2014年2月28日 星期五

習近平執掌中國網絡安全領導小組,集六大最高权力于一身

習近平執掌中國網絡安全領導小組

本周早些時候,60歲的習近平走訪北京胡同區。
Xu Jinfu/European Pressphoto Agency
本周早些時候,60歲的習近平走訪北京胡同區。

上海——中國於周四宣布,國家主席習近平主持着一個負責網絡安全和信息安全的新設工作小組。此事標誌着共產黨視這個問題為中國最緊迫的戰略問題之一。
中國政府稱,習近平和其他兩位高級領導人,即李克強總理和政治局常委劉雲山將協助起草該領域的全國性戰略,制定重大政策,其目標可能包括保護國家機密和發展網絡防禦。
據官方新聞機構新華社報道稱,該小組於周四舉行了第一次會議,習近平在會後的聲明中稱:「努力把我國建設成為網絡強國。」
宣布這一消息時,習近平正在鞏固權力,發動對黨內高層腐敗的大力打擊,同時推動旨在加強和重組中國經濟的改革。
在執政的第一年,60歲的習近平似乎決意表明自己牢牢掌控着局面,將多項權力集於自己一身。一些分析人士稱,他攬到的權力讓人想起了鄧小平以國家最高領導人身份統治中國的時代。
去年年底,習近平被任命為一個負責全面改革的領導小組的組 長,以及一個負責國家安全的委員會的負責人。一些專家稱,該委員會是效仿為美國總統充當顧問的國家安全委員會(National Security Council)。此外,習近平領導的政府還加強了對新聞媒體和互聯網微博的控制。
新成立的網絡安全和「信息化」領導小組可能旨在應對習近平執政第一年出現的一個較為棘手的問題:網絡襲擊引發的中美爭端和圍繞國家安全泄密事件產生的爭論。
奧巴馬政府認為中國對美國人和在中國做生意的美國公司進行了網絡攻擊,並在過去幾年對中國發動了猛烈抨擊,以期遏制這種現象。他們的擔憂之一是,可能受到了政府贊助的中國黑客一直在竊取美國的企業和國家機密。
北京方面回應稱,中國也頻繁遭受網絡攻擊,而且許多攻擊都來自美國。此外,中國政府堅稱自己反對任何形式的黑客攻擊。
去年6月,習近平和奧巴馬總統在加州蘭喬米拉的「陽光之 鄉」(Sunnylands)舉行了峰會,此事成為了峰會期間最敏感的議題之一。分析人士說,自從相關披露顯示國家安全局(National Security Agency)在世界範圍內進行了大規模的間諜活動,監聽對象甚至包括美國盟友以來,這兩個大國間的對話已變得愈加複雜。
專家說,此事將對美國和中國的大型企業產生重大影響,如果要在對方國家的通訊及網絡安全等領域做生意,這些企業可能會面臨阻礙。
中國已成為僅次於美國的世界第二大經濟體,擁有世界上規模最大的網絡用戶群,其人數超過了6億人。但是,中國官方抱怨稱,中國的科技能力遠遠不如發達國家。
中國政府周四的聲明並沒有詳細說明網絡安全和信息化所包含的內容,但中國政府已明確表示,它決意加強自己的能力。
「沒有網絡安全就沒有國家安全,」習近平周四說,「沒有信息化就沒有現代化。」
翻譯:陳柳、陳亦亭

 *****


习近平“网络亮剑”,任网安组长

中国正式成立中央网络安全和信息化领导小组,习近平任组长。习近平在该小组第一次会议上称“要把中国建成网络强国”;有学者质疑“小组治国”,网友则担忧更严酷的网控寒冬到来。 


(德国之声中文网)据法新社、路透社等多家媒体报道,2月27日,中国正式成立中央网络安全和信息化领导小组,由习近平担任组长,中国国家总理李克强和前 中宣部部长、现中央书记处书记刘云山任副组长。官媒新华社在昨日晚间报道,在该小组第一次会议上,习近平指出:"要把中国建成网络强国,没有网络安全就没 有国家安全",同时也要求"做好网络宣传、把握好网上舆论引导"。受此消息影响,许多专注于互联网安全业务的上市公司股价在周五上午飙升。但外界普遍担 忧,中国当局将进一步收紧对网络言论的控制。
官媒新华社和人民网昨日跟进发表长篇评论,称"中央网安小组的成立,体现了中国最高层全面深化改革、加强顶层设计的意志,有利于确保国家网络和信息安 全"。据新华社文章援引中国互联网网络信息中心发布的报告数据,截止2013年底,中国网民规模突破6亿,其中通过手机上网的网民占80%;手机用户超过 12亿,国内域名总数1844万个,网站近400万家。
网络专栏作家安替在推特上调侃道:"如果网络管理最强就是网络强国,那我们肯定只是世界第二,朝鲜比我们更加网络强国。继续加油,习大大"。北京知名维权 人士胡佳表示:"北京市公安局网络安全保卫总队一个月内两次传唤我共32小时。看到习近平昨日亲自主掌网络安全,我终于明白其背景了"。不过,也有知名的 媒体人、凤凰卫视原执行台长刘春在微博上欢呼:"互联网的春天来了",立时招来网友质疑:"是春天还是寒冬?"
Datenklau Hacker Angriff Computerkriminalität Symbol “党管网络”
"党要向网络亮剑,抢夺阵地"
去年11月中共三中全会前,网络上曾热传一份 "习近平8.19讲话"内 部版文稿。香港《苹果日报》于2013年11月6日报道指,习近平在此份讲话稿中发出强硬言论,指互联网已经成为舆论主战场,是中共面临的最大变量,他呼 吁全党"敢于亮剑,抢夺阵地"。2013年10月8日,《人民日报》 发表了中国社会科学院院长王伟光长文《牢牢掌握意识形态工作领导权管理权话语权》,就习近平的"8.19讲话"释义,表示必须坚持"党管媒体"原则不动 摇。北京资深媒体人高瑜早前接受德国之声采访时表示,这份文件与知情人士提供的习近平"8.19讲话"内容吻合,但她认为"习近平的网络亮剑试图在这样一 个时代把网络牢牢管控在党的手中,是非常愚蠢的。"
《南华早报》相关报道中援引中共党媒"人民网"于去年10月的统计数据:在经过从2013年8月到10月近三个月的"清网"行动后,体制内媒体微博和政务 微博的发博量已超过民间"意见领袖",特别是体制内媒体微博,有较强的议程设置能力。"人民网"舆情监测室秘书长祝华新曾于10月底表示: "网上的正面力量已经初步'夺回麦克风'。"
北京作家崔子恩就此接受了德国之声的采访,他表示以前党管媒体是在传统媒体的范围,随着互联网在中国的普及,公民通过网络能够迅速传递中国社会公共事件信 息,也有公民用网络作社会动员和一些抗议活动的召集,因此这对一向控制民众言论和思想的中国政府来说是一种冲击:"他们对报纸、广播、电视都可以直接审 查,他们不能保证对互联网上的信息直接审查,所以让他们感到恐慌。"
崔子恩认为,互联网的"话筒"和传统的"话筒"不同,不是说夺就能夺得下,比如中共当局去年对微博大V进行整肃,网友马上转移阵地,继续转战部分信息尚能自由流通的微信,因此哪怕是习近平亲自挂帅也难如愿。他表示:"只要心是自由的,不断推陈出新的技术随时可以 突破管制。"
Xi Jinping 习近平“集六大最高权力于一身”
中国进入'小组治国'时代?
据香港《南华早报》报道,中央网安小组是去年11月中旬十八届三中全会闭幕三个月以来,中共在现有架构外新设立的第三个权力机构。中共早前已经宣布,由习近平兼任中央全面深化改革领导小组组长,以及 中央国家安全委员会主席。至此,习本人除担任一般为外界所熟知的党中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席外,还身兼数职。
北京资深媒体人文涛在推特上发文评论:"习大毫无悬念就任网络总管了。加上总书记,国家主席,三军总司令,国安委和深改组,集六大最高权力于一身,千古一帝。"
2月27日晚间,中国知名法学学者、北京大学法学院教授贺卫方在新浪微博上发表评论表达了对中共"小组治国"的质疑:"各种名目的'领导小组'纷纷成立, 且多由一把手担任组长以示重视。而领导小组前冠以中央的名义,那究竟是党组织,还是政府机关,抑或是两者合一?"贺卫方认为,这些小组容易导致既有政府机 构职能的空心化,党政合一在人大无从监督政党的体制下,这些机构实际的行政行为就会脱离人大监督。
作者:吴雨
责编:洪沙

