Tag: Covid-19 Restrictions

China Censors Anti-Xi Protest Before Communist Party Cong

By LokMarg

Chinese social media censors have blocked posts, keywords, and hashtags related to the extremely rare public protest ahead of a landmark Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meeting that is scheduled to begin on October 16, at which President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a historic third term.

Hong Kong media have remained largely muted on a rare protest in Beijing that called for the ousting of China’s leader Xi Jinping ahead of the historic 20th Communist Party congress. The meeting, a once-in-every-five-years event, is set to begin on Sunday and will likely see Xi secure an unprecedented third term, reported Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP).
The protest in Beijing involved banners denouncing Chinese President Xi Jinping and the country’s stringent COVID-19 policies.

On Thursday, reports emerged on the mainland that two banners had been draped across Sitong bridge – an overpass in the capital’s Haiding district. One of the banners, according to online images, called on people to go on strike to “oust the dictator, traitor Xi Jinping.”

Another banner meanwhile listed a range of grievances, including some against the country’s stringent Covid-19 restrictions. “We want food, not PCR tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want respect, not lies. We want reform, not Cultural Revolution. We want a vote, not a leader. We want to be citizens, not slaves.”

International outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal reported on the incident, whilst it appeared as the top story on the BBC News website. It was also covered by Taiwanese media and independent platforms such as Initium, though the protest was ignored by mainstream Hong Kong outlets, reported HKFP.

The banners were removed quickly on the same day but photos were already being widely shared by netizens.

Chinese authorities, however, were swift to take down social media posts related to the incident, including those with keywords such as #Haidian, #Sitong bridge, and even #Beijing. There was also a police presence near the overpass afterward.

US-based Chinese writer Fang Shimin said on Twitter that the person who allegedly hung the banners was a man called Peng Lifa, who calls himself Peng Zaizhou online.

Fang claimed that Peng left comments on his previous posts before the protest, and shared similar content about protesting on the ResearchGate website. The content has now been deleted, Fang said, reported HKFP.

Following the censorship, people used another hashtag – #ISawIt – to communicate on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform. But those were also removed, with some reporting that their account was permanently blocked.

When searching for the #ISawIt hashtag on Weibo, the platform showed a message that reads “[A]ccording to relevant laws and regulations, the topic page cannot be displayed,” reported HKFP.

Others meanwhile took to Twitter, saying the person who hung the banners was “brave.”

Hours after Thursday’s protest images went viral, state media commentator Hu Xijin said on Twitter that citizens supported the country’s leadership: “China’s political stability is solid, because the country is developing very well in general, and the vast majority of people support the CPC’s leadership, hoping for stability and opposing upheaval.” He did not make reference to the demonstration.

Beijing was on high alert on Friday against any disruption to a landmark Chinese Communist Party meeting where Xi is expected to secure a historic third term as president.

Armies of volunteers have been deployed in every neighbourhood in Beijing to report anything out of the ordinary, and parcels to subway commuters have been subjected to additional security checks. (ANI)

Read More:http://13.232.95.176/

Make In India Logo

World Bank Lower India’s 2022-23 Growth Rate To 6.5%

By LokMarg

World bank, in its latest report, has lowered India’s 2022-23 growth rate from its June forecast, by 1 percentage point to 6.5 percent. In the previous report, the international organization had projected India’s growth rate to be at 7.5 percent for the period.

In the latest South Asia Economic Focus, Coping with Shocks: Migration and the Road to Resilience, released today, the World Bank has revised India’s growth rate down from its June forecast. It further expects India to grow at 7 percent and 6.1 percent in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

The twice-a-year update has also revised the regional growth rate of South Asia by 1 percentage point from the June forecast to 5.8 percent, as it expects a “dampening” growth rate in the region.

The main reasons highlighted for the revision have been Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, Pakistan’s catastrophic floods, a global slowdown, and the impacts of the war in Ukraine on top of the lingering scars of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pandemics, sudden swings in global liquidity and commodity prices, and extreme weather disasters were once tail-end risks. But all three have arrived in rapid succession over the past two years and are testing South Asia’s economies,” said Martin Raiser, the World Bank Vice President for South Asia.

“In the face of these shocks, countries need to build stronger fiscal and monetary buffers, and reorient scarce resources towards strengthening resilience to protect their people,” Raiser added.

However, the release has also highlighted the fact that India, which happens to be the region’s largest economy, recovered more strongly than the world average riding on the exports and service sector. It considers India’s “ample” foreign reserves to be serving as a buffer to external shocks.

While talking about Sri Lanka, the Report expects the country’s real GDP to fall by 9.2 percent this year and further by 4.2 percent in 2023. It considers the impact of COVID-19 and rising commodity prices due to the war in Ukraine to have worsened the situation and exacerbated its woes in debt and depleting foreign reserves.

While talking about Pakistan, the Report considers the high-commodity prices to have worsened Pakistan’s external imbalances and brought down its reserves. It finds Pakistan’s outlook subject to significant uncertainty after the devastating climate-change-fuelled floods submerged one-third of the country this year.

The release also considers that tourism’s return is helping drive growth in the Maldives and Nepal to a lesser extent.

The report expects the inflation in the region to rise to 9.2 percent this year before gradually subsiding. It highlights the main causes behind this as the elevated global food and energy prices and trade restrictions that have worsened food insecurity in the region. It calls them to have severely impacted the poor by squeezing their real income.

The report also talks about the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the migrant workers of South Asia, who were disproportionately affected.

However, the report also considers migration as a crucial factor in facilitating recovery. It expects the migration flow to move from the areas hit hard by the pandemic to those that were not. It will supposedly equilibrate the demand and supply of labor.

“Labor mobility across and within countries enables economic development by allowing people to move to locations where they are more productive. It also helps adjust to shocks such as climate events to which South Asia’s rural poor are particularly vulnerable,” said Hans Trimmer, the World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia.

“Removing restrictions to labor mobility is vital to the region’s resilience and its long-term development,” Timmer added.

The report also offers two recommendations in its report. Firstly, it recommends cutting costs faced by migrants. Secondly, it suggests that policymakers de-risk migration including more flexible visa policies and social protection programs. (ANI)

Read More:http://13.232.95.176/