Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

GEORGE WORTHINGTON, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ASIA – PACIFIC IFR MARKETS, THOMSON REUTERS

Bold but politically unpalatable reforms such as freeing up the labour market are necessary to permit a higher rate of sustainable, non-inflationary growth

Most important for sustaining rapid growth over the medium term is increased spending on infrastructure. While the dire fiscal situation precludes anything like the massive state-driven outlays on roads, rail, ports and airports seen in China, the private sector is picking up some of the slack as new roads and other facilities in major cities demonstrate. Billions of dollars’ worth of investment being undertaken by mobile telecoms providers reflects confidence in India’s growth story. Access to foreign capital by Indian firms will be crucial to fund booming investment over the next decade. Further liberalisation of the foreign investment regime is likely to progress only slowly, and there is a risk that rising inflows provoke tighter regulation or controls as the authorities focus on the currency.

Another potential barrier to sustained investment growth is the public-sector’s massive deficit. The government’s funding requirement, if not brought under control, risks crowding out private-sector capital expenditure. Pending tax reforms and revenue from sources such as the recent spectrum sale will help narrow the budget gap, but a stronger commitment to reforming the state sector and further disinvestment is needed to ensure a sustainable fiscal position in coming years.

Faster trend growth in the economy would help also improve the government’s balance sheet, and though the way to that goal is clear, the will is not there. Bold but politically unpalatable reforms such as freeing up the labour market are necessary to permit a higher rate of sustainable, non-inflationary growth. For the governing coalition, such issues are likely to be put in the too-hard basket for now. But even without such positive developments, the next few years should see the Indian GDP expand by an average of at least 8% on the back of solid private investment and rising consumption. In that context, local markets and investment opportunities will prove attractive for international investors; attracting capital for a virtuous cycle of growth and investment will not be a problem for India’s increasingly dynamic economy.


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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Scrutiny-TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE: A MYTHICAL EVENT?

Was the Tiananmen Square incident more of a Western Media Propaganda to damage China’s image? Was the uprising in fact dismantled peacefully without a drop of blood being shed? Did US diplomatic officials already know of this new truism? If WikiLeaks is to be believed... yes!

A book written by Madrid’s then ambassador to Beijing, Eugenio Bregolat, talks about the myth of the massacre and states, “Spain’s TVE channel had a television crew in the square at the time, and if there had been a massacre, they would have been the first to see it and record it.” Even a Reuters Correspondent Graham Earnshaw wrote in his memoir that the students left peacefully. However, a week after the incident on June 12, 1989, NYT sensationalised the issue by quoting usage of machine guns and tankers.

Another documentary named The Gate of Heavenly Peace by Long Bow Group, Inc. contains video evidences of actual incidents and fortifies the WikiLeaks’ cables. Similarly, books like Black Hands of Beijing: Lives of Defiance in China’s Democracy Movement, Columbia Journalism Review (The Myth of Tiananmen & the Price of a Passive Press) and many more talk about how there was no bloodshed. These documents point out how no exit points were blocked during the incident, no detentions were done and the Chinese army was only asked to clear the area.

Most of such reports were either never picked up by mainstream (and Western) media, or were ruthlessly buried after being tagged as a “conspiracy.” In spite of Chinese officials and government agencies challenging the facts and perspectives crafted by BBC, CNN and likes, not much heed was paid and the entire incident was marked as one of the biggest human rights abuses in history. This is not an isolated case. As per a report published by Chinadaily.com titled, Lhasa riot reports show media bias in West, authored by Ye Jun in March, 2008, many western media like CNN and BBC published fabricated reports about Lhasa (Tibet) riots and went to the extent of misinterpreting a photo of a Red Cross ambulance to deceive readers.

Such fabrication of truth and deliberate tweaking of facts has deluded an entire generation and spread venom in Sino-US relations. Besides, it has painted a negative perception of the Chinese government globally. Also, with its largely inhibited media back home, even mighty China finds itself hard pressed to fight this propaganda war. From that perspective, the US has indeed chosen its attack strategy well. But with WikiLeaks bringing out the truth so prominently, it could now be Uncle Sam’s turn to face really grilling questions.


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