2014年2月27日 星期四

美人權報告 指台勞工受苦、官員貪腐

美人權報告 指台勞工受苦、官員貪腐 【10:43】

新聞圖片
2013年全球人權報告指出,台灣的人權問題主要在於勞工權益遭到剝削和政府貪腐。
〔本報訊〕美國國務院今天公布2013年全球人權報告,台灣部分,從總統馬英九2012年連任以來進行討論,問題主要在於勞工、家庭傭工權益遭剝削以及官員腐敗等,並提及洪仲丘案、前行政院秘書長林益世涉貪案、9月政爭等案例。

 雖然馬總統認為勞動部已經很努力,不該因關廠工人的單一事件使外界有勞工很慘的「錯覺」,但美國國務院的報告仍指出,勞工遭到剝削,是台灣的人權問題的一大問題。

 報告稱,台灣因疲弱經濟表現和國外製造的遷移,導致勞工的實際薪資水準倒退,即使有最低薪資的保證,仍有許多勞工只能領到微薄薪水,並且,對部分領域而言,公司違反法律,讓勞工超時加班是常態。外籍勞工方面,尤其是家庭看護,至今沒有最低薪資和加班費的保障,且缺乏休假和休息。

 報告也訪問勞工公會和民間團體,他們指出,勞動部(報告稱勞委會)只有294名稽查員,監察率實在太低,導致勞動違法行為和工作條件不安全的情況普遍,政府無法對企業行承有效的威懾作用。

 此外,報告也將台灣政府形容為「腐敗和缺乏透明度的政府」,截至去年5月,當局起訴了573名官員,其中包括林益世、前立委林正二等共39名高級官員,因貪污罪遭到判刑,該數字還未包括逍遙法外的那些不法官員。

《東方專制主義》下的接班人江宜樺(南方朔),烏克蘭給中共上課(江春男)


南方朔:江宜樺已是呼之欲出的接班人

  
這兩年來,我專心關注馬政府的用人策略,我早就說過:馬英九心目中的接班人選會是江宜樺,而不可能是別人。我的研判最近終於有了反應,這兩天已有報紙報導,國民黨二○一六總統大選,馬會推出江為國民黨的候選人。

我兩年前就已鐵口直斷江是接班人,這絕非胡口亂言,一方面有相當可靠的內線消息來源,另外也有理論上的基礎。

一九五七年,近代主要學者,德裔美籍的衛特夫(Karl A Wittfogel),出了一本經典著作《東方專制主義》,該書對東方政治的權力本質當有詳細的分析。他指出,東方專制者都有一個最大的恐懼,擔心他失去權力或死後,被人清算。因此他在權力的最後階段,一定會對懷有二心的部屬全力整肅打壓,然後安排庸懦而信得過的人接班,經過這樣的安排,才可能維持住「兩代一系」的統治,他在死後,親信們也仍可各安其位,奉他為精神領袖。

衛特夫對專制者心態的描述,恰好正吻合了現在馬的心情。目前國民黨內,連勝文、郝龍斌、朱立倫、吳敦義、胡志強,他不相信任何一人。而且這些人都有自己的班底,將來任何一人接班,整個馬的親信班底大概都不會有好下場。因此,對馬本人和他的親信而言,江宜樺遂成了最符合他們利益的選擇:

(一)江是個相當平常的人,因為馬的關係而竄紅,成為馬的親信,乃是「親信幫」的頭目。江如果接班,馬不但可以成為太上皇,馬的路線和馬的親信都可照舊。而且江接班,馬即可全身而退,免於被追究刑責的風險。因此,無論馬本人和他的親信幫都早已有了「擁江」的共識。

(二)馬自信滿滿,他相信只要透過文宣替「擁江」造勢,諸如連勝文、郝龍斌和朱立倫、吳敦義等人,縱使不滿,但也不敢怎麼樣,因此他吃定了國民黨。若江被提名,國民黨憑著執政優勢,全力宣傳,一定可以勝選。馬之所以要拼了命的搞主席延任,就是他絕對要掌握「擁江」的提名權。馬的意識裡,早已吃定了國民黨和台灣選民,他以為憑著他的權力運作,「擁江」一定可以成功。他會找金小刀當國安會秘書長,真正的原因就是要金成為「擁江」這一仗擔綱。

民主國家領導人的形成都有它的機制,由黨內精英自行競爭產生,這種競爭機制才不會造成一代不如一代的惡果。但東方專制主義則不然。東方專制者都企圖萬世一系,至少也要「兩代一系」,他要指定信得過的庸才當接班人,以確保他的路線利益和幫派徒眾的利益,因此一代不如一代這種結果就很容易出現。馬這一代台灣已經很糟,等到江那一代,台灣只會更糟!

司馬觀點:烏克蘭給中共上課(江春男)




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亂港與愛港(江春男)/蘋論:吃裡扒外的政府


 

司馬觀點:亂港與愛港(江春男)


一個月前,《明報》宣布要換掉總編輯劉進圖,引發新聞界上街抗議,想不到被調職後幾天,劉進圖就在街上被襲擊,身中數刀入院搶救,引起港人的震驚與憤慨。香港新聞自由日漸萎縮,香港和陸客的摩擦日益尖銳,本質上這是「一國兩制」結出來的苦果。

神勇警變軟腳蝦

特首梁振英與劉進圖是舊識,他趕到醫院探視,並下令警察全力緝兇。不過,這兩年來一連串暴力恐嚇事件,只要是涉及傳媒的,警方都沒法破案。香港警察在電影上表現神勇,但一涉及政治和傳媒,就成軟腳蝦了。
去年六月,《陽光時務》老閭陳平下班時被打,同一個月,壹傳媒老閭黎智英家門被毀,並留下斧頭恐嚇,隔不久,《蘋果日報》被人縱火,接著電台老閭座車車窗被敲破。這些媒體剛好都是中共的眼中釘,作案動機呼之欲出,但警方調查均無下文。
香港的法治和言論自由的倒退,是在無聲無息中發生的。以前是溫水煮青蛙,現在溫水變熱水,以前是收買收編,現在是恐嚇加暴力。

港人硬頸爭普選

以前可以讓利給紅包,但是一小撮港人有硬頸,堅持雙普選,發動佔領中環運動,還向台灣請教群眾運動,中聯辦的忍耐已快到脖子了。
戒嚴時期台灣的黨外人士,也常遭愛國人士的暴力威脅,警方的調查均無結果。香港的民主人士,被戴上港獨的帽子,愛港人士起來對抗亂港人士,這一切對台灣都很熟悉。

坐視大亂再大治

香港一亂,對港人和港府都很不好,但是,不少愛國人士卻認為,不吃敬酒吃罰酒,既然港人不知好歹,不如將火燒旺,越亂越好,最後由中央出手收拾殘局,始於大亂終於大治。
如此一來,不只香港,同時也是中國的大災難。

 

 

 晨課:不要忘記馬政府的吃相

蘋論:吃裡扒外的政府


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台 灣電影的復興,是從《海角七号》開始,接下來一連串的本土電影把遠離國片的觀眾,特別是年輕族群,都招攬回來,包括紀錄片《看見台灣》。經過《賽德克.巴 萊》、《父後七日》、《雞排英雄》、《艋舺》、《那些年我們一起追的女孩》、《陣頭》、《痞子英雄》、《翻滾吧!男孩》等等,台灣電影逐漸填實了穩固的地 基,開創了前所未有的風華,其中一個重要的基石就是本土性。

教科書被政治污染

《大 稻埕》就在這個脈絡下,使用現在國際間正夯的敘述手法:時空穿梭,重現大稻埕在日治時代的種種風情,也深獲觀眾的喜愛。巧的是正在這個時刻,教育部竟偷偷 修改中學歷史課綱,拿中國觀點來敘述、詮釋台灣史,使台灣史脫離自主觀點,成為他國眼中的客體他者。可悲亦復可笑的是:這種閹割、異化的操刀兇手,並非任 何外國人,而是台灣自己擁有文化霸權的無聊學者與文人。
讓人愉悅的是這些人的努力勢將一場空,因為大眾文化已經主體化、體制化、潮流化了。即將上演的日治時代嘉義農校棒球隊奮戰過程的感人故事《KANO》,必然再創票房熱潮,完全不甩馬政權企圖復辟歷史謬誤的密謀。
電影強過教科書的優勢是:電影巧妙地把個人或少數人自傳式的私領域,隱藏在社會分享關懷的公領域之下,產生深刻震撼心靈的感動。這是教科書根本無法達到的境界與衝擊力。經過政治污染的教科書,在主流文化的凌駕下,有如螢火之於皓月,只能引發反感而遭到鄙棄。
台灣史因為新的史料與資訊不斷介入,因而一再地被解構重構,線性敘事原先的封閉可預測性喪失,代之而起的是開放系統的無限可能性。其中,台灣人民的家族故事就是台灣史本身,其真實性、感人性和自我涉入的主客合一性,遠非中國眼睛的遠距離觀察可以相提並論。

台灣人挖自己眼睛

這就像應該從英國觀點寫美國獨立史給美國學生讀,還是從美國觀點寫史給美國學生讀一樣。其實,全世界都一樣,都先從本國的眼睛看本國的歷史。唯獨台灣自己挖掉自己的眼睛,聽別國人述說自己的過去。有這種吃裡扒外的政府,全民能不團結起來拉它下馬嗎?

