EDITORIAL : RFI english, FRANCE

 

 

French press review 25 April 2011

 

 

Four papers to hand this Easter Monday holiday morning. Those not reporting for work are the Massed-out Catholics at La Croix for whom yesterday was a big day and the struggling Communists at L'Humanité who probably believe that a day off work is always good news, even if it comes on the back of a decadent religious festival. Nothing either from the business bods at Les Echos who are spending their ill-gottens, since the stock markets are closed across Europe.

So much for what's not happening. Now, here's the news.

The weekend edition of Le Monde says France is showing signs of withdrawing into its shell, under the three-pronged threat posed by globalisation, immigration and the question of social integration.

goes on to detail French and German attempts to re-install identity controls inside the so-called Schengen Zone, where people with identity papers are supposed to be able to travel freely.

Dossier: Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution

Le Monde

The problem recently has been that Tunisian refugees have been getting papers from the Italian authorities (who want to be shut of them as quickly as possible) and have then been travelling north, mostly with the intention of reaching France.

France does not want an extra 25,000 Tunisian migrants, all illegal strictly speaking, since the Schengen rules do clearly state that holders of temporary identity papers have no legal right to cross an international border.

Popular Le Parisien's main story looks at the increasingly lucrative business of genetic testing.

You can get (if you so wish) an early estimation of your chances of contracting cancer or Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, or you can confirm (or otherwise) that you are the father of the children for whose food and lodging you are busting a gut. And all this from a simple saliva sample.

It's completely illegal here in France, but US firms offering the analyses by internet are doing booming business.

There's a cartoon of an older man reading the results of his tests to another. The old guy says: "It looks as if I'm going to die very soon, but you won't get anything since it turns out you're not my son."

You can understand why the French have decided to keep this sort of thing on the other side of the legal line.

But it does raise the question of what national legislative independence means in the face of the world wide web.

Le Figaro looks to the situation in Syria, saying that the struggles of Bachar al-Assad to cling to power are leaving an awful lot of dead bodies on the streets, as well as isolating the regime internationally, even from regional Arab opinion leaders like Saudi Arabia.

And there's a further risk, according to Le Figaro, of a complete destabilisation of the Middle East.

Le Figaro also reports the disturbing news that Confuscius has disappeared.

Last January, an enormous nine metre statue of the philosopher, weighing 17 tonnes, was inaugurated in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

This was read as a sign that the man decried as a reactionary old fart by Mao Tse Tung had been reinstated in the national pantheon. Well, it didn't last long, because the man has just been taken away again, leaving an empty plinth.

Confuscius may have been very wise, but he was not a paid-up member of the Communist Party.

The Party hadn't been invented in his day, 2,500 years ago, but that's neither here nor there. He was strong on law and order, and the idea of hierarchy, which might explain how he got his plinth in the Chinese capital's main square in the first place.

But now he's been taken away, perhaps for questioning by the same police officers who recently arrested the artist Ai Weiwei for something called "economic crimes".

It is some consolation to know that the great man was wary of pomp and power, taking great pains to avoid too much contact with the princes of his day.

He won't miss Tiananmen Square, and will still be justly celebrated when the little men who have taken his statue away are just anonymous dead Chinese civil servants.

Confuscius did write "do not worry that men know you not; worry rather that you do not know men". That's better that a 17 tonne statue any day.

EDITORIAL : THE TEHRAN TIMES, IRAN

Persian Press Review

Tehran Times Political Desk

This column features excerpts from editorials, commentaries, interviews, and news articles of the leading Iranian newspapers and websites.

Sunday’s headlines

KAYHAN: Leader says as long as I am alive, I will not allow the slightest deviation

TAFAHOM: Production of Sahar minibus with nanotechnology

JAVAN: Bahraini revolutionaries form Transitional National Council (TNC)

JAME JAM: Supreme Leader says the three branches of the government, particularly the administration, are working diligently

TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: There is no military threat any longer, IRGC chief says

HAMSHAHRI: Another opportunity for applicants wanting to receive (cash) subsidies

KHORASAN: 1093 people killed with cold weapons last year, deputy forensic medicine organization announces

HEMAYAT: Credit cards given to 9 million workers

FARHIKHTEGAN: Foreign minister says Persian Gulf states are involved in hasty decisions

MELAT MA: Iran-Bahrain relations at a critical juncture

SHARQ: 15,000 students leave the country annually

Leading articles

SHARQ newspaper in an analysis, written by economic expert Bayazid Mardookhi, says the reform of oil law can be considered a new chapter in the oil industry as this would lead to financial transparency and help the development of the oil industry. The writer says the oil industry is actually in need of a center to set strategies. He says a monitoring of the Oil Ministry by the representatives of the three branches of government must not restrict the independence of oil industry directors so that they would be able to make decisions about oil exploration and oil sale in regard to quick international developments. Mardookhi says since taking decisions in the oil industry by representatives of the three branches of government will not be easy industry directors must be trusted so that we can see more development in the industry.

JAVAN in a news report quotes former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati as saying that Western countries are concerned about popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Velayati said NATO military strikes on Libya under the UN resolution is similar to the U.S. invasion of Iraq as in the two cases the U.S. and NATO went beyond the UN resolutions, and these are indications that they are concerned over popular uprisings in the region.

TEHRAN-E EMRUZ in a news report quotes Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani as saying in order to find dominance over the region the U.S. and other arrogant powers brought to power puppet governments like the Al Khalifa and Al Saud regimes. Referring to the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa, he said the Islamic Revolution in Iran has inspired a wave of pro-democracy uprisings among the regional nations and caused them to rise up against oppression. He added through interferences the U.S and Israel are seeking to prevent the establishment of Islamic governments similar to Iran.

EDITORIAL : THE TRIPOLI POST, LIBYA

US Rethinks Strategy: War as Opportunity in Libya

The brutality of Libyan leader Muammar Al Qathafi, and his refusal to concede power, is costing Libya much more than innocent lives. The country is now also facing a possible loss of future independence and sovereignty.

From its early days, the Libyan revolt seemed to take a difference course than those of other Arab countries. It represented a window of opportunity for the United States and its western allies to reposition themselves, slowly but surely, around a conflict that promised gruelling and bloodier times ahead.

A visit by Republican Senator John McCain to Benghazi on April 22, was described by a CNN online report as “a major morale boast” for the Libyan rebels. His arrival followed a US decision to deploy predator drones to Libya, thus promising a greater American role in the war.

According to McCain, drones are not enough, and more will be needed to break the “significant degree of stalemate.” He described Benghazi as a “powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya can be.”

A small crowd chanted as the US senator met with members of the Transitional National Council: “Thank you John McCain! Thank you Obama…Thank you America! We need freedom! Gadhafi go away,” according to the same report.

This decidedly American push has already inspired many neoconservative ideologues who unfailingly endorse war against any Arab or Muslim country that fail to tow their line.

A major hub for US intervention - most often in support of Israeli interests - is the American Enterprise Institute, credited for introducing many suspicious characters to Iraq following the ousting of Saddam Hussein.

