem. The Great Wall and decorative patterns are printed on the front cover. The cardholder's name, gender, ethnicity, birthday, residence, ID number and photo are on the back cover. China decided to change the first-generation ID card for its quality and security flaws and unrecognizability by computers. Liu warned local police offices not to charge additional fees in renewing ID cards, while asking them to make full use of this chance to strengthen the local population information management. The project to upgrade ID cards for 800 million Chinese adults is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2008.
Blogs Provide Platform To Air Different Opinions My doctor friend last week told me she wanted to start a blog. "I want to speak out for doctors," she said. She explained that health workers are misrepresented by the media and voices like hers should be heard. A blog seems to be her solution. My friend is not alone. More Chinese than ever before are becoming bloggers, an estimated 10 million in total, even though the phenomenon arrived in China only three years ago. The latest bunch of green hands are those attending the "liang hui" the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Those attending the meetings used to be regarded as elites in the eyes of the average man on the street. It is no more the case, at least not in the virtual realm. It is not only deputies and delegates blogging at the conference. Journalists and other common citizens are participating, with the latter group more active than one can imagine. They follow events and submit their opinions and proposals online. If there is one particularly new and innovative aspect of the current sessions, then it surely is the blogging. Perhaps it's no surprise, given the drive to turn China into an innovation-oriented country. One such blogger is Zhao Lihong, a CPPCC member from Shanghai. He was shocked to find that in just two days his blog received more than 1,000 viewers and over 100 written responses. He writes, "It seems I underestimated the influence of blogs. What has moved me are the comments and opinions following my articles. These are expressions from ordinary people, rich in content and true to life." Shocked he might be, since some of the comments are from marginalized groups whom he otherwise may not be able to meet or hear. I also follow some of the blogs and their comments, and find them interesting, informative, intriguing, and often provocative. One of the focal points at the meetings was a Xinhua journalist's suggestion that Premier Wen Jiabao set up a blog. It received an immediate positive response, though of course there were some messages saying that the premier was too busy to spend his time blogging. I agree that neither cyberspace, nor the social environment, is ready for a blog by the Chinese premier, despite the blog revolution sweeping the country. Do not mistake me to mean the country lacks democracy. Democracy defined in Western terms is hardly relevant in China today. However, to say bloggers are challenging China's mainstream media is not only relevant but also much to the point. Bloggers are not contributors in the conventional sense of journalists playing the key role in the media. Million of Chinese have embraced the Internet as a platform to express themselves. They have empowered themselves and become unconventional media practitioners. Pan Shiyi may not be the most convincing example in this regard, since he and his real estate business were already in the media limelight before he became a blogger, but he is certainly the most successful one.His recent open blog debate with another real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang has drawn wide media attention. The debate began with Pan's open blog letter to Ren Zhiqiang who said recently that it is "only too natural" to see there are "segregated zones for the rich and the poor.""Before there were 'qiongren qu'(zones for the poor) everywhere in China. Now there are 'qiongren qu' and 'furen qu' (zones for the rich). That is only too natural just like letting some people get rich first. Let some people move into 'furen qu' first, then eventually all will live in 'furen qu'," Ren said. Ren touched on China's current nerve concerning equality. Indeed China moved from being a society with relatively equal income distribution in the early 1980s to one that is far less equal today. It is therefore no surprise Ren's remarks became a hot topic. Ren was well aware what he said on the rich and poor divide would draw harsh criticism and he insisted that being a businessman it was not his responsibility to take care of the poor. Pan entered the debate and wrote an open letter to Ren on his blog with the title "I do not support building segregated zones for the rich and the poor in new city construction." Of course Ren retaliated and called Pan "ignorant." Pan responded again. Hundreds of pages written by netizens followed their debate. The pros and cons are quite evenly matched and the divide is clear. Sina.com took a survey of 38,391 people, 48 per cent said they did not agree with segregated zones while 42 per cent agreed with the idea. The climax came when both Pan and Ren were invited to appear on a Phoenix TV programme. The much-anticipated fierce debate did not occur as Ren's eloquent presentation was much in agreement with Pan: That the problem of qiongren qu and furen qu is a developmental issue. To Pan's amusement, the two did not differ much. Pan concludes the episode in his blog: "After the TV programme, I asked President Ren, 'How come you now share my view?'"He said, 'Leaders criticized me ...I have to be careful with what I say since the liang hui is in session'. "Pan came out the winner and his blog has since registered over 2 million viewers.
