6 - 12 May 2019 | 238 comments (238 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: World REPUBLICS (none / 0)

Hong Kong legislators brawl over contentious extradition law
"between pro-democracy lawmakers and ["pro-Beijing lawmakers"] over a proposed extradition law that will extend Beijing's powers"

The former British colony is trying to enact rules that would allow people accused of a crime, including foreigners, to be extradited from the city to countries without formal extradition agreements, including mainland China.
Opponents [?] fear the law would erode rights and legal protections in the free-wheeling financial hub that were guaranteed when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Who is who? Hellifino. Sumbuddy buried the lede in bullshit.

In the United States, a congressional commission said the law could extend China's "coercive reach" and create serious risks for U.S. security and business interests in Hong Kong.

China changes laws in trade war with U.S., enforcement a concern

Premier Li Keqiang pledged that the government would follow through and do what the legislation promised in protecting foreign firms. ... Previous drafts stipulated criminal punishment for officials who violated the law and a last-minute revision has strengthened those clauses.
Foreign business groups have in principle welcomed the law, but the big concern is about enforcement, especially when the judicial system takes its orders from the ruling Communist Party.
[...]
At a regular law-making session last month, parliament's standing committee amended three existing laws to try to improve the business environment. These included strengthening trade secret protections, further measures to stop ["]forced technology transfers["]
State ownership in joint-ventures is kind of like white slavery
What is the Problem of Forced Technology Transfer in China?
"Forced technology transfer occurs when foreign multinational companies have to provide strategically significant technology to an indigenous entity they do not control in order to gain access to the massive Chinese market."
Forced Technology Transfer and the WTO
"First, China uses foreign ownership restrictions, such as joint venture requirements and foreign equity limitations, and various administrative review and licensing processes, to require or pressure technology transfer from U.S. companies."
and increases in the punishment of those who infringe trademarks.

reference
China (Hong Kong) International ExtraditionTreaty with the United States (1996)

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sun May 12th, 2019 at 10:22:26 PM EST
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Re: World REPUBLICS (none / 0)

Ukraine's president calls new parliamentary election

MONDAY: inauguration
TUESDAY: dissolve parliament, decree 21 July GE; dismiss top military officer, Gen. Viktor Muzhenko, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Ruslan Khomchak; appoint Andriy Bohdan as chief of staff; call emergency session [OF WHOM?] to amend Ukraine's electoral law

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue May 21st, 2019 at 09:29:12 PM EST
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Re: World REPUBLICS (none / 0)

Modi surges to victory in India on Hindu-first platform

With most of the votes counted, Modi's stunning re-election mirrored a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil to Italy, often on a platform promoting a tough stand on national security, protectionist trade policies and putting up barriers to immigration.
[...]
Election Commission data showed Modi's Bharatia Janata winning 158 seats and in the lead for 145 more, which would catapult the party well beyond the simple majority in the 545-member lower house of Parliament required to govern. The results spelled another nail in the coffin of the main opposition Indian National Congress party, which picked up 31 seats and was leading in 21 other contests.
[...]
An estimated 600 million voters cast ballots in India's six-week polls, a testimony to the vibrancy of the world's largest democracy just 72 years since India won independence from British colonial rule.
Voters expressed confidence that Modi could jumpstart India's stalling economy, despite his poor first-term record and failure to deliver on his pledge to create jobs.
The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters.
[...]
Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Modi. "In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media," Sharma said.

Facebook: Fake account removal doubles in 6 months to 3B

Of the 3.4 billion accounts removed in the six-month period, 1.2 billion came during the fourth quarter of 2018 and 2.2 billion during the first quarter of this year. More than 99 percent of these were disabled before someone reported them to the company. In the April-September period last year, Facebook blocked 1.5 billion accounts.
Facebook attributed the spike in the removed accounts to "automated attacks by bad actors who attempt to create large volumes of accounts at one time." The company declined to say where these attacks originated, only that they were from different parts of the world.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Thu May 23rd, 2019 at 10:43:01 PM EST
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6 - 12 May 2019 | 238 comments (238 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)