AEI scholar Michael Rubin said that the visit by McCain “brings more limelight to the rebels.” But Rubin wants even more than this. “If McCain can meet the people for whom we are fighting, why not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Why not vice President Joe Biden?”

There are many indications to suggest that the US is upgrading its involvement in the Libyan war, following a brief period of political and military vacillation. Much talk of a pending stalemate in the unfair fight between poorly armed rebels and Al Qathafi’s forces preceded the actual standoff on the ground.

With no meaningful Arab action, and NATO’s choosy military involvement proving to be largely ineffective, the US is now being urged to ‘do something.’

‘Doing something’ is, of course, a difficult endeavour in a highly volatile political season in Washington. As miscalculations can be decisive factors in winning or losing elections, the Obama Administration is trying to play its cards right, moving towards more tangible involvement in Libya, but with much caution. What is clear, however, is that the involvement will be more visible than before.

McCain’s visit is significant, not just because of his political seniority, but also owing to his former ‘war hero’ status. In Washington, military men are more trusted than politicians. As he ushered in greater American involvement in Libya, Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was contributing to the built up of rhetoric from Baghdad.

The situation in Libya is “certainly moving towards a stalemate,” he told US troops during a visit. “Gaddafi’s gotta go…(and coalition actions)…are going to continue to put the squeeze on him until he’s gone,” he said, according to Reuters (Washington Post, April 22).

Al Qathafi’s brutal treatment of civilians made their protection a top priority for the country’s rebels. Benghazi-based rebel-spokesman, Abdul Hafidh Ghoda, told Aljazeera: “There’s no doubt that (the US decision to send unmanned drones) will help protect civilians, and we welcome that step from the American administration.”

But since the destruction of “somewhere between 30 and 40 per cent” of Al Qathafi’s ground forces (according to Mullen’s estimation) achieved very little by way of protecting civilians, more steps are expected from the Obama Administration.

Now we are witnessing a jubilant return of previously muted calls for interventionism and regime change in favour of US-style democracy. While Libya may not have specifically fallen under the Washington radar, it now presents an opportunity too good to miss.

This realisation might challenge President Obama and force him to revise an earlier claim that the US’ goal was not regime change in Libya. In a televised speech on March 29, Obama said, “If we tried to overthrow Al Qathafi by force our coalition would splinter. We would likely have to put US troops on the ground to accomplish that mission or risk killing many civilians from the air.”

But yet again, a stalemate might end up splintering Libya itself. The US and its allies would either accept a divided Libya – and exploit this division whenever possible – or raise their involvement to break the deadlock.

If they opted for the latter, there is already much rhetoric to support an upgrade in the military mission. “Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye (to) atrocities in other countries.

“The United States of America is different, and as president I refuse to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action,” Obama said.

A US victory over Al Qathafi may be seen as an opportunity to boost Obama’s faltering reputation just in time for the 2012 Presidential elections. But history has repeatedly shown the high cost of political and military arrogance.

Obama himself admitted that in Iraq, “regime change…took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly $1 trillion. That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya.”

Since the military plunder in Iraq, the US has resorted to softer and increasingly clandestine methods to destabilize ‘unfriendly’ countries. Recent Wikileaks>/i> revelations show that Syria was always positioned as one of these targets.

Libya seemed too stable and somewhat too distant from recent US foreign policy estimations. However, the on-going violence in the country, and fear of the long-term repercussions of a military stalemate, could change all of that.

In Washington, mood swings occur too quickly and too often. Political opportunists know well how to turn a challenge into an opportunity, and an opportunity into an all-out war.





 

EDITORIAL : THE BANGKOK POST, THAILAND

Censors hurt the country

The week following the Songkran festival saw a so-called ''great debate'' over culture, society and individual freedom. Three young girls kicked off the generally intemperate discussion with their now famous dance.

One of the important persons disgusted with the risque display, Culture Minister Niphit Intharasombat, said that the exhibition had destroyed the country's reputation. If that is the standard by which to judge, then a survey by the international watchdog Freedom House is even more important. As Songkran holidays drew to a close, the agency released a study which declared that the internet censorship in Thailand made the country ''not free''.

Mr Nipit would have us all believe that the image of the country can be shattered by one titillating performance seen by hundreds in an internet video. In fact, the international reputation of Thailand is shaped by far more than a one-time street dance.

Democracy, corruption, openness, rule of law and international cooperation all count hundreds of times more than the topless dance. In a country where it is commonly said that ''Thai means free'', heavy-handed restrictions on freedom harm the reputation of the country, sometimes irreparably.

Freedom House last year rated the overall media freedom of Thailand as ''partly free... threatened''. But the more closely focussed report on the internet, released a week ago, made Thailand the only aspiring democracy among 10 true dictatorships, including China, Iran and Belarus.

Freedom House reckons that Thailand is one of the five countries in the world that are ''particularly vulnerable to deterioration'' of what internet freedom remains, along with Jordan, Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. This is not just bad company, but truly bad for the international image of the country.

The excesses of government and its deep involvement in deceptive censorship is well known. Websites and pages have been banned, blocked and blacklisted by the tens of thousands. No one knows just how many pages are blocked; even Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva claims not to know how many court orders his minister in charge of the censorship has obtained.

Counting police edicts, military ''emergency action'', independent action by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the blocked web pages may total half a million.

Last June, Information and Communication Technology Minister Juti Krairiksh said that any internet provider which did not instantly comply with his ''request'' to block a website would lose its licence.

The Freedom House report cites April 7 of last year as a watershed day. That is when the Abhisit government declared a Bangkok emergency, turned censorship over to the army, and immediately saw a decline in media freedom, particularly on the internet.

The emergency is over, the government has given lip service to reconciliation, and the censorship has increased. Freedom House rightly condemns the self-censorship of many, perhaps even most online media in Thailand _ what it calls pre-emptive action by internet service providers and content hosts.

The maximum penalty for the so-called obscene display by the three girls was a fine of 500 baht. But those who have placed the video of their actions online face five years in jail. When the penalty for reporting an event is so much greater than the penalty for the actual crime, something is amiss. This is the sort of action which will actually harm the reputation of the country.

EDITORIAL : THE INDEPENDENT, IRELAND

Children suffer in teaching scandal

THIS week, as always in the Easter season, the teaching unions will gather for their annual conferences.

Their members will express their concerns, in explicit and sometimes heated terms, to the new Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn. And these concerns will be more numerous and pressing than usual.

Like everybody else, the teachers have been hit hard by the financial crisis. Large numbers of the unions' members, especially recent graduates, have the utmost difficulty finding jobs.

At the same time, recent reports have shocked the sector with their revelations about declining standards in Irish education. We have fallen steeply in the world tables. Almost a quarter of our 15-year-old boys are illiterate. We lag in mathematics and science.

There are widespread complaints that at every level, including university, students are not taught how to think for themselves.

Sadly ironic, then, that at a time like this it should emerge that up to 400 unqualified or retired people taught in our primary schools for 50 days or more in the current school year.

This is a problem of long standing. It has so incensed the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) that it has provoked a threat of industrial action from 2013. A bill designed to rectify it became law five years ago but has never been implemented -- a silent commentary on our slapdash politics and poor administration.