2014年2月26日 星期三

蘋論:經濟欲振乏力,小龍變小蛇

蘋論:小龍變小蛇


內閣改組,兩尊自走砲離職,江宜樺的意志終於能夠伸張,但我們可以期待什麼呢?馬政府的整體結構和次文化如果不變,換人會出現根本的改變嗎?
李鴻源確因清境農場爭議、營建署長人事、《地政士法》覆議、戶政系統缺失引發民怨而造成江的不滿;郝龍斌為了內政部遲不撥款給世大運,多次與李溝通無效,向馬告御狀,可能也影響李的仕途。環保署長沈世宏則因日月光案遭到輿論批評,又說自己是「臨時工」導致馬總統不快。

權力竿頂油膩膩

民間有種看法,認為沈從美麗灣、悠活到日月光,都只依藍綠政治方向思考,有違專業和行政中立;此外,他也是和環保團體對著幹的環保署長,舉世罕見。
李鴻源和沈世宏的離職不完全是因為大砲,更是因為行政出現弊端,政務官須為行政監督不周而負起政治責任,被要求離職並無不妥。畢竟政治人物要爬到「油膩滑溜的權力竿頂」,並非易事。

經濟課題拿零分

20世紀中葉以降,舉凡政府政策、政治辯論及選舉、戰爭等事物,都有一個關鍵性的課題──對經濟的管理。很遺憾的是馬政府對此一課題相當無能。如果持續下去,無論換多少官員,經濟的疲弱將連累所有相關政治的各層面,而導致國家失敗。
政治領袖成功的標誌是能夠設定政治上的優先待辦事項,並且完成之。馬的政治待辦事項倒很清楚,就是振興經濟。可是5年多來經濟欲振乏力,滿朝文武都不確定問題出在哪裡,眼看四小龍的其他三小龍早已長成大龍,只有台灣還是潛龍在田,龍困淺水。
除了設定待辦事項,動員政治上的支持來完成那件事項一樣重要,如果沒有動員,在民主政治裡就會一無所成。這就牽涉到領導人的洞察力──洞察政策應有的走向和如何主導民意。

小心最後變蚯蚓

遺憾的是扁、馬兩位領導人都不屑說服反對黨,不願動員人民支持他們的政策,也無意矯正憲政結構,徒令立委快意個人恩怨杯葛延宕,導致政府空轉,把台灣從小龍轉成小蛇,未來還可能轉成蚯蚓。
馬政府正在轉捩點上,要被後來歷史從平庸的評價轉稱為傑出,還有點機會,雖然機會不大。這次的內閣異動應該看作馬、江想逆轉歷史評斷巨輪的最後努力。

努力追求歷史地位的總統,必自侮之Ten Ways to Judge a President

A president who actively campaigns for his historical place is engaged in a self-defeating exercise. 追求歷史地位的總統必自侮之


Ten Ways to Judge a President



Corporate leaders in the United States often draw leadership lessons — good and bad — from the examples set by American presidents. But in looking to the White House, it’s important to recognize that history’s take on presidential performance is subject to change, according to presidential historian Richard Norton Smith, who spoke at a recent Wharton Leadership Conference. He offered 10 rules for presidential evaluations that stand the test of time.
For example, he said, Dwight D. Eisenhower was considered something of a do-nothing president, ranking below Chester A. Arthur, during the dynamic Camelot era of John F. Kennedy. In contrast to the PR-driven Kennedy, Eisenhower used to say, “The job of the president is to persuade, not to publicize.” Indeed, the Supreme Commander of the Normandy invasion was so subtle and self-effacing as president that historians judged him mediocre.
Nearly 50 years after Eisenhower left office, however, scholars are revising their opinions. His presidential papers revealed a skilled political operator who worked quietly behind the scenes, but was driven by policy, organization and intellectual rigor. Despite pressure to rescue the French, he kept the U.S. out of Vietnam in 1954, reasoning with prescience that the cost of war in Southeast Asia would far outweigh any strategic benefits.
“There is no single rule for assessing presidential performance” said Smith, who addressed the recent 13th Annual Wharton Leadership Conference, co-sponsored by the Center for Human Resources and the Center for Leadership & Change Management. “Eisenhower illustrates better than anyone the need for each generation to revisit its assumptions” in light of new evidence, the performance of succeeding presidents and the perspective that comes with time.
“Americans have been revising their estimates of presidents for as long as we have had presidents,” said Smith, who has published biographies of Thomas E. Dewey, Herbert Hoover and George Washington, and is the presidential scholar in residence at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. People forget that the revered Washington “was in fact an enormously controversial president” who was burned in effigy and denounced as a “betrayer of the Revolution” while he was in office.
Bouts of historical revisionism and counter-revisionism explain why assessments of the nation’s leaders “bounce around like corn in a popper,” Smith said. For example, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., the Kennedy and Nixon historian, favored “transformative” presidencies with charismatic leaders promoting a more powerful federal government, exemplified by Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt. A more nuanced approach, evaluating leaders in the context of their time rather than in hindsight, has kindled reappraisals of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and even Calvin Coolidge — all of whom tended to be underrated because they were modest advocates for a more limited role for government.
“The presidents who promise freedom from government” — Thomas Jefferson, Coolidge and Reagan — “are as legitimate in their own time and place as the presidents who, in effect, promise freedom through government” — the Roosevelts, Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon Johnson, Smith said. “You can take a Coolidge seriously now, something you couldn’t do before Ronald Reagan.” 
10 Rules to Judge a President
Smith offered his personal list of “10 rules to judge a president” as a more objective approach avoiding the distorting effects of changing societal values, such as the pro-government activism of the New Deal and the 1960s:
1) History rewards the risk-takers. The list of presidents and the bold initiatives that pushed them up in the rankings are obvious, including Thomas Jefferson (the Louisiana Purchase), Harry Truman (stopping Communist aggression in Korea), Lyndon Johnson (Civil Rights Act of 1964), and Richard Nixon (dialogue with Red China).
But risk taking does not always conform to our notion of a “swashbuckling, agenda-setting executive” that began with Teddy Roosevelt 100 years ago. “Sometimes, doing nothing is the most difficult form of leadership of all,” Smith said. He cited George H.W. Bush’s diplomatic refusal, despite strong pressure, to attend “the photo opp of the century,” the destruction of the Berlin Wall that symbolized Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
“By not rubbing Mikhail Gorbachev’s nose in the humiliation of the demise of the Soviet empire, he made it possible for Gorbachev to go along with a peaceful integration of Germany and for the Soviet Union to support Bush’s coalition in the First Gulf War,” Smith said, noting that few would have predicted Soviet acquiescence to these American initiatives.
2) A president who actively campaigns for his historical place is engaged in a self-defeating exercise. Warren G. Harding hoped to be “the best loved” president and came to office in a landslide victory after promising a “Return to Normalcy” following World War I. In the end, Harding couldn’t extricate his administration from the Teapot Dome bribery scandal and quickly fell into obscurity, widely ranked among the worst presidents.
Smith said he found it “profoundly disturbing” that Bill Clinton pondered his legacy aloud with former advisor Dick Morris, who later wrote a memoir that included critical observations of the former president. According to Morris’s book, Clinton wondered if the fact that he had not led the nation during a time of war would diminish his ranking among the presidents. Surprisingly, “Clinton’s reputation and the significance of his presidency have risen significantly,” Smith said. “Clinton’s presidency is being weighed, as each president is ultimately, against his successors” — in this case, against George W. Bush’s record of war, deficit and economic crisis.
Clinton’s most important legacy may be his success in “moving the Democratic Party to the middle of the road to a point where it had fiscal credibility and a muscular foreign policy, without surrendering its fundamental social justice principles,” Smith said.
3) There is no single theory of presidential success. Proponents of the “strong presidency” as a prerequisite for greatness often cite Teddy Roosevelt’s concept of stewardship: “The president was free to do anything he wanted that was not expressly forbidden by the Constitution,” Smith said. He offered an alternative theory valuing presidents who viewed stewardship as protecting taxpayers and who did not seek power by expanding government — a theory underlying reappraisals of Coolidge, Truman and Ford.
Derided as “silent Cal” (Dorothy Parker, when informed of his death in 1933, famously asked: “How could they tell?”), Coolidge deserves reappraisal “for his authenticity as much for his ideology,” Smith said. An introvert who battled with “paralyzing shyness,” Coolidge’s “reticence was matched by his canniness…. He created a public persona that held the world at bay while allowing him to indulge in a humor as sharp as Vermont cheddar.” Coolidge’s honesty and lack of an overpowering ego should be all the more valued in an age “when so much of our public life is riddled by fakery, when candidates without ideas hire consultants without scruples,” Smith said. “For lack of a better word, I would say that Coolidge was grounded,” exhibiting a strength of character that he said Truman, Ford and Reagan also possessed.
4) Presidents can only be understood within the context, conventions and limitations of their time. Invariably ranked among the greatest presidents, the populist Andrew Jackson fell from grace during the time period when historians realized that millions of Americans — women, blacks and Native Americans — had been politically or economically marginalized. Social activism led to a revisionist view that “changed the lens through which we viewed Jacksonian America.” Smith argues for a more objective approach in dealing with the past, “to understand someone in the context of their own time and not make the mistake of applying our conventions to an earlier time.” Those who judge presidents do not have license to simply dismiss earlier generations; instead, “the obligation is ours to try to understand them.”   
5) If presidents are governed by any law beyond the Constitution, it is the law of unintended consequences. Although Woodrow Wilson wanted to be the father of the “new freedom,” his idealistic vision was overtaken by the massive increase in government regulation and spending required by World War I. “In his second term, events beyond his control overwhelmed him. Foreign war, domestic upheaval, shameful outbreaks of racial and ethnic intolerance mocked his idealism and reordered his priorities,” Smith said.
6) Presidential power, although awesome on paper, is based largely on moral authority. Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan understood how to use moral authority to achieve their objectives, although their goals were diametrically opposed. Broadcasting fireside chats to generate hope through the New Deal, Roosevelt banked “emotional credit and credibility” that he used throughout his presidency to win support for creating the modern social welfare state. Similarly, Reagan gained enormous influence through his response to the assassination attempt in 1981. “His legend began when millions saw a side of Reagan they never knew existed — the jokes that he cracked [and] the grace that he displayed,” Smith said.
7) The president requires a talent for making useful enemies. History’s most admired presidencies were often locked in struggles with adversaries who gave them power. “Roosevelt and Reagan had a genius for exploiting their opponents, whether European dictators in the 1930s or the Evil Empire that haunted [Reagan],” Smith said.
8) Every great president marches to the beat of his own drummer. Reagan personified the principle that great leaders “are essentially mysterious figures,” with capabilities not fully understood. Reagan’s national security adviser, Robert McFarlane, remarked: “He knows so little and accomplishes so much.”
9) The challenge posed by any crisis is equaled by the opportunity for leaders to forge an emotional bond with the people they lead to gain moral authority and expanded powers. Franklin Roosevelt, having rescued democratic capitalism, “was all but immune from” right-wing attacks accusing him of Stalinesque power abuses. Lincoln was called an “incipient dictator” for suspending habeas corpus barring unlawful detention, but Americans never doubted his belief that he had to suspend one clause in order to save the rest of the Constitution.
10) Greatness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Social and economic conservatism had their heyday under Reagan, demonstrated when Clinton declared the era of big government was over and produced balanced budgets. But the Reagan consensus that “markets were sacred” and “Wall Street invariably knew better than government regulators” has been repudiated, “at least provisionally,” by the financial crisis that led to Democratic sweeps of Congress and the presidency. “All of that is up for grabs,” Smith said, although it’s too soon to predict what will replace “the age of Reagan.”
How will historians rank George W. Bush? Much will depend on what happens in the Middle East, where two unresolved wars continue to weigh on his legacy. “If 30 years from now there is some semblance of stability and democracy, then deservedly or not,” historians may take a very different view of the Bush presidency, Smith noted. Still, he doubted that Bush’s reputation would undergo the dramatic reappraisal that has benefited Eisenhower. “I don’t know whether, when we look at the Bush papers, we’ll discover the same surprising wisdom, sophistication and concealed gifts that we now associate with Eisenhower.”

