April 18, 2008
I never thought that I would be applauding the victory of Silvio Berlusconi. But then, I did not anticipate that there would be any cohesive and working majority in both houses. If Italy is going to escape from its current economic sloth, it needs a strong government that can introduce the necessary reforms and make… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
April 12, 2008
I do not recall a political issue in which the misperceptions were so diametrically opposed. Even allowing for deliberate ‘misunderstandings’ inside China and in the West, The Chinese and Westerners see Tibet and the Dalai Lama totally differently. This makes finding a solution that much more difficult. Every effort must be made to diffuse the… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
I am about to leave for two weeks in China and may not blog frequently. I will make up for it on my return on 27 April, beginning with Tibet.
Posted by Stanley Crossick
April 6, 2008
The Congress, held in Beijing from 5 to 18 March, appointed the State Council (cabinet) and ministries, reorganised the government structure, and focussed on the key policy issues. The 10 March post reported on the first week and reported on Premier Wen Jiabao’s ‘state of the union message’. This post explains the context, the new… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
March 27, 2008
Surely the EU can agree a common policy on the Olympic Games? The European foreign ministers are attending tomorrow and Saturday an informal (Gymnich) meeting at Brdo, Slovenia. Tibet is on the agenda. It might have been thought that it is in everyone’s interests that the EU 27 agree their approach to calls for a… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
The European Parliament emergency debate yesterday on Tibet began with a tough statement by President Hans-Geert Pöttering, continued with two measured statements on behalf of the Council and Commission, and followed by a series of all-party diatribes by MEPs. We were treated to the same inaccurate presentation of alleged facts that we have become accustomed… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
March 20, 2008
I commend you to read the briefing on Tibet in today’s ‘The Economist’. The briefing has been written by James Miles, its Beijing correspondent, who happened to be there and was allowed to stay from 12 to 19 March. Nowhere are European and Chinese misperceptions further apart than over the Dalai Lama and Tibet. It… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
March 10, 2008
The annual session of China’s 2 987 member parliament met last week and will meet all this week. China’s government runs in five year cycles, starting with the first congress in 1956. This year marks the first annual session of the 11th congress. The Communist Party’s priorities for the coming 12 months are routinely ratified… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
March 4, 2008
Today’s ‘Informal European Policy Dialogue on China’ (co-chaired by Elmar Brok and Glyn Ford) echoed the contents of yesterday’s post. Trade tensions were discussed in the light of today’s economic downturn. Both the European and Chinese participants agreed that there is a growth in protectionist sentiment in the EU and China, with action likely to… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
February 29, 2008
From 31 March 2008, UK passport applicants in Belgium will need to apply for a renewal or new passport from the British Consulate General in Paris by post or in person. Only 40 days notice has been given. It is hard to imagine anyone with experience of the vagaries of the Belgian postal sytsem mailing… » read more
Posted by Stanley Crossick
Rated 6th most influential EU blog by Waggener Edstrom. European of British nationality, for nearly 30 years Bruxellois. Deep believer in the principle of 'mutuality' and Monnet's axiom "Thought cannot be divorced from action", equivalent to Wang Yangming
