Chinese will invest mainly in Balkan transit, energy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Western Balkans ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Senior Official ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Liberal Reform ◽  
People's Congress

Subject Chinese interest in the Western Balkans. Significance The chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, Zhang Dejiang, paid a three-day visit to Serbia in mid-July. The trip, by China’s third-most-senior official, is the latest milestone in China’s deepening relationship with the Western Balkans. Impacts China’s penetration of the Western Balkans could challenge the EU’s preponderance and ability to steer the region towards liberal reform. Beijing's huge economic clout also reduces Moscow's energy leverage, especially in states where China is building new energy infrastructure. For better or worse, the economic dividend created by Chinese investment is helping to sustain the existing cadre of Balkan leaders.

Exploring changes of governance discourse of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20
Author(s):  
Hui-Wen Deng ◽  
Kwok Wah Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Rubber Stamp ◽  
People's Congress

Purpose The National People’s Congress (NPC) of People’s Republic of China, the highest organ of state power, is popularly seen as a rubber-stamp entity. However, it has been substantially evolving its roles to accommodate the governance discourses within China’s political system over the decades. This study aims to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC within China’s political system through which to offer a thorough understanding of the NPC’s evolving substantial role in current China. Design/methodology/approach This study deploys a historical approach to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC that has seen a growing importance in China’s political agenda, as argued by this study. Findings The authors find that the NPC has been substantially evolving its role within China’s political system in which the Chinese Communist Party has created different governance discourses. Besides, the NPC and its Standing Committee have asserted its authority as a substantial actor within China’s political system. The NPC is no longer functioned as a rubber-stamp institution, though it is still popularized as a rubber stamp by many scholars. Research limitations/implications This study is a historical elaboration on the development of NPC under three governance discourses. It might be, to some extent, relatively descriptive in nature. Originality/value This study, therefore, sheds some light on a revisit on the governance discourses in current China.

China's tax cuts seek growth boost and poverty relief

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Poverty Relief ◽  
Government Work ◽  
People's Congress ◽  
Income Tax Reform

Subject Income tax reform in China. Significance As promised by Prime Minister Li Keqiang in his 2018 Government Work Report, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has passed on August 31 an amendment to China's individual income tax. It slashes tax for low-income and middle-income earners, in an effort to keep up with the rapid increase in living costs and better redistribute wealth in one of the most unequal countries in the world, with a Gini coefficient for income of about 0.40. Impacts Recent comments by the Constitution and Law Committee signal that the law may soon be amended again. Important changes to residency rules will have an impact on foreign nationals living in China. New tax residence and anti-avoidance rules will eliminate loopholes and allow for a more efficient tax collection.

Oklahoma investment will drive up US shale growth

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hot Spot ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
New Energy

Subject Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP shale play. Significance Successful US shale companies depend on spotting opportunities early and acquiring prime land to drill on before their rivals. Companies that moved early into the Permian Basin in Texas are reaping the benefits today. Companies searching for the next hot spot are increasingly looking to central Oklahoma, where the STACK and SCOOP play has grabbed the industry’s attention. Impacts Oilfield service companies will see new opportunities in the expansion of the shale business into new areas. As output grows in Oklahoma new energy infrastructure such as pipelines and processing facilities will be needed. Increased oil activity will help lift Oklahoma’s sluggish economy, but shale hires tend not to be local.

The Berlin Process. Bringing the Western Balkan Region Closer to the European Union

Südosteuropa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Christina Griessler
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
Proactive Measures

AbstractFor the countries of the Western Balkans, the path to membership in the European Union (EU) has been particularly tortuous. Its slow progress has created frustration among applicant countries. In 2014 Germany, stepping into the political void that had formed, inaugurated what has come to be known as the Berlin Process, an initiative aimed at injecting new energy into the dormant EU enlargement process. The author examines the political activities initiated between 2014 and 2019, analysing the official documentation of the Berlin Process along with publications such as policy papers and media commentaries. She concludes that although meaningful and proactive measures have been taken, such efforts have not been successful in persuading or enabling the Western Balkan states to implement the political and economic reforms required for EU accession.

Beekeeping as a family artisan entrepreneurship business

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Laxman Panthi
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Rural Families ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Throughout Macedonia, beekeeping is becoming popular regardless of ethnicity. Studying ethnicity, the purpose of this paper is to determine what beekeepers in Macedonia thought in their own words about their beekeeping entrepreneurship. The objective is to identify whether motivations of ethnic Albanian beekeepers in Macedonia were the same or different compared to those of ethnic Macedonians in the same country, and if different, how. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this objective, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 beekeepers in Macedonia. A total of 29 interviews were conducted face-to-face and the other 11 by phone. The first set of interviews took place between December 2016 and February 2017, followed by more interviews in June 2017. In total, 27 respondents said they were ethnic Albanians, and 13 identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians. Also, ten respondents were women. While eight were full-time beekeepers, 32 were part-time beekeepers. Findings The results indicated that beekeeping businesses play a significant role in the transition economy of Macedonia. Beekeeping provides additional earnings that support rural families and keeps them financially stable. The majority of both Albanians and Macedonians understood that beekeeping on a part-time job basis provided a needed supplement to their income. Some part-time beekeepers are also working as auto-mechanics, locksmiths, medical doctors, restaurant/cafeteria owners, and tailors. A few in the sample were retired from their jobs or full-time beekeepers. An important difference between ethnic Albanian beekeepers and ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia is that the majority of ethnic Albanian participants see beekeeping as following in “my father’s footsteps”, while most Macedonians were motivated by the perceived opportunity of having a good business. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the research are twofold. First, financial data of family beekeeping are not available, which would be useful in determining the contribution made to economic development. It is common, especially in transition economies such as the western Balkans, that financial results are very sensitive to their owners. Second, unavailable databases for beekeepers make any quantitative approach difficult, if not impossible, resulting in most research using the qualitative research approach. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to treat beekeeping as a form of artisan entrepreneurship, which also contributes to the understanding of family business. As in other countries, the important and operation of the family business among family members in Macedonia is passed from generation to generation. The results of this research revealed the value of networking, which was found to be very important to income. For beekeepers to develop, grow, and be branded in the community, networking is an important ingredient.

Slovenia’s Jansa backs enlarging EU to Western Balkans

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type

Headline SLOVENIA: Jansa backs enlarging EU to Western Balkans

scholarly journals Dialectical analysis of amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law of China in 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 384-400
Author(s):  
Haiqing Peng ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Track ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Judicial Reform ◽  
Standing Committee ◽  
Supervisory System ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
Criminal Procedure Law ◽  
Dialectical Analysis ◽  
People's Congress

The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law in China in 2018 mainly involves enhancing the system for leniency based on admission of guilt and acceptance of punishment, increasing the procedure of fast-track sentencing, improving the convergence norm between the Criminal Procedure Law and the Supervision Law, and adding the procedure for trial in absentia. These improvements and additions have positive implications for the implementation of a criminal policy of leniency and strictness, for realization of the diversion of complex situations and simple situations in the proceedings, for deepening the reform of the state’s supervisory system, for realizing the people’s procuratorate’s effective performance of legal supervision, and power and for effectively punishing crimes of corruption. However, there are limitations in the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law in 2018. In the future, the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law can adopt both the comprehensive amendment of the National People’s Congress and the partial amendment of its Standing Committee, so as to promote the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law in a timely and comprehensive manner. In terms of the amendment’s content, the judicial reform results and coordination between laws should be fully considered. New regulations for the new law should be clear and enforceable. In regard to law implementation, there should be sufficient time for implementation preparation after the promulgation of the new law.

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