北京嚴重污染,政府刪除微博批評聲音In Beijing, Complaints About Smog Grow Louder and Retaliation Grows Swifter

 

 

Sinosphere

In Beijing, Complaints About Smog Grow Louder and Retaliation Grows Swifter

Nearly a week into northern China’s latest airpocalypse, the skies over Beijing are murky and acrid with a heavy smog that shrouds the sun. On social media sites, the yellow, choking air has become something of a meme, as residents post depressing photos of their blackened air purifier filters and hazy urban vistas with comments like #nuclearwinter.
Amid the latest round of smog, anger is rising over the Chinese government’s inability to protect the nation from a pollution crisis that has made places like Beijing “unsuitable for human habitation,” as a prominent state-backed think tank stated in a study released this month that was swiftly censored.

Last week, the official Sina Weibo microblog account of the state-run China Central Television Finance Channel posted two scathing indictments of the Chinese government’s environmental failures. “Does anyone still care about Beijing’s smog?” began one, noting that although the “pollution index is off the charts,” no measures had been taken to mitigate the environmental emergency. A few minutes later came the second post, “Beijing municipal government, don’t hide behind the thick smog,” which warned that “the people have grown numb,” but the channel was “issuing a wake-up call: the government can’t act blind.” It must “protect its territory and not act ignorant.”
Both posts were quickly deleted.
On Friday, after days of a growing outcry, the Beijing government for the first time raised the air pollution alert on its recently established color-coded system to orange, the second-highest level out of four, prompting schools to cancel outdoor activities and some factories to close. But those measures and similar ones taken across the region have failed to alleviate the smog. In Beijing by Tuesday evening, the United States Embassy air quality index meter read 500, nearly 20 times the level of particulate air matter deemed safe by the World Health Organization.
Even as the government insisted it was working overtime to address the crisis, officials were busy retaliating against CCTV. According to employees, an editor at the Finance Channel was fired for posting the offending microblog posts and CCTV was banned from all reporting on Beijing’s epic smog, because, they said, the posts infuriated the city’s mayor, Wang Anshun. Oddly, CCTV is still allowed to report on the air pollution hovering just outside the city’s borders in the surrounding province of Hebei.
Reached by phone, the director of the CCTV Finance Channel, Guo Zhenxi, said he was too busy to comment and hung up.
Censorship, however, is not preventing other Chinese in the polluted region from taking matters into their own hands. Last week, Li Guixin, a resident of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei, walked into the district court and filed a lawsuit against the city’s environmental protection bureau for failing to curb the increasingly horrendous smog. The lawsuit seeks 10,000 renminbi, or about $1,600, as compensation for the money he has spent on protecting himself against the foul air.
“Since last December, the smog in Shijiazhuang started to get worse,” Mr. Li told Yanzhao Metropolis Daily, a local newspaper. “I had to spend money on masks, an air purifier and a treadmill” for exercising indoors.
Mr. Li’s lawyer, Wu Yufen, said in a telephone interview that the lawsuit — the first of its kind in China — was rejected by both the provincial and the municipal courts. He is still waiting to hear from the district court, but vowed to pursue all legal recourse. “Air quality is a very important issue in our lives,” Mr. Wu said. “When the air is bad, there is no quality of life to speak of. You can’t even go outside.”
Back in Beijing, the authorities are taking a zero-tolerance approach to public expressions of environmental discontent. According to a Sina Weibo post published Tuesday morning, an artist named Du Xia was taken away by the police in central Beijing after he protested against the smog.
A few hours later, the post had disappeared, but the smog remained.
Mia Li contributed research.

