2019: Senate bars INEC from manual voting, passes Electoral Act Bill

By Our Admin

Senate has again passed the 2010 Electoral Act amendment Bill after it was rejected three times by President Muhammadu Buhari, who raised various observations and issues which he urged the lawmakers to address.

This is just as the upper chamber, in the passed Bill, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting manual voting where the card readers fail or malfunction during the 2019 general elections.

This was sequel to the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on INEC which was presented by the chairman, Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi, North), who told senate that all issues raised by President Buhari, while declining assents to the Bill as earlier passed, have been captured and addressed.

"Where a Smart Card Reader deployed for accreditation of Voters fails to function in any polling unit and a fresh Card Reader is not deployed 3 hours before the close of the election in that unit, then the election shall not hold but be rescheduled and conducted within 24 hours thereafter,

"provided that where the total possible votes from all the affected card readers in the unit or units does not affect the overall result in the constituency or election concerned, the commission shall notwithstanding the fact that a fresh card reader is not deployed as stipulated, announce the final results and declare a winner", the senate stated.

In the latest amendment, senate also upheld the sequence of 2019 as suggested by the President.

Recall that after the disagreement between the legislature and the executive on the sequence of the election, the lawmakers jettisoned the its amendment on Section 25(a), which had placed the presidential election last in the sequence.

It pointed out that this is in observance of the economic consequences of staggering the elections into three, given the economic realities in the country.

The red chamber also amended Clause 24 of the Principal Act which deals with the issue of deadline for primary election, to state that the dates of the primary elections shall not be earlier than 150 days and not later than 90 days before the date of the election to the elective offices.

The same section also stipulates a specific period within which political party primaries are required to be held since the unintended consequences of leaving lNEC with only 9 days to collate and compile lists of candidates and political parties for the various elections.

"This is because the earlier Electoral Act Amendment Bill did not properly amend Sections 31, 33 and 85 of the principal Act that stipulate times for submission of lists of candidates, publication of lists of candidates, notice of conventions and congresses for nominating candidates for elections", the senate explained in its resolution.

In section 91 of the passed Bill, the senate said that campaign expenses for the Presidential election shall now be increased from one billion naira to five billion naira, while that of governorship shall be increased from two hundred million naira to one billion naira.

It further increased the campaign expenses for the senatorial seats from one hundred million naira to two hundred and fifty million naira, while that of the House of Representatives is increased from seventy million naira to one hundred million naira.

The penalty for any candidate of a political party who exceeds these amounts is either to pay one percent of the money to INEC or twelve months imprisonment or both, as the case may be.

Meanwhile, the senate said in the case of omission of name of a candidate or logo of a political party, if at the point of display or distribution of ballot papers by the INEC, a candidate or his agent discovers that his name, the name or logo of his party is omitted, a candidate or his agent shall notify the commission and the commission shall postpone the election to rectify the omission and appoint another date to conduct the election not later than ninety days.

The red chamber also stipulated that where an election is postponed due to omission of a political party name or logo, the commission's officer responsible for such printing of party names or logo commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for two years or a fine of two hundred thousand or both.

Moreover, the senate, in the passed Electoral Act, said where there is a death or withdrawal by a candidate of a political party before the conclusion of an election, the political party concerned shall not replace any candidate but shall conduct a primary election to elect a new candidate within seven days in case of death and ten days in case of withdrawal, and submit same to the INEC if it wishes to continue with the elections.

China moves up to world’s second in outward FDI stock

By Luo Shanshan

China’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock has reached over $1.8 trillion by the end of 2017, up by $451.65 billion from a year ago, said an official from the country’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) at a press conference held Friday.

At the press conference, the MOFCOM released the 2017 Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment.

According to the bulletin, China’s outward FDI stock, distributed in 189 countries and regions, accounted for 5.9 percent of the global FDI outflows. China moved up 4 places on the list of globaloutward FDI stock, ranking the second in the world.

Statistics showed that China’s outward FDI in 2017 stood at $158.29 billion, down by 19.3 percent year on year. It is the first negative growth since China released annual statistics in 2003, but it is still the second highest number in history. 

China’s outward FDI has accounted for over 10 percent of the world’s total for two consecutive years. It is seeing greater influence in global FDI, with the FDI flow only after the US and Japan. On two-way investment, China’s FDI flow has outrun foreign investment attraction for three years in a row.

China’s FDI in 2017 was widely distributed in multiple industries, and the stock in the six major sectors exceeded $100 billion. In addition, China has conducted merger and acquisition in plenty of fields, creating a historical high in overseas financing.