More to the point, however, is that children's earliest years are the most important in their entire educational development.

We cannot afford a situation in which they are taught by unqualified people while the numbers in classes rise and qualified teachers remain unemployed.

Granted, schools often have real difficulties in finding substitutes when sudden vacancies arise. This difficulty could be eased, if not perhaps entirely overcome, by the establishment of pools of qualified teachers to fill vacancies.

The INTO president, Jim Higgins, favours the proposal. He also wants strict time limits on the employment of unqualified or retired teachers. That seems to suggest that the practice of employing unqualified persons will not be entirely eradicated.

Let us hope that it also means that the threat of industrial action will never be carried out.

The date of 2013 was set during a period of labour shortages, when the union wanted to give the authorities time to train more teachers.

Times have changed. But one principle has not changed and cannot change. The interests of the nation's children must come first.

Split on votes a threat to the British coalition

BRITISH cabinet ministers are not just campaigning openly on opposite sides in the debate on the proposed change in the UK voting system. They speak bitterly about their coalition colleagues. A four-letter word, "lies", has been bandied about.

A clear breach of collective responsibility, a principle supposed to prevail.

But that is nothing new. Harold Wilson, when prime minister, allowed Labour ministers to oppose each other publicly in a referendum on EC membership. In the Dail, Liam Cosgrave as Taoiseach once voted against a bill introduced by his own government.

Intriguingly, the Tory-Lib Dem confrontations have little to do with the merits of the proposal itself, to switch to the alternative vote in single-seat constituencies from the present first-past-the-post system.

The Lib Dems support it mainly because they believe that it would deliver them better election results. The Tories oppose it because they fear they would suffer.

Proposals for political reform here usually include a move to a system that features single-seat constituencies. That might clean up one garbage-strewn corner of the system. Enough for now, though, if Fine Gael and Labour avoid British-style splits.

EDITORIAL : THE AUSTRALIAN, AUSTRALIA

Testing the nation's patience

THE government is impotent in its border protection policy.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and his cabinet colleagues need to understand why Australians are angry about the chaos in our detention centres. We are a generous and welcoming immigrant nation but the patience of the populace has been stretched to breaking point by government incompetence and a clique of so-called human rights lawyers determined to usurp common sense in favour of interminable appeals. When desperate people are determined to reach our shores, border protection is never likely to be an easy policy area. But Australia's dilemma, in the main, had been fixed. The strong measures put in place by the Howard government were imperfect but they were effective. That government understood the need to send an unambiguous message to the people-smugglers and their customers that Australia was not a soft touch. Offshore processing, mandatory detention, temporary protection visas and regional disruption measures worked. The boats stopped.

All the while a generous humanitarian intake of refugees was maintained for those who applied through orderly processes. When Labor took power the number of asylum-seekers in detention could be counted on just two hands and none of them were children. Now almost 7000 people are in the system, including more than 1000 children. The facts are beyond doubt -- the boats started coming again when Labor softened the rules, abandoning third-country processing, abolishing temporary protection visas and promising to expedite asylum-seeker claims. The people-smugglers once more could market near-certain Australian residency to their never-ending stream of potential customers.

Rather than send a strong message to the region, Labor's message has been one of "compassion" directed at the domestic constituency of the progressive Left and the Greens. The influx of boats triggered by this approach has led to more than 50 deaths in two horrendous incidents, thousands of asylum-seekers crowded into an ever-expanding and over-stretched network of detention centres, and now violent riots at Christmas Island and Villawood. Talk about killing with kindness. Constantly, lawyers and other activists grandstand on the issue, invoking every legal nuance and UN reference they can to restrict the ability of the federal government to process applications fairly, so that those found not to be refugees can be returned to their country of origin. We are left with non-refugees detained at Villawood, their rights protected and their hopes raised by lawyers to the extent that they can chat on mobile phones while burning facilities to the ground.

Mr Bowen appears impotent in response. He should make clear those involved in these riots will be deported. Instead, the talk is of inquiries and investigations -- the triumph of process over common sense. This is what infuriates the public. The government's culpability goes beyond the reactivation of the people- smuggling trade, to the way it has extended the detainees some hope of negotiated outcomes. In 2009, when 56 rescued asylum-seekers refused to disembark from the Australian Customs vessel the Oceanic Viking in Indonesia, government officials began talks with them, and after some weeks they were rewarded with a deal for speedy processing and passage to Australia. Earlier that year five asylum-seekers were killed when their vessel allegedly was deliberately set alight near Ashmore Reef, leaving the survivors to be processed in Australia, with just one of them facing charges. Against this background, detainees might not see a downside to protesting or vandalism. The shamelessness of the Left is breathtaking. They should follow refugee campaigner Robert Manne and admit the softened policies have led to a resurgence of people-smuggling. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young prefers to press for faster processing that will only make us an even more attractive destination. The Greens also blame the private operators of the centres. Centre management properly will be examined but the private operators did nothing to increase the number of boat arrivals. It's a pity Labor and the Greens can't say the same.

The pure, clear light of a re-energised Anzac

IT is right that a new generation nurtures the flame.

For many different reasons, many of those who fought in the two great world wars of the 20th century put away their memories when they returned to their nations and to peace. While 100,000 people gathered in Sydney's Domain on the first anniversary of Anzac, over the following decades many veterans spoke little of their experiences, even to their families. That reticence was perhaps even more the case for those returning from World War II.

Distance was needed -- and indeed new generations -- for our military history to become a defining element of Australian culture. Today's Anzac memorial events will be embraced by people of all ages across the country. Yet it is those under 30, the great-grandchildren of the soldiers who fought in the 1914-18 conflict, and the grandchildren of those who fought in the 1939-45 war, who come to this national day without the horror and dread of those who served, or the Vietnam War baggage carried by so many baby boomers.

It is these young Australians who have played such an important role in what editor-at-large Paul Kelly, writing in The Weekend Australian, calls the "re-energising" of Anzac in the past 20 years. They are the new carriers of the pure, clear light of Anzac, mindful both of it place in our history and its role in creating a framework for our future. The Gallipoli centenary, just four years away, will see this generation of young adults truly assume a central role in the formal commemorations in Turkey and here at home.

There is an obvious reason for this. The last Gallipoli Anzac, Alec Campbell, died in 2002 at the age of 103. Jack Ross, the last of the 416, 809 Australians who signed up for World War I, died in 2009 at the age of 110. Over the next decade, many of those who survived World War II will die. The Anzac legacy must continue to be held and nurtured by the young. But this makes sense beyond the practical because it is to the young that every nation turns for its defence, it is to the young that we overwhelmingly entrust our protection, and it is with the young that we make the profound contract that underpins military engagement -- the obligation to kill in our defence.

