Venezuela Turns Down Foreign Aid

Powerful nations like the United States extend a helping hand to struggling third-world nations more often than not. Many of these countries don’t have access to the most basic of services, leaving their citizens impoverished and suffering in times of crisis. At times, it is the government’s fault why the country can’t meet the needs of the people. Poor economic management has led to soaring inflation and an epidemic shortage of food and medicines badly needed by the people.

It’s what happened to the socialist country that is Venezuela even though theirs is a country naturally rich in gold and oil. People die even from the most minor of injuries and medical conditions. Unfortunately, instead of accepting help, the Venezuelan government refuses foreign aid much to the horror of its suffering constituents. And the situation will probably worsen than it already is because the possibility of electing a new leader this coming election won’t likely happen with the stronghold of the current administration that is still currently actively seeking out and persecuting those who protests under the current Maduro administration.

For the last two years Norma Camero Reno has been shipping a steady supply of desperately needed medicines from the United States to Venezuela. Reno and other members of her nonprofit, Move Foundation, pack painkillers, cold medicines and other supplies to be distributed to hospitals, health clinics and churches throughout the beleaguered nation.

Two weeks ago, however, that all changed.

Reno, a Venezuelan-born, Tampa-based lawyer and founder of the foundation, said that for years her organization faced very little pushback from the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro when sending packages of food and medicine to the country. But when she arrived in the small, Venezuelan coastal city of Barcelona two weeks ago, Reno discovered that none of the recent medicine shipments had made it to her contacts in the country.

While the group has in the past had to deal with Venezuelan officials confiscating food shipments, this was the first time that medicine has been stopped from being delivered.

“They are stopping everything from going in,” Reno told Fox News. “They are taking everything for themselves.”

(Via: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/06/venezuela-blocking-medicine-humanitarian-aid-from-us-groups.html)

Some humanitarian groups have tried yet failed to deliver these much-needed medicines to the Venezuelans. Even the wife of the opposition leader who is now rotting away in prison wrote a plea to the government to at least open the humanitarian channel, so that civic groups can send foreign aid especially medicine supplies desperately needed by many Venezuelans these days.

 After four years of sending monthly shipments of medicine and food for hospitals and needy people in Venezuela, Move Org, a non-profit based in Miami, abruptly stopped three weeks ago.

"We stopped because we are seeing that boxes and containers are being opened and searched in Venezuela. We don't want problems," said Hilda Marina Alcalá, the Florida vice-president of the non-profit.

Move Org had been sending up to five to seven pallets of donations monthly to help alleviate the burden that the economic and political crisis gripping the South American nation has had on its people.

But recently, the Venezuelan government banned the import of a series of items they deem "war material." Government officials accuse the opposition in Venezuela of using international courier services to send products to equip protesters in the two months of almost daily clashes with security forces.

(Via: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/medicines-supplies-grounded-u-s-after-venezuela-tags-them-war-n767346)

Although the main reason why the Venezuelan government shuns foreign aid is that they are searching for possible war materials sent by non-profits, which are actually often just bulletproof vests and gas masks and helmets but consequently prevented the delivery even of medicines and medical supplies that are urgently needed by many sick Venezuelans.

As a result, even foreign non-profits that have been extending assistance for years and decades now have stopped sending weekly food and medicine shipment among others knowing that they will just be confiscated by the government and not reach its intended recipients. These groups have been arguing how the government can consider medicines as war materials that will be used in the on-going violent anti-government protests by the Venezuelans who have long been upset with the system and desperately in need of change.

The blog post Venezuela Turns Down Foreign Aid was initially published on CHRDnet.org

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/08/24/venezuela-turns-down-foreign-aid/

Demand For Industrial Robots Increases In China

China is a known global superpower. With the second biggest economy in the world, you don’t need to think long enough to determine where all this money comes from. China’s economy is mainly driven by its manufacturing industry. If you look at many of the products you now have in possession, a lot of them are probably “Made in China”. But since change is the only permanent thing in this world, China is embracing this reality and will do its best to ensure that they stay on top of the manufacturing industry for a long time regardless of the changes around them.

China intends to do this with the help of industrial robots. Known for their cheap labor and harsh working conditions, the Chinese government no longer has to deal with these allegations by using robots instead of human workers. If there is a downside to this trend, though, it’s that some of the impoverished Chinese laborers will lose work to these efficient inanimate objects over time.

China is the buyer of 27 percent of the world’s industrial robots. As the country presses full steam ahead with manufacturing automation, the demand for industrial robots continues to surge. While imports constitute the overwhelming majority, the state is also promoting domestic robot manufacturers. The national program of “Made in China 2025” seeks to make China a robotics powerhouse in eight years. In the year 2015 alone, the government of Guangdong Province invested $150 billion to encourage automation and foster robotics innovation.

Ostensibly, it seems that a Chinese robot takeover is imminent, prompting one analyst to warn that China is planning “world robot domination.” But what is really going on inside China’s industrial robot industry? What are the business prospects for the world’s robotics firms? I contend China still has a long way to go in matching the technological sophistication and scale of leading global robotics companies. Nonetheless, China is an enormous market where there are billions of profits in waiting.