北京嚴重污染,政府刪除微博批評聲音

北京霧霾天,景山公園的遊客。
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
北京霧霾天,景山公園的遊客。

中國北部最近一次「空氣末日」 (airpocalypse)持續已近一周,這些日子裡,北京天空中黑暗和刺鼻的濃重霧霾遮蔽了太陽。在社交媒體上,「黃色嗆人的空氣」已成為一種可稱為 彌母(meme)的文化基因,一些居民上傳了家中空氣凈化器的黑乎乎濾紙的照片以及被濃霧掩蓋的城市景觀照,還用「核冬天」 (#nuclearwinter)這樣的話題加以評論。
在最近這次霧霾天氣期間,人們對中國政府的憤怒不斷增長,他們指責政府保護環境不力,讓北京等地的污染達到了「不適合人類居住」的程度,正如一個受國家資助的著名智囊機構在本月發佈的一項研究報告中所說的。
上周,官辦中央電視台財經頻道在其新浪微博上兩次發帖,譴 責中國政府環保失敗。「還有人管北京的霧霾嗎?」一篇帖子開門見山地問道。帖子指出,雖然「污染指數爆表」,但沒有採取任何措施來減輕環境的緊急狀況。第 二個帖子發在幾分鐘之後:「北京政府,別趁着大霧裝瞎!」。這篇帖子警告說,「民眾自然就會麻木,社會也會熟視無睹,但央視財經提醒的是,政府不能當瞎 子,它必須要肩負起自己的責任,守土要有責,莫無知!」
但這兩篇帖子很快就被刪除了。
周五,在人們憤怒地呼籲了數日之後,北京市政府首次把最近設立的以色彩表示的大氣污染預警升 為橙色,這是四個警級中第二高的,導致了學校取消室外活動,一些工廠停產。但是這些措施、以及該地區實施的其他類似措施,並沒能減輕霧霾狀況。到北京時間 周二晚,美國大使館測量到的該市空氣污染指數為500,空氣中的顆粒物含量幾乎達到世界衛生組織建議的安全水平的20倍。
就在政府稱正竭盡全力解決這一危機的同時,官員們卻在對央 視進行打擊報復。據員工說,央視財經頻道一名編輯因發佈惹怒官方的微博帖子已被開除。他們說,央視被禁止報道北京這次史詩般的霧霾,因為這些帖子惹怒了北 京市市長王安順。奇怪的是,該台仍可報道籠罩在北京外圍河北省上空的空氣污染狀況。
央視財經頻道總監郭振璽在接到採訪電話後,說太忙沒有時間發表評論,然後就掛了電話。
然而,審查制度並沒有阻止住在污染區的其他中國人自己採取行動。上周,河北省省會石家莊市居民李貴欣走進當地的區法院,狀告該市環保局沒能遏止不斷惡化的霧霾。他索要1萬元人民幣的賠償金,作為他個人防污染開支的賠償。
李貴欣在接受當地報紙《燕趙都市報》採訪時說,「去年進入12月份,石家莊的霧霾就開始嚴重。我買了防霾口罩,還專門買了台空氣凈化器和一台跑步機。」
李貴欣的律師吳玉芬在電話採訪中說,這是中國首次此類訴訟案件,但已被省高級法院和市中級法院拒絕受理。他仍在等待區法院的消息,他發誓說要採取一切法律手段。「空氣質量對我們的生活來說很重要。空氣不好,任何生活質量都談不上。人甚至都不能出門,」他說。
回到北京來看,當局正在對環境不滿的公開表達採取零容忍的態度。新浪微博周二上午有人發帖稱,藝術家杜峽在北京市中心抗議霧霾之後被警察帶走。
幾小時後,這則帖子消失了,而霧霾仍在持續。
Mia Li對本文有研究貢獻。

2014年2月25日 星期二

China replaces UK as world’s fifth largest arms exporter, says SIPRI /space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver,

  Taiwan builds sensitive satellite equipment

Taiwan has successfully developed a key satellite component whose export is controlled by space powers, an official said Tuesday, calling it a ... 
 
Taiwan builds sensitive satellite equipment 17 hours ago
Taiwan has successfully developed a key satellite component whose export is controlled by space powers, an official said Tuesday, calling it a "milestone" in efforts to build its own space technology.

Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) Scientists in Taiwan have developed the nation's first space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, which boasts ...

 

 

18 Mar. 2013: China replaces UK as world’s fifth largest arms exporter, says SIPRI

(Stockholm, 18 March 2013) China has become the fifth largest exporter of major conventional arms worldwide, according to new data on international arms transfers published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This is the first time China has been in the top five arms exporters since the end of the cold war. Overall, the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 17 per cent between 2003–2007 and 2008–12.
Read this press release in Catalan, French, Spanish and Swedish (PDF).
The five largest suppliers of major conventional weapons during the five-year period 2008–12 were the United States (30 per cent of global arms exports), Russia (26 per cent), Germany (7 per cent), France (6 per cent) and China (5 per cent). This is the first time that the UK has not been in the top five since at least 1950, the earliest year covered by SIPRI data. China’s displacement of the UK is the first change in the composition of the top five exporters in 20 years.

The volume of Chinese exports of major conventional weapons rose by 162 per cent between 2003–2007 and 2008–2012, and its share of the volume of international arms exports increased from 2 to 5 per cent.

‘China’s rise has been driven primarily by large-scale arms acquisitions by Pakistan,’ said Dr Paul Holtom, Director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. ‘However, a number of recent deals indicate that China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states.’ 


Asian imports strengthen naval capabilities

In the period 2008–12 Asia and Oceania accounted for almost half (47 per cent) of global imports of major conventional weapons. The top five importers of major conventional weapons worldwide—India (12 per cent of global imports), China (6 per cent), Pakistan (5 per cent), South Korea (5 per cent), and Singapore (4 per cent)—were all in Asia.

Several countries in Asia and Oceania have in recent years ordered or announced plans to acquire long-range strike and support systems that would make them capable of projecting power far beyond their national borders. Last year notably saw the delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia to India and the commissioning of China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning.

Other regional players are seeking to establish or strengthen submarine fleets, including several South East Asian countries and Australia, which is also acquiring large surface warships and combat aircraft. These developments come at a time of heightening tensions over territorial disputes in the East and South China seas.


Austerity bites in the European arms market

Deliveries to European countries fell by 20 per cent between 2003–2007 and 2008–12. European states seem eager to abandon or reduce a range of arms import plans. During 2012 Italy and the Netherlands reduced their orders for F-35 combat aircraft from the USA, while Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania dropped plans for newly produced combat aircraft in favour of second-hand options.

Many European states are also seeking to export newly acquired combat aircraft that they can no longer afford to maintain. For example, Portugal is seeking buyers for its new fleet of F-16s and Spain is seeking to sell newly purchased Eurofighter Typhoons.

‘With the financial crisis in Europe, the withdrawal from Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan, we can expect to see Europe trying to export a considerable volume of surplus military equipment,’ said Mark Bromley, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.


Other notable developments 

  • Russia accounted for 71 per cent of exports of major weapons to Syria in 2008–12 and continued to deliver arms and ammunition in 2012.
  • The Arab states of the Gulf accounted for 7 per cent of world arms imports in 2008–2012. Missile defence systems were an important element in their latest arms acquisitions, with orders placed in 2011–12 for Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD systems from the USA.
  • Deliveries of weapons system to Venezuela as part of its ongoing rearmament programme continued in 2012. Russia accounted for 66 per cent of transfers to Venezuela, followed by Spain (12 per cent) and China (12 per cent).
  • Imports by North African states increased by 350 per cent between 2003–2007 and 2008–12, which was almost entirely responsible for a doubling (by 104 per cent) in imports by Africa as a whole.
  • Sub-Saharan imports increased by just 5 per cent. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa imported only small numbers of major weapons, but many of these have been used in internal conflicts or in interventions in conflicts in neighbouring states, most recently in Mali.
  • Greece’s arms imports fell by 61 per cent between 2003–2007 and 2008–12, pushing it from the number 4 importer to number 15. In 2006–10 Greece was the top recipient of German arms exports and the third largest recipient of French arms exports. 


This is the second of three major data set pre-launches in the lead-up to the publication of SIPRI Yearbook 2013. On 18 February SIPRI released its data on arms production (including the SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies for 2011). On 15 April, SIPRI will launch its world military expenditure data (comprehensive information on global, regional and national trends in military spending). Finally, in June, SIPRI will launch its 2013 Yearbook (cutting-edge information and analysis on the state of the world’s nuclear forces, the international peacekeeping agenda and steps to control weapons of mass destruction).

Beijing Squeezes Hong Kong's Media 香港记者连续第二个月举行公开抗议活动,中國危及台港澳媒體獨立/ 中國老大哥正在看著你!監視手法還外銷越南等國

Beijing Squeezes Hong Kong's Media

香港记者抗议中共渗透媒体

部分香港记者连续第二个月举行公开抗议活动,对媒体自由受到侵蚀以及中共政权加强影响香港媒体表达忧虑。
(德国之声中文网)当地时间周三(2月13日),大约100名记者手持蜡烛在香港商业电台办公地点外进行抗议。另有部分记者周四举行示威活动,反对该电台 解聘因敢于批评政府而知名的电台主持人李慧玲。商业电台首席智囊陈志云在广播节目中否认出于政治或商业压力而解聘李慧玲。
上月,香港最受读者信任的中文报纸之一《明报》宣布计划将总编刘进图调任。消息传出后立即遭到记者抗议,他们担心这一调任决定与刘进图支持对特区官员腐败行为进行调查性报道有关。
在2005年到2008年之间被中国大陆当局以"间谍罪"名义监禁的记者 程翔对德新社表示,解聘李慧玲对于香港新闻自由是一次严重打击,尤其是在香港新闻自由排名最近12年内严重下滑的背景之下。
香港新闻自由排名重挫
记者无疆界组织此前公布的年度 世界新闻自由指数显示,香港排名61,下滑三位。2002年该指数首次公布时,香港排名高居第18位,为亚洲之首。
本周,位于纽约的保护记者委员会也曾公布报告称,1997年香港主权重新移交中国之后,当地新闻自由出现倒退。
Spionage-Prozess gegen Hong Kong Journalisten Ching Cheong 程翔:解聘李慧玲是对香港新闻自由的严重打击(资料图片)
自我审查与商业利益
保护记者委员会的报告引述香港大学研究结果称,超过半数的香港记者认为香港媒体实行自我审查。
香港记者协会进行的另一项调查则显示,35%的记者承认曾在报道中淡化对于中国政府或香港政府的批评。
保护记者委员会的报告中指出:"部分由于香港和台湾的新闻机构在过去提供完整与独立报道中国的新闻,弥补了 受严格限制的大陆媒体留下的间隙,因此这两个地方的新闻自由状况非常重要。任何包括自我审查等干预的增加,都将伤害香港和台湾媒体扮演舆论监督角色的能力。"
来源:德新社 编译:石涛
责编:乐然