The seriousness and reality of that contract with our service personnel has been brought home this year with the investiture of our second Victoria Cross winner from the Afghanistan war. Ben Roberts-Smith is an impressive member of the Special Air Service. So too is his colleague, Mark Donaldson, who was awarded the VC in 2009. The acknowledgment of their actions in this war adds to the Anzac story, a tangible link in the line that runs from World War I and II, through Korea and Vietnam to the current engagement in Afghanistan. Corporal Roberts-Smith speaks across those wars and across the generations when he explains his bravery by saying: "You are not going to sit there and watch your mates die." As a simple summary of mateship, it does not get much better than that and Australians can be proud both of these latest VC winners and of those inside and outside the armed services who share that code.

Indeed, Afghanistan and the sacrifices made by army members and their families are particularly worth mentioning at a time when the culture of the Australian Defence Force and particularly the Defence Force Academy is under intense scrutiny through a series of government-initiated reviews. Young men and women who enlist must be assured they will be treated correctly, but at the same time, our services deserve respect for the vital role they play in our society. There can be no excuse for criminal behaviour, bullying or discrimination in the services, but it is important in judging the defence culture that we maintain perspective and do not allow ideological views of the military to undermine public support. Similar balance should dictate our approach to the Anzac centenary. The commemorations should focus on the essential facts of Gallipoli and resist the temptation to sentimentality on one hand or to turning the milestone over to the naysayers of the legend on the other. Anzac will always be contested ground and we should not resile from such debate, but its place in our culture is beyond dispute.

Anzac Day underscores a national confidence that seems apparent too in today's Newspoll showing support for a republic at its lowest level since 1994. This newspaper has consistently argued for a non-hereditary and Australian head of state, but we acknowledge the views of those Australians who see little need for change. Like Anzac, a republic will be decided ultimately by the Australian people. It is they who will determine its importance and meaning to their lives.

EDITORIAL : THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA

New face, same values

It is said that one should not judge a book by its cover. That is true. But in these modern times, having a nice fresh cover face helps too.

The Jakarta Post, which you have known for 28 years, has not changed. In many ways, however, we have strived to become better: More pages, more sections, more variety, which includes global business with the International Herald Tribune and a weekly 24-page China Daily Asia edition, frequent in-depth stories, more added value for readers such as our Weekender magazine, and a daily Bali edition.

The Post has evolved from its humble beginnings to the point that, apart from the masthead, it is physically unrecognizable to the daily it was some three decades ago.

Despite these changes our most inherent values have not changed. We continue to serve and thrive for public trust, sustaining journalistic values, which have become increasingly aloof in this age of instant digital media.

We have made our mistakes, there is no doubt. But it has been by accident, rather than design. Never have the words “malice intent” been a part of our editorial agenda. And on those occasions when lapses occur, we have never hid guilt nor remorse. Self-correction is an incessant part of our journalistic pursuit.

At a time when journalism is often equated to conglomeration and political interest, the Post remains steadfast in carrying its independence, sustaining the ethics of pluralism, transparency, equal opportunity, a sober love of state and country along with the belief that together we can create a more humane civil society. It is a monument to the right of an individual citizen to think, articulate themselves and express doubt.

These were the values instilled by the founders of the Post — values that will remain as inherent and priceless as your trust upon us.

Some may consider us “heavy-boring journalism”, but if “boring” equates to “good journalism” then it is a moniker we proudly bear. And while there is money to be made from intrusive drama and senseless gossip, the Post will reject the lure of commerce to engage in triviality to preserve our spiritual reach toward a righteous core.

The Post has never done anything the easy way. We have moved away from purchasing ostentatious prefabricated content just for the sake of filling up your pages. Our purpose of existence has always been to give truly local perspectives. Even contributions and opinions on events abroad are prioritized over those with a vested stake in developments.

That is why we have invested heavily in our human resources, developing local talent who in the progress their career may no longer be directly associated with the Post, but continue to contribute to society in various capacities. This is an investment which we are committed to, irrespective of the immediate monetary losses or gains.

The economics of the 21st century media industry have changed, bewildering and suffocating mainstream media companies throughout. But it has also created many opportunities, which even our supporters and advertisers have not recognized.

Gradually, strategically, sometimes even imperceptibly, the Post has augmented its reach beyond the immediate newspaper audience. With our emergent digital presence and multiple products, the Post has easily tripled its readership. Compiled in a database of two decades of quality English-language journalism, we provide — at your fingertips — not just a window on Indonesia but a well of local wisdom.

This increased exposure has also propelled us to present to the world a fresher face that is convergent to the digital experience. Thus as we mark our anniversary today, the masthead, which has served us proudly for 28 years, will see its final encore.

Its successor will display the traits of a new generation of readers, reflecting the Post in its evolution from a daily newspaper to the dynamism of a multiplatform media organization. All the while retaining its values of being a bold shield of truth, a beacon of light in the darkness and a pillar of red courage.

We thank DM-IDHOLLAND for distilling our inspiration into a work of modern art to proudly captivate readers every morning. And appreciation also goes to Mr. Lim Bun Chai for his follow-up work in further invigorating the evolution of our layout.

Most of all we remain indebted to our loyal readers and supporters. Your encouragement makes us who we are. We thank you.

Big dream and grim reality

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono early this week promised the people the moon, unveiling a vision to expand the national economy from US$700 billion now to between $3,850-$4,500 billion by 2025, or the 12th largest in the world., with a per capita income of $13,000 to $16,000, as against $3,000 at present.

But the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economic Development in 2011-2025 he announced at a two-day national gathering of ministers, regional government and business leaders, which ended on Tuesday, seemed to be another example of Yudhoyono’s grandstanding.

Two days after the conference the President had to put the nation on the highest level of alert against terrorist bombs after the discovery Thursday of a bomb weighing 150 kilograms next to a gas pipeline near a Catholic church within the Gading Serpong residential complex in Tangerang, near Jakarta.

Earlier Thursday morning, security officials arrested 19 suspects related to the recent book bomb attacks, who led the police to the massive bombs, which was to be exploded during the Good Friday celebrations.

The economic master plan is long on seemingly grand designs on investment plans but acutely short on technical details on how the government and the private sector will go about delivering all the highly ambitious targets.

The master plan designates six regions as main economic corridors for which a total of $385 billion in new investment will be needed.

Sumatra will be developed as an agricultural and energy center, development in Kalimantan will focus on mining and energy and Sulawesi and North Maluku on agriculture and fishery, Bali and East and West Nusa Tenggara on tourism and national food crops, Papua and Maluku on natural and human resources and Java on industry and services.

But Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association, represented the mood of most businesspeople when he said rather cynically that whatever the master plan was about, it was foremost for the government to rebuild public trust in its promise.

There have been too many plans which remain unimplemented due to bureaucratic inertia, regulatory bottlenecks and an acute lack of basic infrastructure.

Four days before the national gathering, the government and the chamber of commerce and industry hosted a two-day international conference and exhibition on infrastructure development.

But all the big talks about the big infrastructure projects worth tens of billions of dollars seemed to remain a dream because one fundamental issue — the arduous and punitively costly process of land acquisition — remains unresolved.

*****

The economic vision was unveiled against the backdrop of a series of grim realities which confronted the people in their daily lives over the last few days.

