North Korea Joins Trade Initiative
190418 – China recently announced North Korea would be joining it’s Belt and Road initiative. Trade Embargo? Not!! Italy also signed on as the first G7 member. Being part of the initiative gives countries access to loans and Chinese exports. The goal is infrastructure driven growth versus consumer spending growth. The United States has been left out of the initiative.
Pelosi fights to protect Bay Area Tech Offshore Tax Havens
190417 – Nancy Pelosi(D-CA), Speaker of the House, speaking in Dublin, spoke out against border controls betwen the UK and Ireland. Nancy Pelosi is an ardent open border advocate. US corporations, such as Apple, maintain headquarters there for tax havem purposes. Other California tech companies from her district use the Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich strategy, such as Pinterest, Airbnb, and Twitter, with primary/secondary offices in her district utilize Ireland’s Silicon Docks area for tax reduction purposes.
China prohibits the word-"Taiwan" for airlines
190425 – China sent a letter to 36 foreign airlines on 4/25 demanding changes in the way Hong Kong, Macau, and even Taiwan are referenced. China does not consider Taiwan a separate country. The letter stated the airlines must complete a “self-rectification” report once the issue is resolved. This has been an ongoing issue that even involves auto companies such as Audi.
China is changing Extradition Laws for Hong Kong
We first saw this story in the print edition of the Economist. The Extradition Laws for Hong Kong residents were basically changed to allow criminal trials to be conducted in mainland China, rather then in Hong Kong. Some have thought the mainland courts would be somewhat harsher then the traditional, British oriented Hong Kong courts.
Wikipedia has an interesting ongoing, updating article on this issue which is sure to cause demonstrations.
China's re-education camps for Muslim minority's could be phased out
190317 – Chinese re-education camps in Xinjiang will “gradually disappear“. Xinjiang, which shares a border with several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long suffered from violent unrest and Chinese have called the camps job-education camps to help these people assimilate properly into Chinese society.
EU and Arab League hold first ever talks
190225 – Angel Merkel and Theresa May in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, for a first ever two days of talks between the European Union and the Arab League. The leaders pledged on the 24th to boost cooperation in the fight against terrorism and to tackle unauthorized migration. Merkel also urged the Arab states to respect human rights.
Trump Blinks, on Tariffs for China
190224 – Donald Trump blinks, and lifts the Mar 1st deadline on which he planned to increase tariffs from 10% to 25% for Chinese exports.
EU countries find a way to funnel money to Iran
190201 – Britain, Germany, and France establish INSTEX, a trade mechanism, to enable them to bypass US sanctions on trade with Iran. US sanctions on Iran target Tehran’s trade in precious metals, block the sales of passenger jets and restrict Iran’s purchase of US dollars.
Xi Jinping states Taiwan be brought back
190102 – China’s leader Xi Jinping stated of Taiwan ‘ “China must and will be united, which is an inevitable requirement for the historical rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era”. He also added: “We do not promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option to use all necessary measures” to achieve this goal and prevent Taiwan independence.
France to give up it's UN Sec Council seat to EU?
181126 – Olaf Scholz, German Finance Minister, called on France to give up its permanent seat on the UN Security Council and turn it into a EU (European Union) seat. Germany was left out of a security council seat in 1945, most likely because of bad behavior in World War-2.
Hillary & Trump in alignment on Immigration?
Merkel wants the US to give up it's sovereignty?
181121 – German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, at a Konrad Adenauer Foundation event in Berlin: “Nation states must today be prepared to give up their sovereignty”. She also stated, “Ceding power to a superstate is a better form of patriotism.” For Germany this is the EU & UN, for America, the UN.
Nationalism vs Patriotism
181111 – French President Emmanuel Macron states – “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values.” The distinction between patriotism and nationalism has a Goldilocks quality. It suggests that nationalists have too much devotion to their nation, while patriots have just the right amount.
EU punishes Hungary for 'bad' behavior
180912 – The EU votes to punish Hungary over ‘breaches’ of EU core values. More than two-thirds of MEPs backed the censure motion – the first such vote against a member state under EU rules. The issue has been Mr Orban’s government has taken a hardline stance against immigration. Most British Conservative MEPs supported the Hungarian government, arguing that the EU had intruded into purely national matters. Poland is also facing disciplinary proceedings.
Facebook starts a "Social Credit Score" for users
180821 – Facebook begins assigning a “Reputation Score” to all users, similar to China’s SCS (Social Credit Score). In 2018 the China’s SCS helped prevent, 17 million flights and 5.4 million high-speed rail trips to travelers with low scores.
Phillippines wins case against China, but?
160712 – The Philippines wins an international arbitration court case in the Hague. It ruled China has no legal basis for its historical claim to the South China Sea. China stated it would ignore the ruling. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan are countries that have also been affected by China’s claim.
Britain votes to begin BREXIT
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160623 – Britain votes, with a 71.8% turnout, with a 51.8% majority vote, to leave the European Economic Union. The original target date for leaving was March 30, 2019. Britain has been in the EU since 1973. Their original application, in 1963, was vetoed by French President Charles de Gaulle. They had a referendum in 1975 to leave, but voted to stay in. In 1984 Margaret Thatcher re-negotiated UK payments to the EU from 20% of the total to 12%. Primary reasons given were immigration-no control over the border, economics-the EU has been a dysfunctional economic entity, and Sovereignty-the inability of the citizens to control what happens to their country.