Besides, China’s investment in Europe and Africa enjoyed rapid growth, and the investment in Belt and Road countries saw a growth of 30 percent.

Chinese enterprises made prominent contribution to the host countries regarding both fiscal revenue and employment, achieving win-win result through foreign investment. In 2017, Chinese enterprises paid a total of $37.6 billion taxes to the host countries and hired 1.71 million local employees, up 367,000 from a year ago.

Source: People’s Daily

China follows global trend with composure

By Zhong Sheng

China’s white paper on facts and its stance on trade frictions with the US, released when the world was deeply concerned about Washington’s further escalation of trade frictions against China, fully demonstrated China’s image as a responsible major country.

The document, titled “The Facts and China’s Position on China-US Trade Friction”, is a systematic articulation of China’s policies and stance.

China was firmly committed to safeguarding its national dignity and core interests, the sound development of China-US economic and trade relations, and the reform and improvement of the multilateral trading system, the white paper said.

The country was also firmly committed to protecting property rights and intellectual property rights (IPR), protecting the lawful rights and interests of foreign businesses in China, deepening reform and widening opening-up, wrote the document, adding that China was firmly committed to mutually beneficial cooperation with other developed and developing countries and to building a community with a shared future for mankind. 

The commitments accord with the fundamental interests of people of the two countries as well as the common expectation of the international community. They reflect China’s strong strategic confidence and willpower.

China is described by the international community as firm-minded, composed, confident and restrained in responding to its trade frictions with the US. It is universally believed that China handles trade frictions with the US in a constructive approach, like it always does in addressing differences and contradictions.

Through what it did, the country safeguards its national dignity and core interests, while taking the big picture of China-US relations and global economic development into consideration by handling the conflicts in a sincere and constructive way.

The Chinese government has reiterated that China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and will fight one if necessary.

China did not fear unilateralism and the rise of trade protectionism as its steps forward wereunstoppable. The country planned and managed its own affairs well with composure and capabilities in front of mounting international uncertainties, instabilities and insecurities in the past. It was self-reliance and hard work that allowed China a wider path for development.

“Economic globalization is the trend of the times, and peace and development represent the shared aspiration of all peoples,” the white paper made a fundamental judgment of the trend of the world and the times.

It is out of this judgment that China chooses to safeguard and improve multilateral trade system, promote win-win and mutually beneficial cooperation with other developed and developing countries, and be firmly committed to building a community of a shared destiny for mankind.

China’s proposals and solutions made within the multilateral frameworks of the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), Group of 20 (G20), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), help maintain multilateralism, promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and push global economy toward a more open, inclusive, reciprocal, balanced and win-win direction.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and China’s efforts to boost solidarity and cooperation with countries and regions under the frameworks of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, and the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum, have demonstrated its responsibility as a major country to lead and promote international cooperation and pool the widest force for peace and development.

Time will prove that China has made the right choice and selected a bright path. The peace and development of the world is unstoppable.

(Zhong Sheng, a homonym in Chinese for “voice of China”, is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)

Source: People's Daily

US starts trade friction to hinder China’s industrial upgrading, diverting domestic contradictions

By Yang Yingjie

China must come to realize why the US unilaterally initiated the trade friction in order to properly address it.

To hinder China’s industrial upgrading is a major reason for the US to start the trade friction.

China’s status in the global industrial division has been rising since the launch of reform and opening up policy, especially after its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Plenty of foreign high-tech enterprises have established branches in China, making up the major part of the country’s exportation.

After years of development, China’s own high-tech firms are emerging to become world-class enterprises, and the country’s manufacturing industry is going through accelerated upgrading.

The US, by hitting China’s high-end industries, intends to stop China’s industrial upgrading in the name of reducing trade deficit.

American economist and recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Joseph Stiglitz said in a recent article that if Donald Trump’s objective was to stop China from pursuing its “Made in China 2025” policy, he  surely would fail.

On the contrary, Trump’s actions would only push Chinese leaders  to resolve to boost innovation and achieve technological supremacy, as they would realize that they could not rely on others, and that the US was actively hostile, the economist wrote.

The intensified labor-capital contradiction is another reason for the US to initiate the trade friction against China.

The change of America’s industrial structure in the past decades to a large extent resulted in the widening gap of income distribution. The US is still a global leader in high-end manufacturing, and is moving toward smart manufacturing. As a result, the fall of traditional manufacturing is inevitable.

In addition, the dominance of its first and second industries has long been replaced by the third industry. High value-added service sectors, such as finance & insurance, real estate, leasing, and professional services, are going through faster growth than the low value-added ones such as wholesale & retailing, storage & transportation, information, education, health and entertainment.