Only two days before the opening of the big national conference in Bogor near Jakarta, another suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque inside a Cirebon Police complex in West Java, injuring more than two dozen worshipers, mostly Police officers who were attending a Friday prayer service, last week.

The latest blast further lengthened the list of terrorist bombs in the country over the last 12 years, starting with the attacks on Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Syuhada mosque in Yogyakarta in 1999, the bombings of churches on New Year’s Eve in 2000, the bomb attacks in Bali in 2002, the hotel and embassy attacks in Jakarta in 2002 and 2004, more carnage in Bali in 2005, and two simultaneous major bomb blasts in two Jakarta hotels in 2009.

Two days after the suicide bomb in Cirebon, 14 farmers from Urutsewu district in Kebumen, Central Java, were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation with soldiers guarding an Army research and development office.

The conflict erupted after residents, who had long protested the Army’s use of the area for weapons and ballistics training, blocked troops from using the location last week and vandalized a nearby research facility with knives and makeshift weapons.

A few hours before the President opened the national gathering in Bogor, thousands of local people in West Sumbawa in the eastern part of the country, with the full support of the local administration, staged protests over the central government’s decision to acquire 7 percent of the giant Newmont copper and gold mine.

The demonstrations turned violent as protesters attempting to close down the Batu Hijau gold mining complex clashed with police guarding the entrance to the mine. They demanded the central government drop its plan to buy the shares and leave them to the West Sumbawa administration.

West Sumbawa Regent Zulkifli Muhadli insisted the protesters acted on their own initiative but logistical support from the local administration was quite obvious in the organization of the mass demonstrations.

The protests and the repeated threats from the West Sumbawa administration to close down the multi-billion dollar gold and copper mining complex will certainly hurt new investment in the country.

The bulk of the hundreds of billions of dollars to be invested during the 2011-2025 master plan period is designed to be allocated to regencies outside of Java where most of the country’s rich natural resources are located, but investors will likely be turned off if regional administration leaders are as misguided as those in West Sumbawa.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY TRIBUNE, THE PHILIPPINES

 

 

Much ado about nothing

 

Just before the Lenten holidays, the Palace created a huge ruckus about Noynoy foregoing the usual days of rest, saying that he will be making sure of the safety of holiday goers.

It was going to be a busy work week for him, Noynoy himself claimed.

That “busy” work week was a matter of a day or even half a day of photo ops, such as going around piers and airports, claiming that heads would roll. It was obviously all for show.

The Lenten week came and Noynoy was not heard of since, making many wonder where he went off to during the time that he was not on holiday as Malacañang had claimed.

Ever since Noynoy’s survey ratings have shown the inevitable downslide, the Palace has engaged in one bad spin to another which had the effect of pushing Noynoy into a hole deeper than before.

It was no different from the no-holiday Noynoy gimmick which had no intrinsic value at all since everybody is expected to be on a vacation during this period of reflection.

Not taking a holiday does not even mean that Noynoy is a hard worker since he was not seen anyway during the days he was supposed to be looking after the protection of those on holidays.

There was of course the perfunctory visits to a bus station, a harbor and an airport which was a worn out gimmick that he should have left to the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief to exploit to the hilt.

Instead, Noynoy was awkwardly checking buses, ships, airplanes and passengers making him look more desperate than ever in winning brownie points.

The Lenten checks came with advice about how to best enjoy the days of vacation and that coming from a president.

Filipinos expected a few wise words from Noynoy through a Lenten message and not supervising passenger traffic at the ports or bus stations. Yet his messages reeked of the very same old broken record of laying his failure as a president and leader of the nation on the “dark episode” of corruption of the previous regime.

Prior to the unlikely tour, Noynoy ordered the distribution of discount coupons to public transport drivers and ordered a token increase in the minimum wage but only in Metro Manila.

The supposed recipients rejected both the fuel discount and the wage increase as too little coming amid a rapid increase in the prices of fuel and other commodities.

The actions of Noynoy lately have been completely in contrast with what he had indicated earlier as governance that does not play on popularity which he claimed was how his predecessor ran things during her watch.

It did not take long before Noynoy was taking the same path that he had earlier branded as being wrong. It took his realization that the public is starting to measure him not as Cory’s or Ninoy’s son but in his true capability as a president for him to veer away from his earlier pledge.

The Palace in trying to shore up the image of Noynoy, is making him look like a poor imitation of his predecessor Gloria who at least need not sweat it out to prove that she was a hard worker.

It would be a tough time going forward for Noynoy if he subscribes to the same belief as in the past that political gimmick or pa-pogi stance would carry him through in the remaining five years of his term.

The reason that he was voted into the presidency was that Filipinos have grown tired of political gimmickries and non-performance in the past.

Getting the same banana from a different anthropoid would certainly be a raw deal.

 

EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

Gourmet canteens

IN late 2009, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was invited by the Huntington school district in West Virginia in the United States to spice up its meals. The townsfolk, then one of the fattest in the country, agreed to let him turn his effort into the reality TV series Food Revolution. He had done an equally famous four-part documentary in his native England four years earlier called Jamie's School Dinners. Oliver was not always welcome, however, either in the US or Britain. Both have long-running school food programmes, starting as early as the late 19th century in the latter. Most local education authorities are doing all right, thank you very much. School dinners (lunches) have become part of life in Britain, and have been responsible for raising and sustaining nutrition levels in children since they were made universally available in the late 1940s. The New York City Department of Education already employs executive chefs and does not allow its kitchens to diverge from its menus in the slightest.

The problem in Malaysia is different, but only in scale. Schools in general do not supply meals, except in special cases to the poor, though many students have their lunches in the canteens. These are otherwise mostly expected to serve snacks and drinks for recess -- and perhaps for that reason have not been taken too seriously by nutritionists, parents and teachers. That has now changed. A rising proportion of schoolchildren are obese and, as in Huntington, on their way to becoming sickly adults. But it is not just flab. Poor nutrition is directly correlated with poor academic performance. Research by the UK's School Food Trust shows that "eating a healthy lunch in a decent environment improves behaviour and focus in class". Good eating habits nurtured in school have also been proven to last a lifetime. And it does not have to cost a lot -- small doses of deficient micronutrients can lead to vast improvements.

As the education and health ministries ponder new guidelines for school canteens, perhaps they should start by taking a leaf from the UK's heavy regulatory book by differentiating between food-based and nutrient-based standards. The former break down to what must be provided (say, fruit and vegetables), what should be restricted (such as deep-fried foods) and what should be banned (sweets and confectionery). Culture also plays a large part in food intake, and may be tough to deal with in reshaping dietary choices. Finally, Oliver is right. There is something as important as bland nutritional values, and that is taste.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

President Obama and the Peace Process

President Obama began his presidency vowing to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace. He backed off in the face of both sides’ obstinacy and after a series of diplomatic missteps. Since then, the stalemate, and the mistrust, have only deepened, and it is clear that nothing good will happen until the United States fully engages.

It is time for Mr. Obama — alone or, better yet, in concert with Europe, Russia and the United Nations — to put a map and a deal on the table.