Plagiarism, Fake Research Plague Academia As China marks the World Consumer Rights Day today, the spotlight would inevitably be on poor products and shoddy service. But attention is also being focused on the rights of a special group of consumers: subscribers or readers of academic journals. Plagiarism and fake research have become rampant in China, and are eroding people's trust in academia, Ren Yuing, a member of the Councillors' Office of the State Council, told the recent meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body. He cited a recent survey of 180 PhD degree holders, of whom 60 per cent paid to be published in academic journals; and about the same percentage copied others' work. "The situation exists in almost every well-known Chinese university," He Weifang, a professor at Peking University's law school, told China Daily. He is also an activist in fighting what he called academic corruption. Some 100 Chinese professors plan to publish an open letter calling for the establishment of a national supervision mechanism to root out academic plagiarism. The move follows a series of academic scandals: Qiu Xiaoqing, a biomedicine professor at Sichuan University, was last year accused of publishing fraudulent research in the November 2003 issue of Nature Biotechnology. Zhou Yezhong, a professor at Wuhan University's law school, was last December accused of copying others' work "word for word." Shen Luwei, an associate professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, was removed from his post in January for plagiarizing 10 articles in his book. He Weifang said he felt obliged to sign the open letter as the problem has been holding back the country's scientific development. Academic corruption refers to institutions making use of their resources to gain improper income or power; but misconduct, which is often individual, could take different forms such as plagiarism, distorting experiment data and tampering with original work. The existing evaluation system, which emphasizes the quantity of papers rather than quality, is considered the root cause of academic corruption and misconduct in China scholars have to publish a certain number of books or papers before they are promoted. "One of my colleagues was demoted because he failed to publish two papers in key academic journals a year, He said. "The situation in other schools is worse. Zhang Jianzu, a professor at East China University of Science and Technology, said schools are to blame as they often help cover up misconduct. "Many plagiarists still work as professors despite some scandals, he said. Some plagiarists also hold administrative positions in schools. To curb violations of academic rights, the Ministry of Education announced this month that it planned to set up a national supervision committee. It will work out detailed rules on criteria and punishment for academic corruption and misconduct, and investigate such cases. The 25-member committee will consist of scholars from academic institutions. Vice-Minister of Science and Technology Ma Songde also disclosed that the ministry would establish an archive database, including books and papers the ministry published. "If any academic violation is found, the stain will be on record for good, Ma said. Academic circles applaud the new policies, but how the committee and database will work has sparked heated discussion. He Weifang insists that the committee be made up of scholars, and procedures be transparent. "Also, those being accused should have the right to appeal. He argues that the ministry's committee cannot replace committees set up by individual schools, as "administrative powers should not interfere too much in academic circles. Qin Yi, editor-in-chief of Social Sciences in China, a prominent periodical published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said rigorous checking is vital to prevent plagiarism. She told China Daily that no plagiarism had been found in papers published in her magazine. Manuscripts go through at least three rounds of checks, including anonymous refereeing. Reputed scholars from other academic institutions are also invited to evaluate each paper, as "no matter how knowledgeable our editors are, there might be books they have not read. Plagiarism is also prevalent among college students, especially for graduation thesis. Xu Zhihong, president of Peking University, said last week that the university would announce detailed regulations later this year to look into teachers? Responsibilities if plagiarism is found in their students? The school announced last year that students would be expelled if they were involved in plagiarism.
Shanghai: Public Service Facilities Stressed For Communities All local communities will build-up three public service centers, for community affairs, cultural activities and health services, as part of local moves to encourage the expansion of public service facilities, Shanghai Municipal government spokeswoman Jiao Yang said at yesterday's scheduled government press conference. Each community will have a service center to act as the interface between citizens and the government, the aim being to enhance the efficiency of community management. They will also have a health service center and several sub-centers together with drug stores covered by the city's medical insurance system and at least one old people's home. Services for senior citizens and disabled people should be improved, Jiao said, adding that public participation is encouraged. Such projects will have priority status when it comes to land use, Jiao stressed.