(Via: http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/who-will-satisfy-chinas-thirst-for-industrial-robots/)

Automating the manufacturing industry is the solution to the rising costs and aging Chinese population. This move is especially helpful and practical when it comes to electronic and automobile manufacturing companies. Aside from ensuring an efficient operation all the time, the use of industrial-grade robots enables companies to enjoy millions of savings, mostly savings in labor costs.

Production per person increased from 8,000 pieces to 21,000 pieces, which is a 162.5% increase, and product defect rate fell from 25% to 5%—this sounds like a dream for any organisation. Well, this is a dream come true for Changying Precision Technology Company factory in Dongguan province of China which has replaced 90% of its human workers with robots. The data reflects a new form of human-robot co-working environment that will soon sweep the world.

The Dongguan company has automated production lines that use robotic arms to produce parts for cellphones. It has also automated machining equipment, autonomous transport trucks, and other automated equipment in the warehouse and number of employees have dropped from 650 to 60 and likely to come down to 20.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as China has a hugely ambitious plan to have a robot density of 150 units per 10,000 employees in the next two years, up from 36 now; and it is moving rapidly in this direction. Robotics will give a huge boost to China’s dominance of the world market with low cost robotic manufacturing replacing human labour, the cost of which is increasing every day. China has become the biggest market for industrial robots with nearly a 30% market share.

(Via: https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/news/2017/05/10/rise-of-the-robots-china-takes-a-powerful-lead-artificial-intelligence-robotics-rpa)

For now, China is accepting both locally-made and foreign industrial robots but their goal is to automate the manufacturing industry using domestic robots by the year 2025. Other countries like India are also using industrial robots to boost the manufacturing industry like that of China. These measures just make perfect sense considering robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning will soon be our reality rather than just concepts discussed among elite circles.

Robots are everywhere. They’re stocking shelves, pruning trees, making cocktails, delivering room service. Now they’re even showing up for work in some of the smallest factories, in a boost for manufacturing in the U.S. and a potential new threat to traditional production-line jobs.

The robotics wave began sweeping into automobile and other plants decades ago, stopping short of shops staffed with a relative handful of people. Many businesses couldn’t afford the contraptions, which weren’t designed to squeeze into tight spaces or operate very close to human beings.

(Via: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-10/armed-with-don-t-hurt-humans-sensors-robots-hit-small-factories)

Even the US has long since embraced this advanced concept and has also been using robots that many small manufacturers can now also afford. Most jobs today are at risk once the use of industrial robots goes full-scale. However, it is not always a bad thing because even though many jobs will be lost, other opportunities will open up that can compensate for the loss of work. The government should likewise look into the matter and set up contingency plans on how to help ordinary laborers who will run out of work when this happens like an alternative livelihood, so their lives don’t necessarily suffer as our technology progress.

Demand For Industrial Robots Increases In China See more on: The Chinese Human Rights Development Blog

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/08/17/demand-for-industrial-robots-increases-in-china/

Chinese Economy On The Rise

It is no longer unknown to many what an emerging superpower China has become, not only to Asia but to the whole world. The Chinese economy is on an upward momentum and is only the beginning of many more good things to come for China. Even Western countries are surprised at how steadily China’s economy kept on going up without showing signs of ever slowing down.

Many of the world’s economies suffered badly over the last few years. The United States is not an exception. The U.S. itself suffered badly from the last recession and is still recovering. While how the U.S. economy will fare is still a mystery to everyone as doubts about Trump’s capability in leading the country to greatness fills the minds of many and his first few policies continue to divide the country, China is stronger than ever and has surpassed everyone’s expectations.

China's economy stormed back in the first quarter, clocking its first back-to-back acceleration in seven years and bolstering the global growth outlook just as signs of subdued consumer spending have surfaced in the U.S.

The Chinese economy accelerated to a better-than-expected 6.9 per cent, powered by strength in housing, infrastructure investment, exports and retail sales. And it looks to have done so without worsening credit risks, a welcome development for economists worried about the nation's towering debt burden.

The world's second-biggest economy accounted for about one-third of global growth last year and, given the strong first quarter data, is on track to contribute at least as much in 2017, according to Rob Subbaraman, chief economist for Asia ex-Japan at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore.

"China, at least in the near term, is in a sweet spot with growth momentum strong and inflation pressures easing," said Subbaraman. "Whichever way you dice it, the first quarter was a strong set of numbers."

(Via: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91676001/China-economy-roars-back-as-US-consumer-outlook-weakens)

This is no longer surprising as we can all see how much China has contributed to the world economy in general. Many nations import resources and manpower from China because they are undeniably cheaper. This is one of the first drivers of the Chinese economy and continues to do so up to these days. Name a popular brand and they likely have a factory somewhere in Mainland China. Tourism is also picking up now that China has opened its doors to foreign tourists who can’t wait to explore all the hidden wonders of this great nation.

China's economy grew 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, government data showed Monday, beating expectations in the latest sign of stabilisation for the world's second-largest economy.

