1 Hong Kong democracy push turns violent (San
Francisco Chronicle) Pro-democracy protests expanded in Hong Kong on Monday, a
day after demonstrators upset over Beijing's decision to limit political
reforms defied onslaughts of tear gas and appeals from Hong Kong's top leader
to go home.
And with rumors swirling, Hong Kong's Chief
Executive Leung Chun-ying reassured the public that speculation that the
Chinese army might intervene was untrue. The mass protest, which has gathered
support from high school students to seniors, is the strongest challenge yet to
Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms for the semi-autonomous city.
The scenes of billowing tear gas and riot police
outfitted with long-barreled weapons, rare for this affluent Asian financial
hub, are highlighting the authorities' inability to assuage public discontent
over Beijing's rejection last month of open nominations for candidates under
proposed guidelines for the first-ever elections for Hong Kong's leader,
promised for 2017.
The protests began with sit-ins over a week earlier
by students urging Beijing to grant genuine democratic reforms to this former
British colony. When China took control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997,
it agreed to a policy of "one country, two systems" that allowed the
city a high degree of control over its own affairs and kept in place liberties
unseen on the mainland. It also promised the city's leader would eventually be
chosen through "universal suffrage."
2 US growth revised up again (BBC) The US economy
grew at an annual rate of 4.6% between April and June, faster than the previous
estimate of 4.2%, according to revised figures from the US Department of
Commerce. The revision was due to larger rises in exports and business
investment. Growth estimates are revised as more information about economic
performance becomes available.
The strong growth - the fastest since the end of
2011 - follows a 2.1% contraction in the first quarter. This fall in economic
output was blamed on harsh winter weather, which discouraged shoppers and hampered
manufacturing.
Analysts said the new figures suggested the US
economy was in rude health. "The data signals an even stronger rebound
from the decline seen in the first quarter, when extreme weather battered many
parts of the economy," said Chris Williamson at Markit Economics.
"However, the impressive gain in the second
quarter looks to be far more than just a weather-related upturn, with evidence
pointing to an underlying buoyant pace of economic expansion. Survey data in
particular indicate that strong growth has persisted throughout the third
quarter."
3 Leaders and one-liners (Neeta Lal in Khaleej
Times) India’s prime minister Narendra Modi’s penchant for snappy slogans is
getting increasingly evident ever since he stormed to power on May 26. “Shasak
nahi sevak” (servants, not rulers) is how he described his job profile to
people after taking over the reins of the world’s largest democracy.
The sexagenarian’s wit came to the fore yet again
recently when Chinese premier Xi Jinping came visiting. Underscoring
India-Chinese camaraderie, Modi quipped that India will “inch towards miles” of
cooperation with China. In Japan, the prime minister offered the “red carpet,
not red tape” to businessmen from the land of the rising sun keen to invest in
India.
In the snappy one-liners department, Modi isn’t
alone. Many global leaders have used witticisms to get ahead in their careers,
claw out of sticky situations or simply win the hearts of their countrymen.
Just four little words helped Bill Clinton sail to victory over incumbent
President George H.W. Bush in 1992: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Clinton’s
campaign slogan encapsulated a nationwide concern about an ailing economy while
blaming his political rival for the domestic mess.
“Campaign one-liners are sound bites…which are
mental shortcuts for the audience,” says Kimberly Meltzer, a communications
expert. “And the reason they work is because they usually activate ideas or
phrases that we already possess in our mental frameworks…That’s why they’re so
easy to remember and likely to generate buzz.”
Ronald Reagan was quite the favourite when it came
to witticisms. Reaganisms like “It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but
why take a chance?” or “Politics isn’t a bad profession. If you succeed, there
are many rewards. If you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book!” have
been top of the charts for years.
However, if ministers can create mirth, they can
also often be at the receiving end of public scorn. One apocryphal story goes
that a famous statesman once commissioned a special postage stamp which was to
carry his picture. However, within days of the stamp’s release, complaints
began trickling in that the stamp was not sticking properly. The leader asked
the stamp makers to investigate the matter. The latter reported back to the
politician: ‘There’s nothing wrong with the quality of the stamp. The problem
is people are spitting on the wrong side!’
No comments:
Post a Comment