點擊圖片可瀏覽相關圖片
國際新聞組織「無國界記者」(RSF)12日公布世界各國的「全球新聞自由指數」。在全世界180個國家中,中國排名第175,比去年再落後2名。圖片來源:「無國界記者」(RSF)官方網站。
新頭殼newtalk2014.02.12 洪聖斐/編譯報導

國際新聞組織「無國界記者」(RSF)12日公布世界各國的「全球新聞自由指數」。在全世界180個國家中,中國排名第175,比去年再落後2名。

習近平在2012年11月就任中國共產黨中央總書記不久時,便直接告訴記者們:「中國需要更多地瞭解世界,世界也需要更多地瞭解中國。希望你們今後要繼續為增進中國與世界各國的相互瞭解作出努力和貢獻。」

「無國界記者」的網站指出,哪位記者要是真以為習近平的意思是「描述中國的真實面」,那他就有禍了。習近平談話的真意是:「按著黨的宣傳報導」。從那次談 話起,中國當局逮捕的記者和部落客比以前更多,更加嚴厲打擊網路上的異議人士,加強網路控制與監視,也加重對外國媒體的限制。

誰要是讓官方丟臉,或是揭露貪汙腐敗,就得面對受到公開譴責的風險。去年,《財經雜誌》副主編羅昌平揭露高官貪腐,下場是自己被免職。《新快報》記者劉虎 遭到當局以「散播不實訊息」的罪名逮捕。《紐約時報》(the New York Times)記者因為調查報導中國當局的腐敗行徑,無法得到簽證。人權工作者許志永和部落客楊茂東被捕下獄,付出沉重的代價。

中宣部每天對傳統媒體下達指令、持續地網路監控、大量非法逮捕與拘禁媒體工作者及網友,已使中國成為監控與鎮壓的典範。更不幸的是,這套模式還流傳到其他國家。

越南在訊息控制的手法上,正迎頭趕上中國老大哥。新聞平台面對越來越嚴厲的監控、妖魔化、逮捕與羞辱性的審訊。越南仍是世界第2大的部落客與網友監獄。越 南當局在共產黨中央總書記阮富仲在2011年1月就任以來,便將25位部落客拘禁到今天。越南共產黨還在2013年9月頒布「72號命令」(Decree 72),禁止在部落格和社群媒體分享新聞事件的相關訊息,將網路監控提升到1個更嚴厲的層次。



*****
 中國危及台港澳媒體獨立
國 際新聞組織「無國界記者」(RSF)公布世界「全球新聞自由指數」,特別點出中國經濟實力日增,已影響台灣、香港和澳門的媒體,近來台灣與港澳的新聞自由 開始受到政治審查,威脅這三個地區的媒體獨立,共產黨對香港特別行政區加強控制,並透過設在香港的「中央人民政府駐香港特別行政區聯絡辦公室」(簡稱中聯 辦),不斷打壓香港的媒體多元化。而親中媒體旺旺集團所屬的《中國時報》,也使台灣深受中國威脅。

台灣的新聞自由指數在全球180國中名列第50,較去年的47名退步3名。中國則排第175,比去年再掉2名。(國際中心/綜合外電報導)

泰國政治動蕩:將軍警告反對集團/ Yingluck反訴; 衝擊外國汽車製造商;總理英拉(Yingluck Shinawatra) 的大米計畫?印度政府對華為涉嫌竊聽一事展開調查

In Shift, Thai General Issues Warning to Protesters
The head of Thailand’s army, after months of neutrality, tells government opponents to “compose yourselves.”

Thailand's Leader Accuses Critical Panel of Appearing Biased


Updated Feb. 20, 2014 9:19 a.m. ET
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck says she is innocent against corruption charges despite her rice subsidy program paying local farmers at 50% above market rates. The WSJ's Warangkana Chomchuen has the details.
BANGKOK—Embattled Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra fought back on Thursday, accusing the anticorruption agency alleging she mismanaged a multibillion-dollar rice subsidy of appearing biased and in a rush to judgment.
"If there is real justice and if there is no hidden agenda, the [agency] shouldn't finalize my case in a rushed manner…that will play into the hands of those who want to overthrow the government," she said in a posting on her official Facebook page.
Ms. Yingluck's comment was one of her most assertive in recent weeks against opponents who have pummeled her with challenges in the streets and courts, while her power to counter them has been curtailed. Protesters have pushed Ms. Yingluck to dissolve Parliament, leaving her to function in a caretaker capacity.
Ms. Yingluck warned that the actions of the National Anti-Corruption Commission so far put it at risk of being seen as siding with her opponents. The panel, which has powers to launch impeachment or criminal trials against politicians, is entrusted to maintain impartiality.
The agency's spokesman didn't return calls seeking comments.
Ms. Yingluck said the anticorruption panel spent three weeks on the investigation, too little time from her perspective while similar complaints against the previous administration were still pending.
The anticorruption panel said on Tuesday it intended to formally charge Ms. Yingluck for failing to prevent massive financial losses to the state that stem from her flagship rice subsidy. Ms. Yingluck maintained that she was innocent.
Ms. Yingluck was summoned to hear charges on Feb. 27 and defend herself. If found guilty, she would be suspended from duty and sent to an impeachment trial in the Senate.
On Thursday, Ms. Yingluck reiterated that she was innocent and the program was aimed at helping farmers, key supporters of her Pheu Thai Party. The government has been buying rice from local farmers at up to 50% above market rates.
In another blow to Ms. Yingluck, Thailand's Civil Court on Wednesday stripped the government of power under the state of emergency to quell monthslong antigovernment protests. The court left the emergency decree in place, but barred the authorities from using force to disperse the demonstrators, dismantle protest sites and block protesters to use certain areas, determining it would violate the protesters' right to rally.
The government's special security command said in a statement Thursday that it would appeal the civil court's decision, which it said has left the country without adequate law enforcement to deal with the unrest.
Judges cited a previous ruling by the country's Constitutional Court that the protests have been peaceful and ordered that demonstrators' rights be protected.
The ruling has raised eyebrows after footage of clashes between riot police and protesters on Tuesday showed that some of the protesters were armed with guns. Four protesters and a policeman were killed. At least 20 riot police suffered injuries from grenade explosions.
Emboldened by the court's ruling, hundreds of protesters rallied Thursday outside offices of the Shinawatra's property development company to pile pressure on Ms. Yingluck, who served as a chairwoman before taking office. Though declining in number, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban and his followers vow to keep up their fight to overthrow Ms. Yingluck's government and root out what they see as the influence of her older brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006.
Ms. Yingluck has been struggling to return to power after she dissolved Parliament in December. Snap elections on Feb. 2, which her Pheu Thai Party is expected to win, were partly disrupted by protesters.
The country's independent body to organize the vote has been slow to hold a rerun vote in the disrupted areas against the government's wish to hold it sooner. The Election Commission's most outspoken commissioner has also threatened to seek a court's ruling whenever a disagreement arises between the agency and the government.
According to the agency's estimate, a new government may not be formed until at least May. Until then, Ms. Yingluck's caretaker government has limited power. Any major decisions, such as spending approval, are subject to a final green light by the Election Commission.

 泰國政治動盪衝擊外國汽車製造商
泰國政治僵局正在衝擊外國汽車製造商的銷售,破壞這個東南亞最大汽車生產中心對外國投資者的吸引力。通用、福特和豐田在內的至少六家汽車製造商已就此發出警告。




 中国取消购买120万吨泰国大米
泰国商业部长称,
泰国反贪部门对大米价格补贴计划展开的调查惊吓了中方

泰國大米計劃——作繭自縛的遊戲
 企圖控制市場往往會招致市場的報復。泰國的大米補貼計劃不僅讓這個國家喪失了世界大米最大出口國的地位,也讓成千上萬個農戶深陷債務泥潭。

 泰國總理英拉(Yingluck Shinawatra) 的大米計畫?