The outlines of a deal are no secret. They were first proposed by President Bill Clinton in 2000. But neither side has been willing to make the necessary concessions — on land swaps, how Jerusalem can be shared and how many displaced Palestinians can go home, or not. The Israelis need to know that their closest ally won’t enable more inaction. The Palestinians need to know they will have American support so long as their demands are realistic. Mr. Obama needs to speak up before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pre-empts the debate with what is certain to be an inferior proposal when he addresses a joint meeting of Congress next month.

Mr. Netanyahu has made some concessions, most notably giving Palestinians more control over their own security in the West Bank. But he has long insisted that the Palestinians aren’t serious about negotiating a final deal, and he is now hinting that he will unilaterally offer them an interim, step-by-step arrangement that will put off statehood to some undefined future.

He also has used the upheavals in the Middle East as one more excuse not to act, rather than a reason to reinforce Israel’s security with a durable peace deal.

Mr. Netanyahu — who is coming to speak at the invitation of Representative John Boehner, the House speaker — seems to think that the Republicans’ new power means he has carte blanche in Washington. So long as Mr. Obama sits on the sidelines, he will surely continue to believe that.

The address to Congress isn’t the only deadline Mr. Obama has to worry about. The Palestinians are threatening to ask the United Nations General Assembly — which admitted the state of Israel in 1949 — to declare a Palestinian state when it meets in September. Israel and the United States dismiss this as theater. But it is certain to pass, further isolating Israel. If Washington votes against it, as it inevitably will, it would further isolate this country.

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and his aides have been building their capacity to govern in the West Bank. But Mr. Abbas isn’t helping his cause by refusing to return to the negotiating table. He suspended talks last fall after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on settlement construction. Holding to his position only gives Mr. Netanyahu an excuse not to seriously engage.

The status quo is not sustainable, as a recent surge of violence should make clear. And the options on the ground for creating a territorially coherent Palestinian state keep narrowing as Israel steps up settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel could oust the settlers — and will have to in certain areas. But the more settlers they let in, the harder it will be politically for any Israeli leader to cut a deal.

Last month, Robert Gates made the first visit to the West Bank by an American defense secretary to reinforce Washington’s commitment to a Palestinian state. But President Obama’s peace envoy, George Mitchell, who is supposed to move the process forward, hasn’t been to the region since December.

Mr. Gates was absolutely correct when he declared in Israel that despite the uncertainty caused by the upheaval in the Arab world, “there is a need and an opportunity for bold action to move toward a two-state solution.” He was talking to the Israelis and the Palestinians. We hope President Obama was listening closely, too.

Multiple Inequities

For a generation, in one of the law’s gross inequities that has fallen unduly on African-Americans, 1 gram of crack cocaine was treated the same as 100 grams of powder cocaine in federal courts. It didn’t matter that the theory behind the law that crack — cocaine cooked in baking powder — was somehow more addictive and led to more violent crime soon proved false.

Congress moderated, but unfortunately didn’t eliminate, that disparity last year by passing the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, reducing the ratio to 18 to 1. For anyone, that is, who committed a crack offense after the law went into effect last August. For those who committed crack-related crimes before then but have yet to be sentenced, it doesn’t. They are subject to the old mandatory minimum sentences — 5 years for 5 grams, 10 years for 50 grams.

As Adam Liptak reported in The Times, federal judges have expressed outrage about being forced to impose the harsher treatment with no discretion. While courts decide if the new law can be applied retroactively, the Justice Department has the discretion to do something now, building on a policy Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. began last May.

He called for the “reasoned exercise of prosecutorial discretion,” authorizing a tough but flexible approach. He asked prosecutors to take into account the kind of gross unfairness that results from applying the Fair Sentencing Act to someone who committed a crack offense in August 2010 but not to someone who did so the month before.

By statute, judges must give the mandatory minimum sentences to offenders subject to the old law. Even under the old law, however, prosecutors have considerable discretion. Through plea bargaining, they can also ask for sentences of five years rather than 10. If they decide not to prosecute in federal court, they can let a state prosecute with more flexibility in sentencing.

Under the Holder approach, they can still recommend that dangerous offenders serve the maximum sentence.

Prosecutors often fret about upsetting a judge when they don’t press for the maximum sentence. The judges who say they don’t want to perpetuate what Judge Michael Ponsor called “a Congressionally recognized injustice” are apt to be just fine with prosecutorial discretion. Meanwhile, Congress needs to try again and equalize the penalties for possession of crack and powder cocaine.

The House Strikes, and Wins, Again

In another House-engineered setback for the environment, the compromise budget approved by Congress and the White House prohibits the Interior Department from spending any money to carry out a policy protecting unspoiled federal lands.

Under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, the secretary of interior has the power to inventory, identify and protect such lands. President George W. Bush’s secretary, Gale Norton, who was more interested in development than conservation, renounced that authority. Ken Salazar, the current secretary, reaffirmed it in December only to have House Republicans strike back.

The amendment, like much from the House, was based on demagoguery. Western Republicans claimed the policy would pre-empt Congress’s right to designate permanent wilderness on federal lands. That isn’t true. What the Interior Department does, and has done until Ms. Norton came along, is identify lands with “wilderness characteristics” and manage them carefully — preventing rampant motorized vehicle use, for instance — until Congress can decide whether they deserve permanent protection.

The same Republicans also said the policy would lock up valuable oil and gas reserves. If the department does its job, some lands would, indeed, be declared off-limits. But the policy does not prevent drilling altogether. And, as government figures show, the oil and gas industry already has access to most of the known oil and gas reserves in the Rocky Mountain West, as well as about 7,200 approved permits to drill that it has yet to use.

We don’t know if there is a way around the restriction. We do know that Mr. Salazar and the White House should begin pressing now to ensure that the next budget lifts the ban and provides the Interior Department the money to set aside fragile lands for future generations.

Follow the Really Big Money

Things are going well for the wealthy. The top income tax rate is lower than at nearly any time since the 1930s. President Obama, who promised to repeal Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, agreed to extend them for another two years. And Republicans are pushing to slash trillions in public programs in order to cut the top rate more.

Amid these bountiful breaks, the Obama administration is at least trying to ensure that the beneficiaries of this largess pay the taxes they owe. The Internal Revenue Service has opened a Global High Wealth Industry office to investigate the tax compliance of monumentally rich Americans. It is following up on its victory against the Swiss bank UBS — which handed over data on 4,450 Americans with secret offshore accounts — by opening investigation offices in Panama, China and elsewhere.

The numbers attest to this new vigilance. The I.R.S. last year audited the tax returns of 2,458 taxpayers who earned $10 million or more, up from 1,553 in 2008. Audits of taxpayers making $1 million to $10 million jumped by half over the period, to 21,660. If you made more than $1 million, your chances of being audited in 2008 were about 1 in 23. Last year, they were about 1 in 13. The odds of the average taxpayer being audited are about 1 in 100.

Most estimates put the tax gap — the difference between what should be paid and what is paid — at more than $400 billion. Academics say most of the cheats are in the top tax bracket, so it is good to see the I.R.S. investigators focusing there. The country would be in even better fiscal shape if Congress and the White House stopped giving the rich so many tax breaks.