The capital gains obviously outrun the labor gains in the third industry, especially in high value-added service sectors which are capital intensive.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement taking place after the 2008 global financial crisis proved the urgent need to address the social contradiction caused by the widening income gap. 

However, the US government has given the wrong remedy, provoking international trade friction under the excuse of trade deficit, just like a patient forcing the healthy to take the medicine.

It is obvious that the US is not narrowing income gap and increasing saving rate to address domestic contradiction and reduce trade deficit, but transferring its domestic issues to other countries, in a hope that the others could pay the bills for the US itself.

(Yang Yingjie is a researcher at a research institute of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era under the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and deputy editor-in-chief of Study Times affiliated to the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC.)

Source: People's Daily

China’s Belt and Road Initiative a great action to build a community with a shared future for mankind

By Guo Jiping

The Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China is a great action to build a community with a shared future for mankind, the People’s Daily said in a commentary under the byline of “Guo Jiping”.

In the article, the paper summarized the fruits yielded from the construction of the initiative, and looked into the bright prospect of the proposal.

The article was published on Thursday, five years after Chinese President Xi Jinping, on September 7 and October 3, 2013 respectively, put forward the proposal to co-construct the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

An abstract translation of the article is as follows:

In 2018 when the world casts its eyes on China’s achievements since it launched the reform and opening up policy four decades ago, it is more aware of the great importance of China’s proposal to co-build the Belt and Road.

The Belt and Road Initiative is not only an evident proof to China’s efforts in deepening reform and expanding opening up in the new era, but also a concrete action of China to strengthen international cooperation and improve global governance. 

The initiative presents a satisfactory answer sheet since it was proposed five years ago. Opening to all the friends sharing the same aspiration, the initiative has earned increasing influence and attraction.

Over 130 countries and international organizations have signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China, and the UN Security Council also called on the international society to intensify regional economic cooperation based on Belt and Road construction through the Resolution 2344 it passed. 

In addition, a total of 279 outcomes of five major categories came out of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation China hosted last May.

China’s liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment has been greatly optimized as a result of the co-construction of the Belt and Road over the five years.

China's trade with Belt and Road countries has exceeded $5 trillion and outward direct investment has amounted to over $60 billion, creating over 200,000 local jobs. It made China’s outbound investment a key engine driving the global growth of outward direct investment.

A series of big projects have been launched in countries and regions along the route in the five years. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor, for instance, are under smooth construction.

The electrified rail project connecting landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti, and the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway in Kenya have opened to traffic, while China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand high-speed railway, the Jakarta-Bandung rail line, as well as Belgrade-Budapest rail link have commenced construction.

The China-Belarus Industrial Park, Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia, as well as the Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Egypt have turned into models for industrial cooperation among on-route countries and regions.

The construction work of Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka, Gwadar Port in Pakistan, as well as the Port of Piraeus in Greece go well. What’s more, freight trains running between China and Europe have made over 10,000 trips to reach 43 cities in 15 European countries.

Win-win cooperation has provided the public with a sense of gain, as the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative have broadened the development space of the businesses, created more jobs for citizens, and extended the consumption capability of the citizens.

In today’s world where the tide of trade protectionism and anti-globalization rise, the Belt and Road construction is offering the global economy precious impetus with its openness.

Data from the World Bank showed that about 60 percent of the global economic output was contributed by the areas within 100 kilometers of the coast, while some countries, especially some landlocked ones, have constrained the globalization as they have been marginalized in the process.

It has been more and more realized that the Belt and Road Initiative is the right remedy to the imbalanced development of the whole world.

A well-recognized fact is that within the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, Asia, Africa, Latin America and some other developing regions are accelerating their pace in infrastructure construction to better share the development dividends of world economy.

Experts estimated that global economy can grow 5 percent because of the globalization mainly driven by tariff cut in the past, but rise 10 percent to 15 percent thanks to the new type of globalization mainly spurred by connectivity.

It is sad that someone affected by the expansion history of contemporary western world label the Belt and Road out of malicious intentions and cook up the so-called “China threats”.

“Misunderstanding, or even distortion will take place if explaining China with the pure Western mindset,” said Zheng Yongnian, professor at National University of Singapore.

As a matter of fact, there is no special requirements for the economic or political systems before joining the Belt and Road construction, which aims to maximize the development potential of all stakeholders.

More countries and regions are now taking the Belt and Road construction as a big opportunity and trend of times to brace for a better future.　

(Guo Jiping is a well-known pen name used for People’s Daily editorials meant to outline China’s stance and viewpoints on major international issues.)