Beijing has said it wants to transition away from a reliance on debt-fuelled investment and towards a consumer-driven economic model, but the transition has proved bumpy.

The economy grew at just 6.7 percent in 2016, its slowest rate in a quarter of a century.

"For the first time in the recent years, China starts a year with a strong headline GDP," Raymond Yeung of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group told Bloomberg News.

"Thanks to strong investment and property, the economy is performing well."

(Via: https://www.enca.com/money/chinas-economy-grew-69-in-first-quarter-of-2017-govt)

Like with any other nation, there are factors that can affect the Chinese economy and China is still susceptible to those factors as well. Fortunately, they have their booming tourism to thank for that got its back in times of crisis. The western influence is always there no matter how hard the Chinese government tries to shut them off and spare their citizens from outside influence. Despite it all, Chinese tourists are still growing and they are traveling in and out of China in bigger numbers than ever. Now, who would say that most Chinese live in poverty when most of them can afford to go on luxurious travels on different corners of the globe? It just goes to show that the Chinese economy will weather the storm and still emerge on top after all.

The post Chinese Economy On The Rise was first published on chrdnet.org

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/08/09/chinese-economy-on-the-rise/

Religious Repression In China

The topic of religion has sparked countless debates and even fueled many wars over the centuries. Alliances were either formed or broken because of religious conflicts from one nation to another. And while this no longer comes as a surprise to many, there is no religious freedom among the many citizens of China. We all know what an authoritarian state China is. It means that the government is strict in enforcing stringent rules that most of the time does not make sense to the rest of the world.

With one of the earliest civilizations in the world, China has been through a lot over the years. These three religio-philosophical traditions have endured the most and among the most practiced by the Chinese: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. They also helped shaped the modern Chinese culture we now know. Yet despite the many changes in Chinese society and to the world at large, the Chinese government tries their best to resist these changes, so that every citizen obeys the law and they can rule the land however they please. Many cases of human rights abuse are reported and among them is the violation of the Chinese people’s freedom to religion.

President Xi Jinping’s China is becoming a more fearful place. The government has cracked down both on dissent and contact with the West. Religious persecution also is rising: the communist god that failed fears competition.

A new Freedom House report details how “the authorities have intensified many of their restrictions, resulting in an overall increase in religious persecution” since Xi took power in November 2012.

Persecution reveals a leadership which is nervous, even scared. The Chinese Communist Party is filled with ambitious time-servers, people too smart to believe Marxist and Maoist nonsense but too venal to reject the fictions by which China’s rulers justify their power.

In recent decades reforms have expanded the space for expressions of religious faith. That liberty is not easily retracted.

Explains Freedom House: “Rather than checking religion’s natural expansion and keeping it under political control, the CCP’s rigid constraints have essentially created an enormous black market, forcing many believers to operate outside the law and to view the regime as unreasonable, unjust, or illegitimate.” In turn, “believers have responded with a surprising degree of resistance, including in faith communities that have generally enjoyed cooperative relationships with state and party officials.”

(Via: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/04/17/commentary/world-commentary/nervous-china-ramp-religious-persecution/#.WPydiYiGPIU)

Rather than respect the religious expressions of their people, the Chinese government does their best to prevent people from embracing a religion not endorsed by the government. You can even get persecuted if you become too vocal in your chosen faith. For the rest of the world, these are inhumane acts and should not be tolerated. It is why the international community is urging Chinese officials to address these abuse issues and let the majority of the Chinese enjoy the human rights they have been stripped of for so long now.

Christians are not the only ones who undergo intense persecution in China. Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists and the Uighur Muslims also experience "high" or "very high" levels of persecution, the report said.

While in some places in the country, Christians are able to practice their faith without fear of the authorities, there are places where religious restrictions are enforced more strictly. The degree of enforcement varies, depending on the government's perceived threat toward an individual or a church.

Examples of persecution include banning holiday celebrations, using violence and torture and desecrating places of worship. In some instances, local authorities either illegally detain or terminate Christians.

Since 2014, the government has embarked on an intensified crackdown of Christian churches, and many have been affected by its cross removal and church demolition efforts. The government has also arrested human rights lawyers who represent persecuted Christians.  

Authorities also employ "nonviolent forms of control," such as limiting the number of new ministers and teaching twisted religious doctrines.

(Via: http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/70185/20170419/religious-persecution-china-intensified-2012-believers-responded-surprising-degree-resistance.htm)

Nobody can really tell the Chinese what to do. Other world leaders can make a plea or encourage them to make gradual changes but it is still up to the Chinese government whether they will agree to such conditions or not. After all, much of the world’s economy relies on China. Over the past few decades, China’s economy had been on a continuous growth spurt and they are basically the ones determining how well the overall global economy performs.

And because of that, the Chinese government knows they have the upper hand and will likely resist any request from other nations to loosen their tight rein over their people or even answer the long list of human rights abuses directed at them. Not only is their repression when it comes to religion in China but on just about everything else.

The blog post Religious Repression In China Read more on: CHRDNet

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/08/02/religious-repression-in-china/