Despite becoming the world's second-largest economy China does not want to be seen as a wealthy country, writes the daily Le Temps: "Is this the victory of a formula: that of the Communist Party and its 'Bejing consensus'? Will the blend of the market and Leninism set a precedent? Internally there is no doubt that the powers that be will make the best of this victory over the historic enemy Nippon to legitimate the modus operandi. Externally however, Beijing is being exceedingly modest. Why? First and foremost out of calculation. China wants neither to be seen as a rich country nor to shoulder the responsibility it entails (notably regarding climate matters). For that reason Beijing continues to present itself as a developing country." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » China
All available articles from » Frédéric Koller

The threat of economic collapse looms over China despite its strong growth, the daily Večer writes, citing the case of Japan: "When Japan bumped Germany from second to third spot on the list of global economies in 1968 the reactions were fierce: at first scorn ... and later fear mixed with hatred as Japanese companies began to buy up US firms. Then the real estate bubble burst in Japan and today the 'Japanese scenario' is everyone's nightmare. Negative economic growth, an ageing society and a mountain of debt. And China? It too is menaced by the demographic time bomb. After all every family is allowed only one child, and in a couple of decades there will be no more cheap labour. Already this year many were surprised when major strikes in several Chinese companies went unchecked by the country's authorities. China also has its share of stock market and real estate bubbles, and these too will not fail to burst." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » China, » Japan
All available articles from » Jure Stojan

Demographic developments in Europe make China's growth of major long-term significance, writes the conservative daily Die Welt: "Germany, France and Japan may be rich economies, nevertheless they're losing in vitality because their populations are ageing and shrinking. ... On average elderly people save less, in fact they tend to divest themselves of their savings. But they also consume less than younger generations. ... The more Europe's ageing patterns shift in favour of the elderly, the more we will depend not only on demand from the emerging countries, but also on technological progress in China or India. Because a growing number of well-educated young people in the emerging countries means a corresponding increase in the potential for brilliant ideas and inventions. Technological progress in China is already gaining speed - and in a closely networked world the industrial nations stand to benefit from this development." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Trade, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » China
All available articles from » Tobias Kaiser

According to media reports, the Spanish government is working on a freedom of information law which would give citizens easier access to information held by public institutions. The left-liberal daily El País is full of hope: "With more transparency we would have less corruption; if the authorities were forced to give citizens access to documents about how public money is used, contracts on building projects, the minutes of meetings or the content of expensive experts' opinions. Then there would be fewer false debates. ... It is to be hoped that the new law will put an end to the blanket of fog surrounding the authorities and politicians which is apparent in the fact that every time a compromising piece of information becomes public their reaction is to find out who leaked it rather than to find out whether it's true or not and who was responsible for the misdeed being denounced." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » Press freedom, » Spain

Taliban fighters have publicly stoned an unmarried couple to death in the province of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. The news is an indirect argument in favour of the proposal of supreme Taliban commander Mullah Omar to work together with Nato in the form of a technical committee, the left-liberal daily La Repubblica finds: "This form of technical committee could open up a useful channel of communication for the West in its attempt to impose rules on a war without rules and to better understand the identity of the enemy. ... The Taliban's supreme council seems for its part no longer able to provide its guerrillas with consistent and politically wise fighting strategies which have the approval of the people. If this is true, the probability of a Taliban victory is much lower than ... predicted by the fickle journalists who in recent weeks have claimed that Nato's defeat was inevitable." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Europe, » North America, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Guido Rampoldi

The flood catastrophe in Pakistan has put roughly one fifth of the country under water and left 20 million homeless. With a well thought-out infrastructure and an efficient warning system such floodings can be avoided, writes the liberal daily The Independent: "Especially once heavy rain is imminent, much better short-term warnings could help to inform local communities about the likely duration of precipitation and flooding; such warnings are now much more reliable because the interaction between flood waters, soil and vegetation is better understood. ... In the context of more variable monsoons and more catastrophic flooding, the introduction of better warning systems and enhanced infrastructure is essential. If the international community fails in this mission, societies and governments will be unable to respond to the devastating combination of changing environmental stresses, a growing population and geopolitical instability." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Pakistan
All available articles from » Julian Hunt

Politicians from the conservative party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy have criticised the government's approach to tackling the Roma problem after Sarkozy announced plans to deport criminal Roma. The liberal daily paper Sme is also critical: "It's difficult to believe that the 20,000 Roma from Romania and Bulgaria living among the 60 million French have such an impact on the rise of the crime rate that this action against them could be justified. More likely they are being used as a means for diverting people's attention from their dissatisfaction with the economic crisis and the government's austerity measures. Or from the multifarious scandals plaguing the elected leadership around Sarkozy. The real problems that coexisting with the Roma entails are low down among the reasons for conflict. This is not to say that they don't exist, or that the governments of Western Europe shouldn't take them seriously. ... The turmoil the Roma cause is nothing compared to the violence the French recently experienced at the hands of migrants from Muslim countries." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » France, » South East Europe
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

