The Russian invasion changed everything. All of a sudden, it was clear the best-case scenario was no longer possible—and after years of keeping the NATO option in its back pocket, Finland was ready to whip it out. Practically overnight, public opinion swung massively in favor of joining NATO, and top Finnish politicians from nearly all the country’s political parties got on board: A poll conducted by Finnish broadcaster Yle last May found that three-quarters of Finns wanted their country to join NATO, up from less than one-third in previous years.“Finland would not have joined NATO if it were not for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Putin’s attack,” said Alexander Stubb, the former Finnish prime minister and finance minister. “This turned the opinion polls around not overnight, but over three nights, and the reason for that was obviously to a certain extent fear, but also realism: That if Putin can slaughter innocent Ukrainians like that, there’s nothing that will stop him from doing the same in Finland.”
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394 comment(s).Last comment by foongsh 2023-04-12 22:19
EU should de-risk, not decouple, from 'hardening' China: Von der Leyen - How Beijing deals with Putin's war will 'determining factor' in relations
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- A hardening of China's position from an era of reform and opening to one of security and control requires Europe to "de-risk" diplomatically and economically, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
Ahead of next week's visit to China with French President Emmanuel Macron, von der Leyen delivered a sober assessment of Chinese policies, acknowledging that relations with Beijing have become "more distant and more difficult" in the last few years.
Given China's economic size and global influence, the European Union's management of this relationship would be a determining factor for EU economic prosperity and security, she said.
Von der Leyen said China, whose President Xi Jinping pledged closer ties with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week, bore responsibility for advancing a "just peace" to end the war in Ukraine that required the withdrawal of invading Russian forces.
"How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward," von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels.
China, she said, was becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad, replacing an era of reform and opening with one of security and control, where companies in China were required to assist state intelligence-gathering operations.
Von der Leyen said it was not viable to decouple from China, but it was vital to focus on reducing the risks posed to Europe.
On the diplomatic front, this meant working with partners on global issues and reinforcing the existing international order and institutions rather than rival Chinese ones.
At the same time, Europe need to continue dialogue with China to raise difficult issue, but also to see how to cooperate in fields such as climate change and nature protection.
"This is part of the reason why I will be visiting Beijing together with President Macron," she said.
Economically, the European Union needed to "rebalance" the relationship and reduce its reliance on China for key inputs, such as lithium and other critical minerals.
The EU, von der Leyen said, already had a range of measures to counter economic distortions and protect its security interests, but the bloc should also look at the high-tech it shared with a changing China.
The European Commission, she said, would present ideas later this year on measures to control outbound investments in certain sensitive technologies to ensure they do not enhance the military or intelligence capabilities of a systemic rival.
Since 2019, the European Union has officially regarded China as a partner, economic competitor and systemic rival.
Compare to UN, EU, NATO, AUKUS, INDO-Pacific, Chips 4, CPTTP.... BRICS is peanuts. CCP having war with India. South Africa & Brazil very high inflation and jobless rate very high. Russia is half dead, 50 % budget deficit.
Saddam Hussein Gaddafi Assad....geo political enemies of America....they are call dictators because America could not control them.....but clearly Iraq Libya Syria is better with them than without them
"The bank said it would wait 82 years". A woman in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, put 10 million yuan (about 6.42 million ringgit) into the bank fixed deposit, thinking that she could save some interest, but did not expect to withdraw it a year later, but was told that the money was frozen because of the pledge, and if she wanted to receive the money, she had to wait until 82 years later, leaving her dumbfounded on the spot.
Comprehensive Chinese media reports, a woman surnamed Gao in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China, earned more than 10 million yuan by doing business, she thought that this money was also put, she wanted to say that she wanted to save a fixed deposit to earn interest, compared the interest rates of many banks, and finally chose the Dalian branch of the Bank of Jilin, because their interest rate of 4.25% is the best, and you can save money for a year to earn 100,000 yuan. After a year, the woman surnamed Gao thought that the fixed deposit was almost due, and wanted to take the money out, but found that the money was frozen as early as the 3rd day of depositing in the bank, and found the banker who handled the business for her to ask, only to learn that the deposit was frozen because of "pledge", and according to the content of the agreement, the money could not be withdrawn until 82 years later, which made her unacceptable.
UN, EU, NATO, AUKUS, INDO-Pacific, Chips 4, CPTTP uphold human rights is a cross-cutting theme in all their policies and programmes in the key areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance, and economic and social affairs. As a result, virtually every specialized agency is involved to some degree in the protection of human rights. Some examples are the right to development, which is at the core of the Sustainable Development Goals; the right to food, championed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, labour rights, defined and protected by the International Labour Organization, gender equality, which is promulgated by UN Women, the rights of children, indigenous peoples, and disabled persons.
America hegemony has lost its appeal in the global south. The key word is inclusiveness. Must include local conditions customs wishes desires dreams win win and path to modernity
China got problems. A country with 1.4 billion sure got problems if u go looking for it. But what's the point? America better meh? America got less problems meh? America can solve problems meh?
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The Russian invasion changed everything. All of a sudden, it was clear the best-case scenario was no longer possible—and after years of keeping the NATO option in its back pocket, Finland was ready to whip it out. Practically overnight, public opinion swung massively in favor of joining NATO, and top Finnish politicians from nearly all the country’s political parties got on board: A poll conducted by Finnish broadcaster Yle last May found that three-quarters of Finns wanted their country to join NATO, up from less than one-third in previous years.“Finland would not have joined NATO if it were not for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Putin’s attack,” said Alexander Stubb, the former Finnish prime minister and finance minister. “This turned the opinion polls around not overnight, but over three nights, and the reason for that was obviously to a certain extent fear, but also realism: That if Putin can slaughter innocent Ukrainians like that, there’s nothing that will stop him from doing the same in Finland.”