企圖控制國際大米價格的泰國已經遭到報復,喪失了世界大米最大出口國的地位,總理英拉(Yingluck Shinawatra)因涉嫌失職面臨調查,成千上萬個像Thongma一樣的農民深陷債務泥淖。

Thongma的悲劇是從兩年半以前開始的,當時英拉政府推出了農業補貼政策,承諾以大約每噸18,000泰銖(合550美元)的價格從農民手中收購大米,較市場行價高出50%左右。

英拉和她的顧問們認為,通過將這些從農民手中買來的大米囤積起來,他們能推高國際市場的大米價格。

他們的根據是,全球用於進出口貿易的大米只佔大米總產量的7%,這意味只要一個地方的大米出口中斷,國際價格必將受到重大影響。2008年,印度和越南等 國因為擔心國內米價不斷上漲而暫時限制了大米出口,導致國際米價從每噸300美元飆升至1,200美元,在海地和菲律賓等國引發了糧食騷亂。http://chinese.wsj.com/big5/20140206/bas134505.asp?source=whatnews

China Plays Down Border Dispute with India /印度空氣污染 / 望治心切.....呼喚"We're waiting for NaMo,"/台灣陷入大劫難

 

China Plays Down Border Dispute with India

 
Peak pollution levels in the Indian capital have jumped by 44% from last year

http://ti.me/1f8LLxe
 
 
李光耀說  英式民主的首相候選人的能力全國都知道
比較馬給江的"教育過程 " vs 蔣經國給李登輝的.....
馬比蔣   百分之 一都不如.....難怪台灣陷入大劫難

 
 
Indian industry is in a funk and has decided that one man is the answer. "We're waiting for NaMo," says a tycoon. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that almost everyone in a suit and with a pulse in the private sector wants Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat state, to become prime minister after elections due by May 2014 http://econ.st/16oGxtO
 
 

2014年2月24日 星期一

"馬英九不恥之徒......."

《文訊 》2月號/2014 第340期
古稀感言◎吳宏一 "......但台灣當局的昏庸無能,領導無方,卻也不能辭其咎。......."頁202;
遇到幾個字◎黃文範 :"馬英九不此之圖。"......字幕上立馬打出"馬英九不恥之徒......." 頁207;

中國醫療界暴力襲醫事件瀕傳,有待遏阻措施

中國暴力襲醫事件呈上升趨勢


國家媒體新華社報道,黑龍江省齊齊哈爾北鋼醫院耳鼻喉科的孫東濤大夫周一被一位患者用鐵管打死,該患者對其治療效果不滿。
《京華時報》報道,河北保定易縣人民醫院的李愛新醫生周二在辦公室被一名因對手術效果不滿意的病人割喉。李愛的氣管暴露,甲狀腺被割斷,經搶救脫離生命危險。
  • 檢視大圖 去年10月份,浙江省溫嶺市第一人民醫院外數百醫務人員進行抗議後,集結起來的安保人員。
    Jin Yunguo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
    去年10月份,浙江省溫嶺市第一人民醫院外數百醫務人員進行抗議後,集結起來的安保人員。
本周發生的這兩起事件是中國一系列暴力襲擊醫生事件的延續,在醫療行業引起恐慌。去年10月份,浙江省溫嶺市第一人民醫院外數百醫務人員進行抗議,此前一名男子在醫院用刀捅傷三名醫生,致使一人死亡。抗議者舉着「還我尊嚴」、「維護正義」等標語。
這些暴力事件的原因各異,但通常認為與下列問題有關:公眾認為醫療費用過高,醫生以醫療機構腐敗,以及醫生的臨床態度較差等。那些支付了高昂醫療費、或者為動手術送了禮的患者,希望能治好病,如果效果不佳,他們可能會用暴力方式報復。
醫療界代表已經呼籲要對襲擊醫生者採取更嚴厲的懲罰,中國醫師協會法律事務部主任鄧立強本周再次提出了這一呼籲。
《京華時報》援引他的話說,「近年來許多傷醫暴力案件的懲戒力度不夠,威懾力不足,沒能遏制暴力案件的效仿效應。」
同時,易縣人民醫院院長趙雙安對該報稱,李愛新被襲擊以後,院方啟動了警務室24小時巡查系統。
趙雙安說,這次襲擊給醫院職工造成「恐慌」,但是現在醫院工作運行「正常」。他說,目前,李愛新還不能講話,但生命體征平穩。
公安部以及國家衛生和計劃生育委員會去年10月份稱,2012年在8個省市共發生了11起針對醫院醫療人員的暴力襲擊事件,造成7人死亡,28人受傷,其中有醫生、病人和一名保安。
其他數據暗示出暴力事件的範圍更廣:中國醫院管理學會12月份在《中國社區醫師》雜誌上發表的一份論文稱,2002年以來,襲擊醫生的事件以平均每年近23%的速度增長。
狄雨霏(Didi Kirsten Tatlow)是《紐約時報》駐京記者。
翻譯:張亮亮

Sinosphere

Latest Attacks on Doctors Prompt New Call for Deterrent Measures


On Monday, Sun Dongtao, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Qiqihar Beigang Hospital, in the northern province of Heilongjiang, was beaten to death with an iron bar by a patient unhappy with his treatment, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
On Tuesday, Li Aixin, a doctor at the Yi County People’s Hospital in Hebei Province was stabbed in the throat by a patient dissatisfied with the outcome of an operation. Dr. Li’s windpipe was cut open and his thyroid gland severed, but he survived, according to the Beijing Times.
 The police stand guard last October outside a hospital in Wenling, Zhejiang Province, after hospital workers staged a protest against attacks on medical personnel.
Jin Yunguo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The police stand guard last October outside a hospital in Wenling, Zhejiang Province, after hospital workers staged a protest against attacks on medical personnel.
The two attacks this week are part of a long line of violence against doctors in China that has spooked the profession. In October, hundreds of medical personnel demonstrated outside the No. 1 People’s Hospital in Wenling in Zhejiang Province, where a man had stabbed three doctors, killing one. They held signs reading: “Restore My Dignity” and “Defend Justice.”
The reasons for the violence vary but are believed to be tied to public perceptions of excessive health care costs, corruption among doctors and medical institutions, and poor bedside manners by physicians. Patients who pay high fees or bribes for operations expect to be healed, and when they are not, may react violently.
Medical industry representatives have called for harsher punishments for attackers, an appeal repeated this week by Deng Liqiang, the head of the legal department of the Chinese Medical Doctors Association.
“In recent years the punishments for many violent attacks on doctors have been insufficient and the deterrent too low,” The Beijing Times quoted him as saying. “That won’t contain violent attacks or deter imitators,” it quoted Mr. Deng as saying.
Meanwhile, the head of Yi County People’s Hospital, Zhao Shuangan, told the newspaper that the police were providing 24-hour patrols of the facility since the attack on Dr. Li.
Mr. Zhao said the attack had caused “panic” among the hospital staff, but everything was now operating “normally.” Dr. Li was still unable to speak, but was expected to recover, he said.
The Ministry of Public Security and the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in October that in 2012, there were 11 violent attacks on medical staff at hospitals in eight provinces and municipalities, leaving seven people dead and 28 wounded, including doctors, patients and a security guard.
Other figures suggest broader violence: Since 2002, attacks have risen by an average of nearly 23 percent a year, the China Hospital Management Society said in a paper published in December in Chinese Community Doctors, a medical journal.

2014年2月23日 星期日

蘋論:服貿協議部分條文很恐怖,我們怎能放心呢?