 

EDITORIAL : THE GUARDIAN, UK

        

 

In praise of … Little Imber on the Down

Cheesewring and Swarkeston, Grimspound and Frismersk, Dishley, Nosely and Fordebottle-in-Furness: little or nothing remains of such villages now

 
Cheesewring and Swarkeston, Grimspound and Frismersk, Dishley, Nosely and Fordebottle-in-Furness: little or nothing remains of such villages now. Some failed because their populations drifted away; others were swallowed whole by the sea or disappeared under reservoirs. Still others – Tottington, West Tofts (with its fine Pugin church) and Stanford in the Brecklands, Tyneham in Dorset, and Imber at the lonely heart of Salisbury Plain – were requisitioned in the second world war. The Norfolk training area remains closed to the general public, but Tyneham and Imber are occasionally opened for public inspection, and will be today. At Imber the Churches Conservation Trust has taken over the church of St Giles and reroofed it, and beyond you can wander the shattered streets and see the remains of the pub and some of the houses where families lived in tranquillity until on 1 November 1943 they were given 47 days to clear out of the village. It's possible that Imber might have died anyway: its population had fallen over the previous century from over 400 to little more than 100. Or it might have been discovered by city dwellers in search of country retreats, in which case it would no longer have been the old Imber. Its fame has spread over the years of public admission. Some 2,000 people came when the gates were opened last autumn. Best perhaps to be there this evening or at first light tomorrow when the crowds have dispersed and there ought to be a better sense of the village that was.

Coalition politics: Of fissures and fractures

What's happening now hardly reflects the civilised 'agreement to disagree' that had been planned

With an insouciance worthy of Kenneth Clarke, William Hague, yesterday surveying the skirmishes breaking out across coalition territory, declared himself untroubled. Feelings always ran high during campaigns, he said. So they do; and it was always foreseen that David Cameron and Nick Clegg would be taking opposing sides in the referendum on the alternative vote. But what's happening now hardly reflects the civilised "agreement to disagree" that had been planned. Condemning the "no" campaign for "lies, misinformation and deceit", Mr Clegg made it clear to yesterday's Independent on Sunday that he blamed the party led by David Cameron for this dirty work. True, he refrained from accusing Conservative co-chairman, Baroness Warsi, of using the tactics of Goebbels, but his colleague Chris Huhne had done that for him. And the falling out is by no means confined to AV. Hardly had Mr Clegg declared his dedication to the cause of social mobility than David Cameron appeared to wave it away.

The issue here was a limited one – the recruitment of interns from a narrow, convenient pool – but it is clearly wounding for Mr Clegg when his nominal comrade is so off-hand about one of his cherished ambitions. Unfeeling words at such moments tend to be remembered. "I see all this stuff about how we are somehow mates," he pointedly observed. "We are not." The mood may lift once the voting on 5 May is over; but the fond fraternity of the Cameron-Clegg relationship a year ago, when the coalition was formed, is unlikely to be restored.

Some of this reflects the tensions in two other coalitions. All political parties are to some extent coalitions, which in times of stress are likely to buckle. Today's Conservatives are an uneasy alliance of old-fashioned fundamentalists with the kind of more liberal, compassionate Conservatism initially trailed as the Cameron brand. Many Tories, in and out of parliament, feel the Liberal Democrats are far too influential in the coalition. David Cameron's Telegraph interviewer on Saturday was raising the anxieties of those in the party who think their leader is selling true Conservatism short. His blithe dismissal of Mr Clegg's concerns about social mobility fitted this context. Significantly, too, he chose as the highlight of his year the afternoon when he entertained that spirit of unmitigated Conservative government, Margaret Thatcher, to tea. So he won't have welcomed Mr Clegg's claim yesterday that "if you were a political expert from Mars... you would conclude that this is, objectively speaking, a quintessentially Liberal government".

And that leads directly on to the state of another uneasy coalition: the Liberal Democrat party. This weekend's other ructions have tended to overshadow Vince Cable's interview with Saturday's Guardian; yet what he said was incendiary too. Liberal Democrats sometimes talk of electoral reform as if it were something virtuous in a purely philosophical sense, regardless of party advantage. But here was Mr Cable making the case in terms of a coveted outcome: as a way of bringing together Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens in a left-of-centre government, condemning the Tories to opposition. The result would be an era of "progressive government": the very substance that his leader claims to be delivering in partnership with the Tories. You don't have to be a political expert from Mars to suspect that these are hardly the words of a man for whom the present arrangements constitute "a quintessentially Liberal government".

The 20th century history of peacetime coalitions in Britain suggest that the greatest strain, and the greatest cost, falls on the party that makes up the numbers. Should the "rightwing elite, the rightwing clique", whom the Lib Dem leader has located as the heart of the "no" camp prevail in 10 days' time, the fractures of the past two weeks will be even harder to mend.

 

British manufacturing: Reality bites

The boss of Vauxhall pointed out in an interview yesterday that talk of a UK revival in car-making is fanciful

Nick Reilly deserves hearty congratulations for saying the politically unsayable. The boss of Vauxhall pointed out in an interview yesterday that talk of a revival in British car-making is fanciful. His own company, as well as most other big household names in the industry, struggled to find British producers capable of making suitable parts at scale. The result, he noted, was that UK automakers had to buy lots of foreign-made components, with all the attendant currency risk, shipping costs and much longer turnaround times. "It's not enough to have Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall manufacturing the products," he said. "We'll never be able to compete with another country where the suppliers are surrounding the car plants."

To many, Mr Reilly's comments will seem common sense – having to go abroad for many, or even most, of your parts is slower and more expensive. But in Westminster they are close to heresy. Compare this view of a hollowed-out industry from a senior practitioner (Mr Reilly is the president of General Motors in Europe) with the vision of a manufacturing renaissance propounded by ministers. "A new economy might be able to rise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of the old," promised Nick Clegg in a speech made in February. "The new jobs, the new products, the new ideas that will lift us up will be born in the factories," David Cameron told the CBI last autumn.

The truth is that all parties have colluded in the wilful neglect of manufacturing industry over the past three decades. The result in many cases is that British supply chains – where a component manufacturer makes parts for another firm to put into a finished product, whether that be a car or a vacuum cleaner – are broken. The Manufacturers' Organisation point out that 96% of a JCB digger was made in Britain in 1979; by 2010, that proportion had fallen to 36%.

Point this out and, as Mr Reilly will soon find for himself, you get drowned in a wave of fatalism. You cannot beat cheap Chinese competition, runs the argument. Well, yes and no: German manufacturers also buy foreign parts – but their imported proportion of what is known in the jargon as intermediate purchases is much lower: around 25% versus about 50% in the UK. Following the German example here would require British frontbenchers to do more than talk up manufacturing, or scatter a few million around. The government should direct the state-owned banks to lend more at lower rates to key sectors, and give tax relief to firms that produce and employ staff in the UK. Ministers can either choose to heed manufacturers' warnings now – or face the prospect that there not be an equivalent of Mr Reilly in a few years' time.

