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Latest E-Magazine
- January 2008
Special Day for Australia as
nation says sorry to right the wrongs of the past. THE SPIRIT is
not only for the Indigenous Australians but other non-Indigenous
Australians to promote justice and equality among all fellow
citizens.
We would like to share this moment
with the world with the special speech from the new Prime Minister
of Australia, The Honorable Kevin Rudd MP in Parliament.
We are pleased to add the
Press Release of Dr Anthny Pun from Sydney,
Australia
Dr Ka Sing CHUA
President
World Huaren
Federation
PRESS RELEASE
from Dr
Anthony Pun OAM, National President
Chinese Community of Australia
With just 361 words, the Prime Minister Mr Kevin Rudd said sorry
to the Stolen Generations. These opening words, spoken in the
Federal Parliament this morning, signify the beginning of a healing
process in our nation. We congratulate Mr Kevin Rudd for his
leadership in uniting the nation by taking this reconciliatory and
historical step forward. We also congratulate the
Governor-General and the leader of the Opposition Dr Brendan Nelson
for supporting the apology.
Australians can now lift their head up nationally and
internationally and be proud that our nation has the courage and
conviction to acknowledge the ill treatment of the Stolen
Generations, their descendants and families.
We are also heartened that the apology extends to all Indigenous
people and we are particularly moved by the Prime Minister’s
statement, “We apologise for the laws and policies of successive
parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief,
suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians”.
We resonate with the PM’s statement that Australia should
harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and
non-Indigenous to close the gap in life expectancy, educational
achievements and economic opportunity”.
The last paragraph in the PM’s statement is indeed profound and
as such, can be incorporated into the live definition of
Multiculturalism, where the future of our nation is soundly based
on good mutual relationships. What makes us proud as
Australians is the inclusiveness of the statement “A future where
all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners,
with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the
next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.”
Dr Anthony Pun OAM
National President
Chinese Community of Australia
STOP-PRESS
Subject:
"No more discrimination against
Chinese-Indonesians": President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono
In 1998 when Chinese Indonesians
cried out for help, many Chinese outside Indonesia responded
and they established a global website namely www.huaren.org to asist them. They
fought hard to lobby international media, Governments around the
world to stop some irresponsible members of Indonesian
military, police and gangster from slaughtering, murdered and
raped Chinese Indonesians due to bad Indonesian Government
policies.
Last Sunday 17 February 2008, we
are very pleased that Indonesian President Yudhoyono has the
courage to declare "no more discrimination against Chinese
Indonesians". We salute him and his predecessors for doing
so.
We hope other countries' leaders
such as Malaysian Government which has a discriminatory policy
against Chinese and other ethnic minorities, can learn from him
and do the same and declare that all her citizens regarding
their religions and ethnic backgrounds will be treated equally
without discrimination.
This is the day when Huaren.org
can hold its head high for promoting human rights and
justice for Chinese Indonesians since its inception in
1998.
We need local Chinese Indonesians
to continue to work closely with their governments to ensure what
the President stated today will be carried out throughout Indonesia
and we wish him and his Government and our Chinese brothers and
sisters all the best for Chinese New Year and a bright
future.
Dr Ka Sing Chua
No more discrimination
against Chinese-Indonesians: President
Desy
Nurhayati,
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated on Sunday his call for all government
offices and state officials to provide Chinese-Indonesians the same
level of service afforded all citizens.
In a speech marking the
national commemoration of the Chinese New Year here, Yudhoyono said
Chinese-Indonesians, as citizens, were entitled to the same
government service as all Indonesians.
"In this nation, with
its variety of cultures, ethnic groups and religions, we are all
one," the President said. "Therefore, I remind the entire state
administration not to discriminate against Chinese-Indonesians in
public services. Treat them just like any other citizens."
The celebration,
organized by the 52-year-old Supreme Council for Confucianism in
Indonesia, was also attended by Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad
Maftuh Basyuni, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and
Security Affairs Widodo AS, Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo,
House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono, Constitutional
Court Chairman Jimly Asshiddiqie and Jakarta Governor Fauzi
Bowo.
Organizing committee
chairman Peter Lesmana said the Confucian community thanked the
government for allowing the public celebration of the Chinese New
Year, which had been banned for decades under Soeharto's New Order
regime.
This is the ninth year
since the collapse of Soeharto's regime that Chinese New Year has
been celebrated as a national event.
Chinese-Indonesians
faced discrimination during the New Order, with the government
requiring ethnic Chinese to obtain an official letter declaring
their Indonesian citizenship.
Yudhoyono also thanked
the Confucian community for their assistance for the poor and
victims of natural and man-made disasters.
"Let's use this moment
to improve the nation's unity. Don't create space between us. We
should work together to build this nation toward prosperity and
improvement," he said.
"Our country is in a
transformation process, in which people are the main element. So,
we should not let any policy or action of discrimination occur, as
it violates human rights and will lead to disintegration."
Yudhoyono said the
country was able to eliminate discrimination against ethnic Chinese
following the issuance of the 2006 law on nationality, which
stipulates all ethnic groups deserve equal treatment.
"We did have an
unpleasant history, when there were conflicts among ethnic groups
and discrimination against certain groups. But it's over now," the
President said.
Previous Huaren E-Magazine
E-Magazine - Sep
2007
E-Magazine - May
2007
E-Magazine
January 2007
E-Magazine May
2005
E-Magazine
January 2005
E-Mag6
E-Mag5
E-Mag3
E-Mag2
E-Mag1
January
2007
Latest Publication –
The Emissions Game
Civic Exchange is pleased to announce the
release of a new report: 'The
Emissions Game - How Markets Can Help Save the Planet'
commissioned by CLSA Asia Pacific Markets.
Written by Christine Loh (CEO of Civic
Exchange) and Roger Raufer (Director, Engineering Services of
International Emissions Trading Group), the report explains how
both traditional and emerging emissions trading systems work. It
looks at the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms and other carbon
markets, and discusses the prospects for post-Kyoto climate
cooperation. Based on this international experience, the authors
consider how emissions trading systems could be employed in China
and Hong Kong to address the interlocking goals of air pollution
control, energy efficiency, and reduction in carbon intensity.
The report can be downloaded from the Civic
Exchange website: http://www.civic-exchange.org/publications/2007/ET.pdf
Roger Raufer was in Hong Kong this week to
speak about emissions trading at the 3rd Forum of
Civic Exchange’s Energy series held on 25 January 2007. His
presentation is on the website and a transcript of the forum,
including the lively Q&A session, will also be posted there
shortly.
A copy of the presentation “Market-based
Pollution Control: Hong Kong & the International Marketplace”
can also be found on the website:
http://www.civic-exchange.org/publications/2007/raufer.pdf
For more information on the report, please
contact:
Christine Loh cloh@civic-exchange.org
Roger Raufer roger.raufer@ietg.com
Civic Exchange's latest
publications
Democracy: Asian Perspectives, Voices and
Traditions
Civic
Exchange embarked on a research project called “Democracy: Asian
Perspectives, Voices and Traditions” earlier this year to study the
cultural impacts on democratic development in the following Asian
jurisdictions: Hong Kong, India, Japan,
Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Six
papers investigating the issue were published
today:
Cultural Impulses in Hong Kong Politics: Prospects for
Democratic Governance
By Selina Chen and Christine Loh, Civic Exchange, Hong
Kong
Indian Democrayc: A Difficult Sui Generis
Path
By Subhash Agrawal, India Focus, India
How Japan Chose to Change - Political Development of Japan in
the Tide of Globalization
By Mariko Tanigaki, University of Tokyo, Japan
Culture and Governance in Malaysia's Survival as a
Nation
By Shamsul A. B., National University of Malaysia,
Malaysia
The Cultural Impulse in Singapore's Political
System
By Yeo Lay-hwee, Singapore Institute of International Affairs,
Singapore
Political Culture and the Crisis of Democratic Governance in
Taiwan
By Yun-han Chu, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
The
project “Democracy: Asian Perspectives, Voices and Traditions”
aimed to explore how ideas from the East and West had affected
democratic practices in respective societies. Other than
Mainland China, it is Civic Exchange’s first attempt to look at
political development of other parts of Asia, with specific focus
on cultural impulses in politics.
Summaries of the papers are
available in Chinese. For a soft copy of the report, please
visit www.civic-exchange.org (under
Publications).
Civic Exchange's latest paper
Death of Bicameralism?
A
New Chance for Political Reform in Hong Kong: One Legislature, Two
Chambers?
Civic Exchange published a paper called “
A New
Chance for Political Reform in Hong Kong: One Legislature, Two
Chambers?” today. This paper reviews
the attitudes of both the Central People's Government and the HKSAR
Government towards political reform and the potential contribution
of bicameralism. It also discusses Hong Kong's reservations
about the concept.
Bicameralism has been proposed as a possible solution to electing
the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. However, we
believe this concept has not been fully explored because the Hong
Kong administration has not been totally open with the public about
why it is seen by Hong Kong officials and the Central Authorities
as a way forward.
The Committee on Governance and Political Development has been
discussing bicameralism. We hope this paper will bring a degree
of clarity to the subject.
This bilingual paper is
available for download at www.civic-exchange.org.
Civic Exchange's latest
publication
Internal Democratization of the Communist
Party of China and its Future
Civic
Exchange yesterday released
areportentitled,
“Internal
Democratization of the CPC and its Future – >From Theory to
Practice” written by Professor LIN
Feng, Associate Professor, School of Law, City University of Hong
Kong. This report looks at the internal democratization of
the Communist Part of China (CPC). This is Civic Exchange’s
second project to look at national policy issues that are of
interest to both national and international communities.
The report explores the
reasons why the CPC wants to develop internal democracy via the
following three aspects: a) the historical development of internal
democracy within the CPC; b) reasons for the lack of internal
democracy; and c) justifications for recent promotion of internal
democracy within the CPC. The report also examines how the
CPC has developed internal democracy so far through looking at
competitive elections, internal decision-making mechanisms,
internal supervision mechanisms and mechanisms for protection of
CPC members’ rights.
The report finally looks at
the future of internal democratization within the CPC. The
internal democracy within the CPC is not developing smoothly
without any obstacles. Concerns have been raised as to
whether internal democracy within the CPC will cause endless debate
within the CPC and thus affect the unity of the party, and whether
internal democracy would pose negative impacts on the authority of
party organizations and individual leaders. The report
contends that one should remain cautious about the fundamental
objective for developing internal democracy within the CPC, which
is to strengthen the supremacy of the CPC.
A full copy of the report
is available for download at www.civic-exchange.org
(under Publications
(Civic Participation and Social Development) - 2006).
Civic
Exchange is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Hong
Kong that helps to improve policy and decision-making through
research and analysis. For more information about Civic
Exchange, please visit www.civic-exchange.org.
To un-subscribe, please email
newsletter@civic-exchange.org.
I would like to recommend to
our readers a series of articles supplied by Civic-Exchange Hong
Kong and thank them for their contribution and allow us to share
with you.
Dr Ka Sing Chua
President
World Huaren
Federation
30 NOVEMBER 2006 | 