蘋論:服貿協議部分條文很恐怖

經常有人批判馬總統任內民主倒退,自由減少,馬政府都很不服氣,還硬拗強辯。「媽媽監督核電聯盟」要在台北捷運刊登推廣節能廢核的公益廣告,竟遭要求刪除「廢除核四吧!」5個字,不但是政府有如軍閥的鴨霸作風,更是對言論自由的摧殘,這就是民主、自由倒退的例子。

台媒大亨拉攏中國

總 部設在巴黎的「無國界記者組織」,在不久前公布調查180個國家「2014年全球新聞自由度」的報告中指出,台灣的名次由47名滑落到第50名;香港回歸 後,近12年從第18名墜落到第61名,比1997年時還低。美國也因維基解密關押曼寧,也迫害史諾登而大降13個名次,僅得到46名。中國則因逮捕、監 禁、起訴、打擊甚至殺害記者,並經常封閉網路而在180個國家中名列第175名,因此又被稱為「世界最大的網民監獄」。
台灣媒體自由度退步的原因,是有些媒體老闆在中國有巨大的商業利益,不斷藉媒體示好中國,利用媒體為北京塗脂抹粉,並收購北京厭惡的媒體。報告還說:中國透過香港資金投資台灣媒體,規避台灣禁止中資進入媒體的法規。
更不堪的是連國家的中央社記者也透露他們受到自己政府的干涉,「某些政治敏感題材,必須經過總編輯核准才能報導。」這夠不夠證明馬政府造成民主與自由的倒退及限縮?
香港的新聞自由受到的限制最為明顯,電台評論員被解職、《明報》總編輯遭撤換、香港《蘋果日報》被抽廣告、港府嚴格管控電子媒體執照……背後都來 自同一隻黑手及其黑手套。香港科技大學副教授成名,在參加中研院的「中資╱中國因素與港台媒體」研討會中表示,若媒體越來越親中,辦給北京領導人開心,路 將越走越窄,最後讀者和年輕世代將轉往網路新媒體,也是香港突破言論限制的機會。

中資恐控制我媒體

律師賴中強擔憂,兩岸服貿協議允許中資來台經營廣告業,台灣政府不敢保證中國會不會藉給╱抽廣告控制台灣媒體言論的走向,台媒恐步香港後塵,不敢不向北京靠攏。
服貿協議允許中資來開印刷廠,可藉給╱拒印刷書籍影響作者對中方的態度;又藉給╱抽廣告控制媒體言論自由,這部分構成對台灣核心價值的衝擊,我們怎能放心服貿呢?

2014年2月22日 星期六

Why Taiwanese are getting fed up with the island's salacious, in-your-face media

salacious


Tea Leaf Nation

Freedom, Fried

Why Taiwanese are getting fed up with the island's salacious, in-your-face media


Taiwan maintains the distinction of having the freest television and print media in all of Asia, ranking 50th among 180 countries worldwide in a press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, a French nonprofit. But if an outsider had docked on the island in the last few months, he might be forgiven for assuming that all of Taiwan was transfixed on two major news stories: a building-sized art installation in the form of an inflatable yellow duck, which on Dec. 31, 2013, exploded in the waters off of Keelung, a city near the capital Taipei, and a mixed-race Brazilian teenager on a self-discovery tour in Taiwan who rode the metro, ate some dumplings, and, on Jan. 4, made out with a reporter almost twice his age.
While mainland China, Taiwan's cross-strait rival, continues to keep a tight leash on its media, Taiwan's freewheeling television, print, and web media -- and their penchant for superficial reportage -- are causing antipathy among a growing number of its inhabitants.
Over the last decade, Taiwanese media have come to be known for in-your-face, no-holds-barred reporting that manages to be simultaneously sensationalist and mundane.
Over the last decade, Taiwanese media have come to be known for in-your-face, no-holds-barred reporting that manages to be simultaneously sensationalist and mundane. A popular online editorial published Jan. 7 by Taiwanese magazine Business Weekly lamented that important issues -- like the county government forcibly taking land in Dapu, Miaoli, a village in northwest Taiwan, and the June 2010 signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between China and Taiwan -- remain underreported. Meanwhile, the island has seen what the editorial calls coverage "of every move" of the Taipei Zoo's new baby panda for about half a year, and Taiwan's Yahoo page has created an entire page devoted just to the now-deflated yellow duck, regularly re-posting news articles published in other media outlets. In a Jan. 6 editorial in China Times, a Taiwanese daily newspaper, media executive Antony G.C. Wu related a personal story of a friend living in Europe who returned to Taiwan after an unspecified period of time abroad, only to be shocked by what the Taiwanese talking heads were saying on-air. The rhetoric included frequent Chinese-language equivalents of "shit," "what the fuck," and other verbal bombs unfit for even some of the crassest U.S. cable news shows. Journalism professor Yang Aili, in a Feb. 12 editorial in the same publication, blamed Taiwan's media for a lack of international perspective, observing that outlets seemed to attach "more importance to covering car accidents than to important world affairs." (Yang advised readers to sign up for Chinese-language email updates from publications like the U.K.-based Financial Times and U.S.-based New York Times, instead of relying on the Taiwanese press.) Even users of social media are showing signs of fatigue; a search on Facebook -- the social network of choice for young Taiwanese -- revealed multiple pages devoted to discussing the problems with Taiwanese media, writ large. On one such page, a user rants in English that "Taiwan's media sucks," providing "junk-food like news" that turns the audience into "zombies."  
The macabre, salacious, and ridiculous stuff populating Taiwanese media certainly enjoys a wide audience. Readership for Taiwan's print media has waned over the last two decades; but as of March 2013, there were just under five million cable television subscribers in Taiwan, accounting for over 60 percent of households across the island, with news programming ranking second only to movies in viewership in 2012, the most recent time period for which data could be found. But with 17.5 million Taiwanese (about 75 percent of the island's 23 million inhabitants) wired to the Internet as of May 2012, readers have increasingly been turning to the web for their news. That might help explain why Taiwanese were so intrigued by chatter about that giant yellow duck that 1.5 million people, presumably mostly from Taiwan, travelled to Keelung to snap pictures.
Taiwan's media have not always enjoyed the freedom they possess (and arguably abuse) today.
Taiwan's media have not always enjoyed the freedom they possess (and arguably abuse) today. During Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945 and then also during the martial law period under the Kuomintang government, which lasted from 1949 to 1987 after the Kuomintang fled mainland China after losing the civil war, authorities maintained tight control on Taiwanese press. It wasn't until 1987 -- when then-President Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law -- that restrictions on news coverage were removed and Taiwan's media landscape came to life with a new crop of independent print publications and television stations. Andy Hong, a reporter for Taiwanese newspaper Want Daily and a journalist in Taiwan for 20 years, said that Taiwan's post-martial law media did not originally run "bloody" or "gossipy" news stories, adding that "newspapers were like those published in the early days of China's Republican era," after China had toppled two millennia of imperial rule. Instead, Hong said, they thought they had an obligation "to promote cultural literacy." Hong's colleague Yongfu Lin, who became a reporter with the China Times in 1985 and is now deputy director of Want Daily's cross-strait news division, said that in the years after martial law, "news reports were very diverse," and the public had "fewer misgivings about the media," partly because journalists were for the first time targeting political figures who were "once considered off-limits." But Hong claimed things changed around 2003, when Hong Kong-based Apple Daily, a web site and broadsheet with a tabloid flair known for publishing color photos of grisly crime scenes and scantily-clad women, entered Taiwan and "immediately attracted readers."
One possible explanation for the domestic attraction of Taiwan's increasingly inward-looking media is its continued diplomatic isolation at the hands of China, which still considers Taiwan a renegade province. Joe Wei, managing editor of the World Journal, a U.S. and Canada-based Chinese-language newspaper owned by Taiwan's United Daily News, said he believes the lack of opportunities to participate in international organizations has led to a "loss of interest in things going on outside the island." Hong agreed, saying, "It probably has something to do with the island's mentality of being a small country." In the China Times editorial, Wu noted that compared to Taiwan's television media, even China Central Television, a Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, covers a wider variety of topics with "both a sense of history and a worldly perspective," adding that the outlet's performance "is enough to make Taiwan's television journalists ashamed."
Taiwanese media also reflect -- and exploit -- a schism between those preferring the island's current status of de facto independence from mainland China and those who want something more formal.
Taiwanese media also reflect -- and exploit -- a schism between those preferring the island's current status of de facto independence from mainland China and those who want something more formal. Strong political beliefs among Taiwanese, Hong said, have emboldened media outlets to reveal their own political character, thus cleaving the country's media landscape into two halves, leading to highly biased reporting of almost any political or economic issue by media outlets sympathetic to one or the other political cause. To be sure, Taiwanese investigative journalists do occasionally break real stories. As early as 2005, Taiwan's media began reporting on problems with the island's electronic toll collection system, which most recently has come under fire for overcharging motorists. The magazine Business Today, a reputable business weekly, published an exclusive in May 2013 exposing the presence of carcinogenic additives in a popular brand of soy sauce sold in Taiwan, touching off a wide-reaching scandal involving some of the island's most well-known food companies, and prompting the government to take additional steps to ensure the safety of all its food products. And in December 2013, Taiwan's television and print media reported on accusations that a technology company in the southern city of Kaohsiung secretly dumped wastewater into rivers, leading to further government investigation.
It's heartening to know that Taiwan's press has the capacity to cover real stories, when it wants to. But in the end, Taiwanese journalists and media critics say, it is the public's decision to either tune in or tune out that will ultimately shape the direction of news content in Taiwan in the years to come. The public's following a policy of "no watching, no clicking, no responding" to trivial news, the Business Weekly column argues, is the only way Taiwanese media will change. The prognosis is not good. It might "take decades before seeing results," the column continues, even if the public does change its consumptions habits. If it doesn't, the next generation will continue to be "bombarded by brain-dead news."  
AFP/Getty Images