 

EDITORIAL : THE GLOBAL TIMES, CHINA

College and national success entwined

Tsinghua University, one of China's top institutions of higher education, celebrated its centennial anniversary on Sunday. Tsinghua is very young compared with major world universities like Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard. However, officials and scholars said during the celebration that Tsinghua would strive to be ranked alongside these major universities within the next few decades.

The goal might be realized someday, but a prerequisite will have to be there – China needs to become the real superpower in the world. At the moment, the UK and the US, successively crowned as the world's No.1 superpower, now have the world's most famous and respected universities. If China only leads in GDP and fails in a more comprehensive rise, its top universities like Tsinghua and Beida will hardly walk far in the world.

China's emergence injects funds and vigor into its universities. In recent years, Tsinghua has rocketed into the top 60 in world university rankings, thanks to the macro-context of China's rise. Tsinghua's centennial history exactly mirrors the path of the nation. Without national rise, educational prosperity is unimaginable.

Nevertheless, national rise doesn't necessarily entail universities' rise. Educators from universities should seize the pulse of the times and focus on the essence of higher education. Fundamentally, universities have to foster courageous, diligent students who have a profound sense of responsibility for society. This is not only the soul of universities, but also a driving force for China's growth in the future.

Comprehensive national rise is not an empty concept – it is an integration of individual efforts, and the optimum operation status of society. National competition in the 21st century is basically a race among people in different countries. China urgently needs talented graduates who are able to make the country really strong and powerful.

The nation urgently needs elites who are able to learn from other countries while having confidence in their own country.

Universities play a significant role in this process. To some degree, how China's future looks depends on whether its universities are able to cultivate top talent. Over the past decades, China's universities have fostered many outstanding professionals who have made solid contributions to national emergence. But this role has to be further reinforced.

China's top universities are often described as the "preschools" for talented Chinese students seeking to study abroad. Such a role has to be transformed. These universities should try to solve existing problems like academic pragmatism and improve their management systems, so as to play out their essential role more effectively. Educators should focus less on rankings and more on education itself.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY YOMIURI, JAPAN

           

 

Intl safety standards vital to restoring faith in N-power

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A series of accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is shaking nuclear energy policies in Europe.

In Germany, the conservative center-right coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel had been seeking to extend the lifetime of the country's nuclear power plants but decided, after the accidents at the Fukushima plant, to completely abolish them at an early date. The German government has returned to a policy of "breaking with nuclear power generation" touted by the center-left government of an earlier era.

Germany's policy shift is apparently in response to growing public opinion against nuclear power, which was reflected in regional elections held on March 27.

In Italy, the administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, which was previously seeking to build new nuclear power plants, recently announced the government will indefinitely freeze construction of nuclear plants.

In France, where 80 percent of electricity is generated by nuclear energy, a recent survey showed the support rate for nuclear energy fell from 66 percent before the March 11 disaster to 58 percent.

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Nuclear aversion amplified

The public's aversion to nuclear power plants was apparently amplified by the seriousness of the accidents at the Japanese plant, which was previously said to be highly secure, as well as difficulty in bringing the situation under control. Japan must recognize the gravity of the impact of the accidents and make efforts to quickly stabilize the situation.

In Germany, concerns have already arisen over deterioration of industrial competitiveness and an increased burden on households due to a surge in electricity prices without nuclear power.

This is because a huge investment is estimated to be needed to develop alternative energies and electric transmission facilities. Twists and turns are unavoidable in the road toward ending nuclear power.

Some countries remain unchanged in their commitments to nuclear power even after the Fukushima accidents.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced in a speech on March 30 that the United States will generate 80 percent of its electricity from energy sources that do not emit greenhouse gases by 2035. He said nuclear power plants are a main pillar of the clean energies.

As a reason to promote nuclear power plants, Obama also stressed the necessity to reduce the country's dependence on overseas energy sources such as crude oil.

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France, BRICS back N-power

France's policy of promoting nuclear power plants remains unchanged although the country admitted it is necessary to reconfirm the safety of its existing nuclear power plants.

Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa--emerging economies collectively known as BRICS--on April 14 agreed on a view that building new nuclear power plants is inevitable. They shared this recognition apparently because their countries need to meet increasing demand for electricity that supports high economic growth.

Nuclear power plants had been rebuilding their reputation due to the fact that they do not emit greenhouse gases. If such sentiment recedes after the Fukushima accidents, the world community's measures to reduce greenhouse gases will be significantly affected.

To revitalize nuclear power plants, creating international safety standards is an urgent task. On that basis, we hope that comprehensive debates on energy policy from mid- and long-term perspectives will be held in a calm atmosphere.

Step up fight against harmful rumors about Japan goods

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Alarmed by possible radiation contamination due to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis, a growing number of countries have slapped restrictions on imports of Japan's farm produce and industrial goods.

This is extremely regrettable.

The government and the nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., must swiftly provide accurate information on this matter to prevent untrue and harmful rumors from spreading further around the world. If other nations impose excessive regulations on Japanese goods, the government should take steps to have them rectified or rescinded.

About 30 countries and territories, including China and South Korea, have halted or restricted imports of agricultural produce grown in the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Some nations in the Middle East have even suspended imports of foodstuffs from every corner of Japan.

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Situation could worsen

Even more worrisome is the fact that about 10 nations and territories have restricted imports of Japan's main industrial export items such as motor vehicles and electronics.

Italy and Taiwan have begun checking Japanese industrial goods for radiation, while the United States and other nations are inspecting ships that sailed from Japan. Belgium requires Japanese-made motor vehicles to undergo radiation examinations, while Hong Kong has gone so far as to check radiation levels on Japanese medicine and cosmetics.

These checks have not yet led to any suspension of imports of Japanese-manufactured products. However, there are fears they could slow customs clearance and hurt Japanese companies' sales. Given that more countries could place regulations on Japanese imports, this situation cannot simply be brushed off.

The government needs to tackle this problem head-on.

At a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization and talks among finance ministers and central bank heads of the Group of 20 major economies, the government did indeed urge other countries to keep cool heads over the nuclear crisis. However, these efforts alone will not be enough.

The government should use its diplomatic offices abroad, as well as other nations' embassies in Tokyo, to spread the message that Japanese products are safe and correct any misunderstandings that have arisen during the nuclear crisis.

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Smaller firms need help

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has decided on a set of rules that require each automaker to measure radiation levels of their exports. Electronics companies have been voluntarily checking their products for radiation or having them checked by outside expert organizations.

Chambers of commerce and industry throughout the country have started issuing member firms with certificates that verify radiation levels in areas where they produce goods.

No radiation readings that exceed levels found in nature have been reported on these products. However, the industrial sector has been put on the defensive by overreactions overseas to the nuclear plant problems.

We think the government should provide small and midsize companies with subsidies to help cover the cost of checking products for radiation. The government also should work with local entities to ensure consultation centers for worried companies are up and running.

Japan's export-led growth strategy is of essential importance. We urge the government to do everything it can to get exports back to normal as quickly as possible by restoring trust in the "Made-in-Japan" brand.