Advanced Telecommunication Network Serves China A leading European telecommunication network provider has built Asia's largest professional mobile radio (PMR) network in Beijing, which covers more than 34,000 law-enforcement officers and urban facilities supervisors. Jean-Marc Nasr, chief executive officer of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) Secure Networks, said at a press conference here Wednesday that the reliability of PMR with the terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) standard was fully proved during the just ended annual sessions of both the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. "Our TETRA provides reliable service to professional mobile radio users in some key governmental organs in Beijing," Nasr said. "We plan to expand our TETRA business in police and public transit transport systems," he said. Combining traits of both walkie-talkie and mobile phones, traffic and patrol police as well as customs officers could be equipped with TETRA professional mobile radios. Nasr said, "We hope we could supply our systems and terminals for the 2008 Beijing Olympics." EADS Secure Networks was created following a major deal that saw EADS buying Nokia's PMR business. The addition of Nokia's TETRA business means that EADS has more than 130 PMR customers in 56 countries.
Development of Central Region to Be Boosted China will boost development of its central region in line with its strategy to promote coordinated development of various regions, according to a top-level meeting held on Monday. "We should further cultivate a new scenario featuring interaction between the eastern, central and western regions and common development," said a statement from the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, chaired by the committee's General Secretary Hu Jintao. There were calls for efforts to build the region into a major grain production base, a base of energy and raw materials, a base of modern equipment manufacture and new and high-tech industry and a comprehensive transportation hub. "The central region will develop through acting as a link between the eastern and western regions and taking advantage of its strengths in certain sectors," said the statement. Advantages of the central region come from its location, natural resources, industrial pattern and human resources. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have adopted a strategy to encourage the eastern area to take the lead in development, carry out large-scale development of the western region and invigorate Northeast China and other old industrial bases.
JAPAN: Tokyo Population Reaches Record 12.56 Million (Kyodo) _ The population of metropolitan Tokyo is estimated to have reached a record 12,560,764 as of Jan. 1, increasing by 96,822 during the last year, preliminary data of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government showed Monday. While the 23 wards of Tokyo marked at 687 the first natural decrease in population, or deaths outnumbering births, since the metropolitan government started the statistics in 1955, the overall population rose 72,865 to 8,469,459, the 10th straight yearly increase, due to inflow from other prefectures, the metropolitan government said. The number of registered foreigners in Tokyo rose 10,827 to a record 364,653, after marking the first fall in nine years in 2004, it said. By nationality, the largest portion of the foreign population was Chinese with 123,611, followed by Korean with 106,697 and Filipino with 31,077.
National Archive on WWII Experiences of Japanese Opens to Media A national archive documenting the hardships of retired Japanese soldiers who were wounded or became sick in World War II opened for a media preview on Friday before opening to the public next Tuesday. Shokei-Kan -- the Historical Materials Hall for Wounded and Sick Retired Soldiers -- has been set up to publicize some of the personal hardships that result from war, organizers said.
Most Companies to Increase Recruitment of Graduates in 2007 for First Time in Nine Years For the first time in nine years, more than half of major companies will increase their recruitment of graduates in spring 2007 from the level for this spring, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed. According to the survey of 100 major companies conducted earlier this month, 52 will hire more graduates, mainly in technical fields, while 39 said the recruitment level will remain the same. Only drug manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo Co. said it will reduce its recruitment level. The remaining eight companies were undecided. The increase was especially conspicuous in technical sectors, showing that companies are eager to pass down their expertise to younger generations before the baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 start retiring en masse in 2007. Toshiba Corp., which is focusing its strengths on semiconductors, will increase its hiring to more than 1,500, almost triple the level in 2006. It will be the first time for Toshiba to hire more than 1,000 graduates since spring 1992. Sharp Corp. plans to hire 615 new graduates for next spring, mainly to expand operations for liquid crystal display televisions, solar batteries and other products. The figure is an increase of about 40 percent from 2006. Sony Corp. intends to almost double its new hires to about 400 from the 2006 level, as the company attempts to strengthen its operations for televisions, digital cameras and other home electronics products. Toyota Motor Corp. will maintain its high level of recruitment at about 3,000 new graduates. The automaker plans to heighten its ability to develop next-generation technologies, including gas-electric hybrid and fuel-cell systems. Honda Motor Co. plans to hire more than 1,000 new graduates for the first time since spring 1991. Even trouble-plagued Japan Airlines Corp. will almost double its recruitment of technical personnel next spring, citing the need to improve its safety and maintenance abilities. Major banks, which have made significant progress in clearing their bad loans, are also focusing on technological developments and improved services. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, which was created through a merger in January, will more than triple its recruitment for next spring by hiring 2,000 graduates. The bank will hire 620 graduates this April. Many companies plan to hire more high school graduates to have them learn the technical skills and expertise from seasoned workers. Twenty-one of the respondents said the number of retiring employees will increase by more than 30 percent in fiscal 2007 from the previous year. Nippon Steel Corp. plans to hire mainly high school graduates to make up for the employees in the operation and maintenance divisions who will retire in the coming years. The steelmaker expects about 500 employees to retire between fiscal 2006 and 2008. The figure will almost double to more than 1,000 between fiscal 2009 and 2011. After the so-called information-technology bubble burst, only 11 companies surveyed said they would increase the number of recruits for spring 2003.