According to the United States' National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration the first five months of this year were the warmest on record going back to 1880. US economist Jeffrey D. Sachs comments in the business paper Jornal de Negócios: "The US bears disproportionate responsibility for inaction on climate change, because it was long the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, until last year, when China overtook it. Even today, per capita US emissions are more than four times higher than China's. ... When Barack Obama was elected US president, there was hope for progress. ... Strangely, despite being a candidate of change, Obama has not taken the approach of presenting real plans of action for change. ... Whether this is an intended outcome ... is difficult to determine. What is clear is that we are courting disaster as a result. Nature doesn't care about our political machinations. And nature is telling us that our current economic model is dangerous and self-defeating. Unless we find some real global leadership in the next few years, we will learn that lesson in the hardest ways possible." (16/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Economic Policy, » U.S., » Global, » China
All available articles from » Jeffrey D. Sachs

According to estimates the Romanian state will lose 835 million euros in tax revenues this year alone as a result of the black market. To blame are the government's economic policies, writes the daily Jurnalul National: "Just one example: cigarettes are now unaffordable for millions of smokers. Not to put too fine a point on it, the tax on tobacco was mysteriously raised not out of concern over public health, but to swill more money into the budget from nicotine dependency. But as was to be expected sales of the taxed cigarettes collapsed. Instead the black market became a mass phenomenon. If the demand is so great even an army of police officers, customs officials and inspectors won't be able to curtail it. And how should they, when civil servants are paid less and less and increasingly subject to layoffs? When the salaries of state employees fall under the subsistence level, corruption is practically institutionalised." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Consumers, » Economic Policy, » Tax Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Miruna Munteanu

Despite the lack of qualified teachers, the new Czech government wants to introduce mandatory English classes in schools to the detriment of German. Not a good idea, writes the conservative daily Lidové noviny: "The majortiy of investors in our country come from Germany. Those who can communicate with them in German are at an advantage. Labourers looking for work abroad go to Germany. ... For practically-minded people content to live and work in the region German is the first choice. For that reason schools should offer German classes from grade three and English starting in grade six. Children who want to go further afield to English-speaking countries could make up for the delay by receiving qualified teaching. For example it would be helpful if the television finally started showing films in the original version." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Languages, » Germany, » United Kingdom, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Martin Weiss

In view of US President Barack Obama's restrained comments on the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York the daily Die Presse urges a level-headed approach to the issue: "As president it is Obama's task to defend the constitution which guarantees religious freedom in its First Amendment. The US was founded and formed by people who were oppressed and persecuted in their home countries because of their beliefs. Not for nothing is there a strict separation between church and state (although not necessarily between religion and state) in the US, as in every European country. If Obama oversteps this boundary and bans a mosque in Manhattan, where there are temples and churches, this would send a disastrous signal: it would mean the US equates Islam with terrorism. ... What an extraordinary sign of openness and tolerance it would be if official America were to support the construction of a mosque on the very site where the abominations of this religion led to the most devastating terrorist attacks in the history of the country." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » U.S.
All available articles from » Norbert Rief

Almost 90 years after the Greco-Turkish War ended and an agreement on an exchange of inhabitants was signed, Greek Orthodox Christians on Sunday celebrated for the first time a mass in the Sumela Monastery on Turkish territory. The left-liberal daily Ta Nea sees the celebration of the mass as a new beacon of hope for Greek-Turkish relations: "If a climate of trust prevails, old and seemingly insurmountable hurdles in the relations between the two peoples living on opposite sides of the Aegean Sea will disappear and be transformed into bridges of communication. ... Almost nine decades after the agreement on the exchange of inhabitants the mutual desire for peace and respect for religious rights among the Greek pilgrims and Turkish inhabitants was ... obvious. If these mutual feelings can be transferred to a political level and relations develop stably, it would indeed be appropriate to describe last Sunday as historical." (16/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Religion, » Minorities, » Greece

The daily Latvijas avīze complains that the Latvians are full of apathy in the run-up to this October's parliamentary elections, and points to the country's more active and successful neighbour Estonia: "Of course there has been fraud and self-enrichment in Estonia in the past 20 years. And the Estonians have left their country to seek work abroad. Yet all in all Estonian society is developing in a desirable direction. It would be unthinkable for the Estonians to despise their state or be indifferent to the future of their country. It would be unthinkable for them to calmly sell off their state assets or repeatedly trust politicians who have shown that they care far more about their own private interests or party interests than the well-being of society. It would be unthinkable for the Estonians to stay away from the polling stations. Apathy is the worst choice a nation can make." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Latvia, » Estonia
All available articles from » Anna Žīgure

The US news magazine Newsweek has investigated living conditions in 100 countries and crowned Finland the "best country in the world". Antti Munnukka expresses his delight in a blog for the daily Etelä Saimaa and admonishes the pessimistic attitude of many Finns: "Happily our mother country Sweden retains third place on Newsweek's list, while filthy-rich Norway came in at number six and the Americans fell from the top ten. Somehow our neighbour Russia ... wound up at spot 51, even behind Ukraine. ... Nevertheless my guess is that in no time a group of oh-so-wise Finns will declare Newsweek's survey a thoroughly misguided, absolutely ridiculous pseudo-scientific travesty. Not stopping there, they'll say the magazine had a severe blackout as far as Finland goes. Until then let's heat our saunas, sit back and be content." (17/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Finland