Posted on

Hong Kong the world’s freest economy

Fraser Institute once again ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy in the Economic Freedom of the World 2019 Report. Hong Kong has been retaining the top rank since the inception of the report. Among the five areas of assessment, Hong Kong was ranked top in “Freedom to Trade Internationally” and “Regulation”.

The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to enter markets and compete, and security of the person and privately owned property. Forty-two data points are used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five broad areas.

  • Area 1: Size of Government
    As government spending, taxation, and the size of government-controlled enterprises increase, government decision-making is substituted for individual choice and economic freedom is reduced.
  • Area 2: Legal System and Property Rights
    Protection of persons and their rightfully acquired property is a central element of both economic freedom and civil society. Indeed, it is the most important function of government.
  • Area 3: Sound Money
    Inflation erodes the value of rightfully earned wages and savings. Sound money is thus essential to protect property rights. When inflation is not only high but also volatile, it becomes difficult for individuals to plan for the future and thus use economic freedom effectively.
  • Area 4: Freedom to Trade Internationally
    Freedom to exchange—in its broadest sense, buying, selling, making contracts, and so on—is essential to economic freedom, which is reduced when freedom to exchange does not include businesses and individuals in other nations.
  • Area 5: Regulation
    Governments not only use a number of tools to limit the right to exchange internationally, they may also develop onerous regulations that limit the right to exchange, gain credit, hire or work for whom you wish, or freely operate your business.
Posted on

Overview of Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework

IV. Counter Economic Aggression and Malign Political Influence

External actors have increased political and economic influence in the Western Hemisphere through state-driven trade, investment, diplomatic, technology, media, security, and health outreach. Examples include the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) aggressive efforts to expand market share, notably in 5G infrastructure, for Huawei and other state-affiliated technology firms; export surveillance and censorship tools; and increase the region’s dependence on debt financing and commodities exports at the expense of sovereignty, fiscal prudence, economic diversification, and local markets. Such activities empower corruption, weaken intellectual property protections, exploit cyber vulnerabilities, unfairly disadvantage United States and host nation businesses, harm the environment, and pressure nations to adopt policies inconsistent with democratic values and the long-term interests of their own people. We will actively encourage our partners to incorporate due diligence and transparency requirements in foreign financing and investment.

Posted on

China will fight if:

China must be a country that dares to fight, but the fight must be morally justifiable, which is, China is not a country that bullies the small, but it has no option but to go to war.

第一，对方是现状打破者，事实要确凿无疑。

　　第二，对方是复杂局势中的挑衅者，我方是被挑衅者，事实也要非常清楚。

　　第三，我方在开战前为挽救局势做了艰苦的外交和政治努力，要让国际社会有目共睹。

　　第四，战争的第一枪是对方开的，而不是我方开的，国际社会对此是清楚的。

　　第五，极端形势下，如果我方要开第一枪，需要事先发最后通牒，堂堂正正地开启正义战争。

Posted on

Covid-19 vaccines developed by Sinopharm

The two new inactivated coronavirus vaccines developed by Sinopharm, a state-owned pharmaceutical firm, have been used on an emergency basis, and hundreds of thousands of people have been vaccinated, with no apparent adverse reactions and no one infected; among them, tens of thousands of people who went overseas to high-risk countries and regions after receiving the vaccine have so far achieved zero infection.

Posted on

Poll finds majority support for Scottish independence

The poll by Survation shows 53% in favour of breaking with the union, with 47% against.

It is the latest in a series of surveys since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic showing a majority of Scots in favour of independence – including one by Panelbase which held support at 55% last month.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “This is yet another significant poll for the SNP and the independence movement – showing people want decisions about Scotland to be made by the people who live here, and not Boris Johnson.

Posted on

Brian Murphy demoted to the Homeland Security Department’s management division

Chad Fredrick Wolf
Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy, the former head of the Homeland Security Department’s intelligence branch, said in the complaint that he was ordered this spring by Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of the department, to stop producing assessments on Russian interference and focus instead on Iran and China. That request, Mr. Murphy said, was routed through Mr. Wolf from Robert C. O’Brien, the White House national security adviser.

Robert C. O’Brien

Wolf later told him not to disseminate a report on a Russian disinformation campaign to denigrate Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s mental health because it “made the president look bad,” said Murphy, who warned that the actions in their totality threatened national security.

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II

In other instances, the department’s second-highest ranked official, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, ordered Murphy to modify intelligence assessments to make the threat of white supremacy “appear less severe” and include information on violent “left-wing” groups and antifa, according to the complaint, which was filed on Tuesday but released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee.

Murphy was demoted from his post in August to the Homeland Security Department’s management division after his office compiled intelligence reports on protesters and journalists in Portland, Ore. But he asserted in the complaint that his real offense was raising concerns to superiors about the directions he was given and for cooperating with the department’s inspector general. He asked the inspector general to investigate and reinstate him as the intelligence chief..

9-12-20 The House Homeland Security Committee has issued a subpoena to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf for a hearing next week as he faces whistleblower allegations that he urged department officials to alter intelligence.”From the coronavirus pandemic to the rise of right-wing extremism to ongoing election interference, there are urgent threats requiring our attention,” Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said in a statement Friday. “Mr. Wolf’s refusal to testify — thereby evading congressional oversight at this critical time — is especially troubling given the serious matters facing the Department and the Nation.”