China's leaders have no plans to allow democracy in the near future because they must focus on economic development before political reform, Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) said yesterday.
In a wide ranging speech published in the Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily, he also said China needs peace to continue its economic development and the nation's rise was of no threat to the rest of the world.
Democracy will emerge once a "mature socialist system" develops but that might not happen for up to 100 years, Wen wrote.
For now, China must focus on ``sustained rapid growth of productive forces ... to finally secure fairness and social justice that lies within the essence of socialism,'' he wrote.
The premier said the country is "still far from advancing out of the primary stage of socialism. We must adhere to the party's basic guidelines of the primary stage of socialism for 100 years."
Wen said China would develop its own democratic policies and that a socialist system did not contradict those policies.
"A highly developed democracy and a complete legal system are inherent requirements of the socialist system and important symbols of a mature socialist system," Wen wrote.
He said economic reforms and changes to the legal system so far are still "not perfect enough."
He said that while economic development was the central task, that had to be done while building a harmonious society -- the catchphrase used to describe efforts to help the hundreds of millions who have not benefited from China's rapid economic growth.
Wen reiterated that China would never engage in a military arms race, seek to dominate global politics or impose its will on other nations.
"In foreign policy we will uphold the standard of peace, development and cooperation," he wrote.
"Although our national strength is increasing and our global status is higher and the international community is expecting more and more from us ... there is no reason to change our guiding principles," he wrote.
"We will maintain a defensive [military] policy and will not engage in a military arms race or an expansion of the military ... we will oppose hegemonism and power politics," he wrote.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique