The earthquake will undermine the policy of the Chinese government, the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "The old rules of repression and authoritarian leadership suddenly stop functioning, and the uppermost representatives of the people face new challenges. If they cannot meet them, the nation will turn against its representatives. ... One contradiction is already dissolving: China cannot block international aid for devastated Burma and prevent the UN Security Council from intervening if it itself takes advantage of help from abroad." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » China

"China has opted for transparency in reporting on the earthquake in Sichuan province," writes Manuel Queiroz. "China's state television is reporting extensively on the catastrophe, which has cost thousands of lives. There is no alternative, as there are many foreign students and companies in the affected region. ... China can no longer live in isolation like it did 32 years ago, when an earthquake not far from Beijing killed 240,000 according to official reports, while American experts put the total number of victims at over 600,000." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » China
All available articles from » Manuel Queiroz

Endre Aczél writes about Chinese sensitivities after the earthquake disaster: "The Chinese adhere to the superstition that every natural catastrophe is just a portent, a 'sign from heaven', so to speak, of much worse things to come. ... In fact, geologists had predicted an earthquake would occur in Sichuan province on May 12. However the regional government then promptly set to work dispelling the 'terrible news' associated with the forecast. Why? Because we are in the year of the Olympic Games. The Chinese perceive themselves as victims of an external conspiracy in which foreign powers are attempting to sabotage 'their' Olympic Games by scattering malicious rumours. ... Today one in two Chinese believes that the powers that be - not only on earth but also in heaven - are conspiring against the 'biggest and best Olympic Games of all times'." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Environmental Policy, » China
All available articles from » Endre Aczél

Chinese journalists in Beijing are questioning the Communist Party of China's "official truth", the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reports: "At the State Council's press conference, two journalists from the China Daily and Sichuan Daily newspapers asked awkward questions: firstly, why houses, hospitals and schools but not government building collapsed. Secondly, a rumour is circulating that the province's earthquake authorities predicted the disaster but the alarm was not raised for fear of destroying the euphoria in the run-up to the Olympic Games. ... What is the truth? New information channels must be opened." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » China
All available articles from » fabio cavalera

Czech human rights activist Peter Uhl has been awarded the Sudeten German Homeland Association's Karlspreis. Journalist Alena Wagnerova takes the opportunity to comment on the expellees: "On the one hand I am ashamed about what happened in the border area after the war and critical of the expulsion (of the Sudeten Germans). ... However, the Sudeten Germans insist on seeing all the errors only on the Czech side. They have never reflected on their own behaviour towards those Germans who actively fought against Heinlein [the Nazi dictator of the Sudeten Germans and a close associate of Hitler's] in Sudetenland. ... The Sudeten Germans constitute the one segment of German society that has failed to learn the lessons of the past." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » History, » Germany, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Alena Wagnerová

As of today, a fact-finding team of the Council of Europe will look into the Belgian dispute over the nomination of three mayors. Francophone candidates have been rejected by Flemish communities because they could not speak Flemish. Guy Tegenbos comments that the team members are "sticking their hands into our wasp's nest. ... The question is whether [the Council of Europe's delegates] ... have the sense to understand that the question is not whether a francophone may become mayor of a Flemish community. Rather, the question is whether the government can be forced to nominate a candidate who refuses to respect the law. ... While the Flemish parties have based their arguments - not unsuccessfully - on domestic Belgian law ... the francophone representatives have turned to international organisations, where they depict themselves as an endangered group, defenceless at the hands of the power-hungry Flemish majority. It has been shown numerous times that on an international level, Flanders lacks the persuasiveness to hinder such tactics." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Belgium, » Europe
All available articles from » Guy Tegenbos

The newspaper comments on Hillary Clinton's victory in the West Virginia primaries: "The former First Lady has marked up a landslide victory in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination against her rival Barack Obama, even if it is only symbolic. ... Following her victory, Clinton stressed she had no intention of bowing out of the race. ... Yet this victory will not stop the trend toward Obama's nomination. After leading Clinton in total delegates for several months, Obama has now ... taken the lead among superdelegates as well." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.

The Swedish trade union Metall discussed possibilities for meeting the challenges of globalisation at a recent congress. It plans to push for the implementation of transnational labour agreements in Swedish firms and sees the EU as an instrument for strengthening the position of employees. The Swedish daily Aftonbladet comments: "If these guidelines are put into practice - even at a local level - they could represent an alternative to the outdated protectionism that is often a consequence of the effects of globalisation. One of the most prominent examples of the last few years was the cooperation between employees at GM factories across Europe. Despite the attempts of the management to play the different factories off against each other, the trade unionists, including those in Sweden and Germany, managed to hold together and find a solution. In the long term employees' rights cannot be defended by creating trade barriers or closing the borders to foreign workers. ... On the contrary, cooperation between democratic forces must be used as a counterweight to international capital." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Sweden, » Global

Primož Šterbenc discusses the current situation of the Palestinians: "The mounting violence, the increasing number of victims, the catastrophic economic and social situation in the Gaza Strip, ... the growing discredit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ... all go to show that the policies of the Middle East Quartet with the US at its head have been misguided and harmful right from day one. If things continue this way, violence will escalate and the 'peace process' will collapse. ... Isolating Hamas politically cannot bring victory." Hamas gained the support of a majority of Palestinians in the last elections, and so may not be excluded from the political process, Šterbenc writes, arguing that it is problematic "that serious sanctions have never been implemented against the occupying state which has violated international law for the last 41 years. ... Israel has systematically prevented any economic development in the Palestinian territories for several decades now." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Middle East, » Israel
All available articles from » Primož Šterbenc

Claude Monnier describes Franco-German relations past and present: "After World War II, the hatred born between France and Germany during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71, and which grew with the conflicts of 1914-18 and 1939-45, was the biggest problem facing our Old Continent. ... This is why many were surprised when Germany and France adopted Jean Monnet's proposal to found the European Coal and Steel Community at the beginning of the 1950s. ... One would have thought the polar opposites France and Germany would override one another in such a Union. Instead - and this is the wonderful thing - it turned out to be incredibly dynamic, spurring Europe on to new heights. ... Unfortunately, today this wondrous union is threatened by its very success, by routine and boredom. ... The French president ... is forsaking the privileged relations that France and Germany have cultivated up to now. And if the Franco-German duo breaks up, Europe threatens to become once more the continent where conflicts are more the rule than the exception." (13/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » EU Policy, » Germany, » France, » Europe
All available articles from » Claude Monnier

The Spanish daily La Vanguardia puts forward arguments in favour of the introduction of a one-euro note: "The French parliament's financial commission ... has expressed the view that banknotes would create a more appropriate image of the value of a euro in the minds of Europeans than coins, which tend to be associated with worthless small change. This would make Europeans more conscious of the impact of small purchases and therefore have the effect of limiting inflation to some extent. And because you cannot exchange coins, the notes - like the one-dollar notes - would make it possible to exchange small amounts of money into foreign currencies when abroad. The European financial authorities initially rejected the idea of one-euro notes because of the high costs it would incur (six cents per note). But experiences with the euro and its enormous strength - it currently sells for 1.55 US dollars - are now forcing them to reconsider this decision." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » France, » Europe

After Yahoo's rejection of a takeover bid by Microsoft, the newspaper reflects on whether Google "won the competition to dominate online search and advertising. ... Other monopolies have proved transient; for example, the world of games consoles usually contains one or two dominant players, but new top dogs are installed every few years. ... Google's dominance in search, and therefore in search-based advertising, has been based on offering the best product. That can change, and has done so in the past. ... Still, regulators must watch Google's current practices. Even a short-lived monopoly can exploit its customers if it so chooses. ... More importantly, Google's rivals had better start offering a credible alternative." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » United Kingdom, » Global

