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Posts published in October 2017

Analysis: What Prez Xi’s new leadership team means for China’s economy

By WANG XIANGWEI in South China Morning Post, Oct 28, 2017 Now that President Xi Jinping has become China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, what does his elevated position, and the rest of the leadership line-up revealed on Wednesday, mean for the economy? More specifically, will he and his new cohort of officials do a much better job of pushing for market-oriented reforms and opening up than in his first term?…

So, which of the favours of China would Bangladesh deny?

by Rajeev Ahmed in Daily Tribune, Oct 28, 2017 The writer is a geo-political analyst and strategic thinker. China is the major development partner of Bangladesh. It is frequently touted by the leaders of both countries that Bangladesh and China need to maintain a strategic partnership. Although China recognised Bangladesh four years after its independence, it is also a well-known fact that Chinese-supported pro-Beijing communist party elements in Bangladesh, opposed the Awami League-led, India-backed, and…

Three disgraced Chinese Communist Party officials accused of trying to rig elections

By Jun Mai in South China Morning Post, Oct 27, 2017 Three disgraced senior officials from China’s Communist Party, including a man once considered a possible successor to President Xi Jinping, have been accused of rigging internal elections, as the party revealed on Thursday it abandoned a vote-based promotion system at its latest leadership reshuffle. Bottom of Form The accused cadres are the former security tsar Zhou Yongkang, former chief of staff to President Hu…

Xi Jinping shakes up China’s military leadership …

By Liu Zhen in South China Morning Post, Oct 27, 2017 China’s Communist Party has appointed a new slimmed down Central Military Commission to oversee the nation’s armed forces. Analysts said the appointments further strengthened Xi’s control over the commission, which he heads. The body will be led by a seven member group, down from the 11 who oversaw its operations previously. The changes come as Xi has initiated a massive modernisation programme for the…

Isn’t Bangladesh’s stake worthy?:by Shah Husain Imam in The daily star, Oct 27, 2017

The writer is a commentator on current affairs and former Associate Editor, The Daily Star. One can draw two significant messages from Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s just-concluded visit to Bangladesh: First, she has basically reiterated India’s position that an incumbent government is obligated to hold the general election, if and when it falls due in a democratic country. She, however, added, that how an election will be held would be determined by the…

”News of secret meeting in Dhaka baseless”

Report in Dhaka Tribune, Oct 26, 2017 at 11.05pm The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) has denied news reports that some army officers recently held a secret meeting in Dhaka to discuss a sensitive matter. Indian daily The Telegraph on last Wednesday published a report claiming that 20 retired and serving officers met at the residence of a retired lieutenant general on October 21. The report mentioned multiple sources in Dhaka and New Delhi. The…

EC has nothing to do with polls-time govt, CEC says in response to BNP demand

report in bdnews24.com, Oct 27, 2017 Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda has said the Election Commission has nothing to do with the polls-time government.It is none of commission’s business whether the current parliament will continue to function during the next general elections, he added. “There is no scope to go beyond the Constitution and the law. The election will have to be held in the existing constitutional system,” CEC Nurul Huda said at a…

Pakistani blogger who went missing earlier this year applies for asylum in Britain

Report in The Express Tribune, Oct 26, 2017. Blogger Aasim Saeed, who went missing in January 2017, has applied for asylum in Britain after alleging that he was tortured during his captivity. He was one of the five social media activists who vanished from different cities of Pakistan earlier this year before being released. Third missing activist found, flees country fearing for life: family Prior to his abduction, Saeed told the BBC, he had been…

The Xi Jinping Era: edit in The Wall St Journal, Oct 26, 2017

When the seven men who will rule China for the next five years stepped onto a stage in Beijing Wednesday, their ages were the focus of attention. Most important, none of the new Politburo Standing Committee members is young enough to take over from General Secretary Xi Jinping when his 10-year term in office is scheduled to end in 2022. The widespread conclusion inside China and beyond: The 64-year-old Mr. Xi intends to stay—and stay—as…

China Edges Closer to One-Man Rule

By Jeremy Page & Chun Han Wong in The Wall St Journal, Oct 26, 2017 (Print Hradline: ‘China’s Xi Gains a Longer Lease on Power) BEIJING—The future of 1.4 billion people, the world’s second-largest economy and an emerging military juggernaut now lies largely in the hands of just one man: China’s President Xi Jinping. In unveiling a new top leadership lineup without a potential successor to Mr. Xi on Wednesday, the Communist Party edged closer…

Screws tighten on NGOs: by Shariful Islam in Dhaka Tribune, Oct 26, 2017

After decades of successful collaboration with the government, non-government organisations (NGOs) are currently experiencing an existential crisis in Bangladesh. Asian Development Bank in its profile of Bangladesh states that from relief and rehabilitation, microcredit loan programs, and education to strategies for water treatment and agriculture, NGOs have found a niche for themselves in the gap between society and state, seeking to promote the people’s welfare through grassroots initiatives and development programs. But between the new…