Weekly Exclusive Selection | What is the real purpose of the United States under the packaging of "Democracy Summit"?

Thirty years ago, in December, the disintegration of the Soviet Union was a watershed in the development of democracy.

Thirty years later, this month, the United States held a democracy summit, which can be said to be another watershed.

In December 2021, more than a hundred government officials and representatives of various transnational and non-governmental organizations from around the world gathered in online forums organized by the President of the United States. They worried about "human rights violations" and chanted "democratic crisis."

Finally, amid Biden's call for "hope" and "cooperation," this "democracy summit" on a scale that has not been seen in decades comes to an end.

However, when the attendees found it hard to feel excited, global observers outside the venue even showed their disdain and sarcasm in a commentary.

"Time" magazine commented on its "Height of Hypocrisy", "Foreign Affairs" expected it "may backfire", Politico said "Democracy is difficult, and Biden's forum will not help." The Financial Times editorial department said "The United States needs to lead by example on democratic issues"...

For detailed analysis, please read

the series of reports in

The U.S. Democracy Summit may become a historical watershed

"Full Process Democracy" refers to the U.S. CCP launching an ideological counterattack

Democracy summit: warnings and opportunities under the guise

On December 9, 2021, US President Biden Biden delivered a speech at the White House in Washington for the opening ceremony of the Democracy Summit. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) watched.

(AP)

Return to the original intention of legal aid and reflect on system reform

The legal aid system is a judicial relief system commonly adopted by most countries in the world. The "United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System" pointed out that "legal aid is a fair and humanitarian basis based on the rule of law. A basic element of an efficient and effective criminal justice system.” It plays a vital role in the realization of social justice, and the development of the legal aid system also shows the development of the rule of law in Hong Kong.

For the aided person, legal aid is free or low-cost legal services, and a perfect rule of law is far from enough, and a corresponding system is needed to support it. The legal aid system came into being in this process.

However, during the implementation of legal aid, disputes over whether legal services have been abused have gradually emerged.

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The legal aid system in Hong Kong has a history of 50 years.

The picture shows Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the 50th Anniversary Tour Exhibition and Opening Ceremony of the Legal Aid Department.

(Photo by Yu Junliang)

High and low turnout disputes over the "wrong point"

The Legislative Council election will be held next Sunday (December 19). Senior officials of the Hong Kong Government have made high-profile publicity for days. The MTR, franchised buses, trams, etc. provide free rides for the first time. Some public libraries are even temporarily closed for citizens to vote. It is the government "grain ticket" method.

As the first legislative council election after the restructuring, the turnout rate has become a major concern. The reasons may include the traditional democrats not participating in the election, and the election competition is less fierce than in the past. In recent months, many senior establishments have predicted that the turnout rate may be lower. Thirty percent, it seems that the biggest thing to see in this election is the turnout rate, but this is undoubtedly ignoring that the focus of "perfecting the electoral system" is to improve governance efficiency. After the election, how to achieve good governance and good governance is the key.

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The general election for the Legislative Council election will be held on December 19, and the government has overwhelming publicity.

(Reuters)

How long can the vision of cross-strait peace be maintained?

Affected by the epidemic, the Straits Forum hosted by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the Fujian government has been extended from September to December.

Before the start of the Straits Forum, the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan stated its attitude: The Straits Forum is a large-scale united front platform hosted by the Chinese Communist Party. "Over the years, it has used activities to woo and divide Taiwan and promote the results of the united front against Taiwan."

This makes this year's Straits Forum shrouded in a strong political haze.

This is not the first time the Taiwan government has issued a serious warning to the mainland Strait Forum.

In 2020, the Taiwan government also issued a warning, urging the public and non-governmental organizations not to participate lightly, and even stated that the government has completed the amendment of the "National Security Law" and the public should not easily violate the law.

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The participants of the Straits Forum hope that they will not talk about politics as much as possible, so as not to be misunderstood.

(China News Service)

The government should begin to take responsibility for social welfare

The Social Welfare Department wrote to various subvented social service organizations last Wednesday (December 8), stating that it will implement the expenditure reduction plan announced in the Budget in the next financial year.

The bureau pointed out that in the past year, due to the impact of the epidemic and the economic downturn, it was necessary to reduce expenditure to strengthen public financial discipline. The government's recurrent expenditure on social welfare increased from 65.3 billion yuan in 2017-18, a significant increase of 62 % To the 105.7 billion budget for 2021-22, which has become the largest policy area in public expenditure, accounting for about 20% of overall public expenditure.

Except for unavoidable items, including CSSA and Longevity Allowance, non-governmental social welfare organizations under the SWD that accept block grants or traditional funding models will reduce their recurrent expenditure funding by 1% in 2022/23.

The 1% reduction in funding seems to have little effect, but why is the opposition from the front lines of the industry soaring?

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The government should face up to the demands of the social welfare sector and shoulder more responsibilities.

(Photo by Li Zetong)

Please pay attention to the 295th "Hong Kong 01" weekly electronic report published on December 13, 2021.

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