A year after the riots over the removal of a Soviet war monument in Estonia, Jevgenia Garanza, a journalist of Russian origin, calls for the Russian minority to increase its integration efforts, above all regarding language: "The problem is not the children but the teachers. We need a new curriculum with more Estonian language lessons and a new generation of teachers able to teach in Estonian at Russian schools. But the state prefers to waste time and money on monitoring the teachers instead. A newspaper should not lower itself to the level of its most stupid readers and then complain that these readers are hindering its activities. By the same token, a state should not be more passive than its most passive (non-)citizens and then complain that the latter are a threat to its security and existence." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Education, » Public Culture, » Cultural Policy, » Integration, » Estonia
All available articles from » Jevgenia Garanza

On the subject of German teachers in Switzerland the newspaper writes: "These days almost nothing works in Switzerland without German staff. ... And Switzerland's elementary schools can hardly get by without help from their northern neighbour. Countless teachers from Germany are already teaching here, and that number is steadily increasing each year. Some of them commute to work every day from the other side of the Rhine, but most of them settle down south of the river. ... The rising number of foreign teachers in Swiss classrooms ... has gone largely unnoticed by the general public so far: these teachers from neighbouring countries seldom cause problems. ... On the contrary, German teachers often get top marks from their superiors. They save Swiss elementary schools a lot of trouble - for example in those areas which have a notorious shortage of teachers. Without these well-trained immigrants, the school authorities ... would have to let their protégées be taught by unqualified locals." (13/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Education, » Germany, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Thomas Knellwolf

Journalist Ludovic Bassand examines what passes for French bread abroad: "The French can rest assured! The bread of their Belgian, Luxembourgian and Dutch neighbours is much more expensive and does not taste as good. In Luxembourg, for example, it's easy to buy petrol, cigarettes or Red Bull but you cannot get a decent baguette! The product that goes by the name 'French' beyond France's borders is made of unsavoury, mass-produced dough and costs 1.45 euros. The sliced white bread, despite costing 2 euros, has an unappealing appearance. ... And in Belgium things are even worse! A baguette ... costs 1.35 euros and resembles the 'Parisian' only in name. ... The pre-baked baguette - a true abomination - costs 80 cents. ... If you travel further north to the Netherlands, ... the 'French flute' sells for an exorbitant 1.70 euros, while Turkish bread costs only 1.50 euros. ... Without being chauvinistic I can give you the following advice: you are better off doing without." (13/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » France, » Luxembourg, » Netherlands, » Belgium, » Northern Europe
All available articles from » Ludovic Bassand

In a newspaper interview a few days ago, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk admitted that he had smoked marihuana when he was younger. Talking to Agnieszka Skopińska, Eryk Mistewicz, a political adviser, says the confession is a PR strategy thought up by Tusk's advisers: "This is a typical 'elevator story,' or in other words the kind of story about a politician that is delivered every morning to wake people up and increase their interest in politics. This is how politics works in most Western democracies today. Ideological confrontations, the past and political classics are not important here. ... The voters do not want politicians who have no weaknesses. They want real people of flesh and blood who have had experiences, which makes them more predictable. So when a politician has battled and won against alcoholism, it inspires respect. People like that kind of story." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Agnieszka Skopińska, » Eryk Mistewicz

The Czech Republic has once again failed in its bid to appear in the latest World's Best Restaurants ranking list. Spain's "El Bulli" restaurant took first place. "An evening meal with wine costs 250 dollars there," Petra Pospěchová writes. "Some of the more exclusive restaurants in Prague charge just as much, but you can get a table there by reserving shortly beforehand. This shows that they cannot compete with 'El Bulli'. The Czech restaurants have a long way to go before they make it to the top. Their greatest weakness is the service. The years of communism had a greater impact in the catering trade than in other sectors. ... The chefs have shaken off the legacy of those times, but outside the kitchen there is a lot to be done yet." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Labour market / Services, » Consumers, » Spain, » Czech Republic, » Global
All available articles from » Petra Pospěchová