SOUTH KOREA: Government Cracks Down on Illegal IPs To counter the problem of identity theft, the Korean government will block the Internet protocols (IPs), which were used to steal personal data by getting bypass links to the country's Internet network. The Ministry of Information and Communication on Tuesday (Feb. 28) revealed steps aimed at controlling the nation's rampant personal data leakage to overseas countries, especially China. ※Since last week, in collaboration with Internet service providers, we already intercepted 2,600 illegal IPs, which were found to be the main routes for penetrating the Korean network,§ Lee Sung-ok, assistant minister at the ministry, said. Identity theft en masse surfaced last month after complaints piled up that hackers stole private data, including resident registration numbers, from Koreans subscribing to ※Lineage,§ a popular online game. Chinese hackers are suspected of leading the cyber crimes via a bypass link based on unlawful IPs, an alternative path to the legitimate, primary one. ※In the future, we will continue to keep tabs on such illegal IPs geared toward breaking into the Korean network and stealing personal information,§ Lee said. Lee said the ministry will also urge local Internet firms to use an alternative system other than resident registration numbers, the Korean version of social security numbers, for signing on to Web sites. ※Furthermore, we will recommend websites use cell phone numbers as a certification method to deter illegal subscribers. They can require people to enter their mobile phone numbers together with residence numbers when signing up,§ Lee noted. ※The site then will send certification figures via mobile handsets and users will be have to enter the multi-digit number on the website for user verification,§ he added. The Chinese government will be asked to delete the personal data of many Koreans in circulation in China's cyberspace, he said. To prevent the recurrence of massive personal data leakage, the ministry also unveiled a package of measures including propagation of security patches as well as fire walls. ※Currently, the penetration rates of security patches stand at just 38 percent. We will increase the figure to 80 percent and mandate gaming companies install Web firewalls,§ Lee said. In addition, the ministry checks the security of the country's 70,000 most-visited web ites every day to shield them from unscrupulous hackers.
National Disaster Management Education and Research Institute Opens The Civil Defense Training Division (CDTS) and the National Institute for Disaster Prevention (NIDP) were integrated into the National Disaster Management Education and Research Institute (NDMERS) on Monday (March 6). The CDTS handles civil defense education under the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the NIDP oversees disaster research and development functions. The NEMA fully restructured its head office organization as of Sept. 1 of last year and combined the two organizations that governed education and R&D functions with the newly-launched NDMERS. The integration was precipitated by the paucity of special education programs for specialists engaged in the disaster management field. Also lacking was a comprehensive and systematic disaster education and research institution, in spite of the fact that large-scale disasters have frequently occurred from recent climate changes, causing an increase in human casualties and property damage.
MIC to Spend 43 Billion Won to Manage Knowledge Information Resources The Ministry of Information and Communication on Thursday (Mar. 16) announced 43 tasks for this year designed to manage knowledge information resources with the purpose of building 20 million databases in the fields of science, technology, education, arts, culture and history. It is expected to provide 1,600 jobs for the young. The ministry earmarked 43 billion won to carry out the tasks picked through a series of screening processes of 125 tasks requested by state agencies and local, autonomous governments. The selected tasks involve databases on "national academic research" and 36 others featuring public, nature and conservation value, a bio-information database and available infrastructure, and five others picked for development potential. So far, an estimated 250 million items have been entered into databases as a result of the ministry's project. The items are available via www.knowledge.go.kr. A monthly average of 14 million people use the data through the private portal sites, Paran and Empas.
Korea to Build Up E-Learning Infrastructure South Korea will spend 126.3 billion won ($129.9 million) this year to expand the nation's e-learning infrastructure, the government said on Monday (Mar. 20). The effort is part of South Kor |