OZ BROADCASTER STOPS USING CONTENT FROM CHINESE STATE TV CHANNELS
In a first, China’s official defence budget crosses the $200 billion mark
SYDNEY: Australian public broadcaster SBS said it would stop using content from Chinese state-run television on Friday, pending a review of serious human rights concerns.
The Australian television, radio and web outlet - which specialises in multilingual, multicultural content - said it was investigating CGTN and CCTV’S airing of dozens of forced prisoner confessions.
SBS said it had been contacted by human rights organisation Safeguard Defenders about CGTN and CCTV’S decision to broadcast what they said were at least 56 confessions of prisoners held under duress or torture between 2013 and 2020.
“Given the serious concerns it raises, and the complexity of the material involved, we have made the decision to suspend the broadcast of the overseassourced CGTN and CCTV news bulletins while we undertake an assessment of these services,” a spokesperson said.
The move is likely to further sour relations between Australia and China. Australia has moved to limit the influence of Chinese state-linked individuals, organisations and technology firms in the country. China has responded with sanctions against a range of Australian exports, from grain and coal to wine and lobsters.
Its withdrawal of the segments comes after British regulator Ofcom slapped a ban on CGTN in February, arguing that the broadcaster’s state-backed ownership structure violated British law.
BEIJING: China has set its annual economic growth rate for 2021 at above 6%, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, as the world’s second largest economy, battered last year by the Covid-19 pandemic, shows signs of rapid recovery.
Last year, for the first time in decades, China didn’t forecast its gross domestic product (GDP) growth because of local and global economic uncertainties triggered by the pandemic.
“As a general target, China’s growth rate has been set at over 6% for this year,” Li said in his 2021 work report, which he read out at the inaugural session of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“In setting this target, we have taken into account the recovery of economic activity,” Li said.
China’s GDP expanded 2.3% last year, the only major economy to see growth.
Separately, China’s annual defence budget will maintain single-digit growth for a sixth consecutive year by increasing 6.8% in 2021, according to the draft budget report. For the first time, China’s official defence budget has crossed the $200 billion mark.
“This year’s planned defence spending will be about 1.35 trillion yuan ($209 billion),” news agency Xinhua reported, adding that China’s defence budget is about one quarter of the US, which is $740.5 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.
Last month, India increased its defence spending by about 1%; military spending increased to Rs 3.47 trillion ($47.4 billion), up from Rs 3.43 trillion in the previous financial year. India’s expenditure on defence remains less than a fourth of China’s as the two countries cautiously emerge from a military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Delivering the work report, Li said this year the government would strengthen the armed forces “through reform, science and technology and the training of capable personnel”.
Premier Li said the government would “thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the armed forces and the military strategy for the new era, (and) ensure the party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces”.
Top 20 businessmen-cumlawmakers worth $534bn
The top 20 richest Chinese businessmen delegates at the ongoing annual meeting in Beijing are worth $534 billion, a Chinese wealth tracking group has said.
The wealthiest in the Communist party-ruled parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), and its advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – all billionaires - have grown richer over the last one year despite the economy performing badly due to the pandemic.
Hurun Report, a Shanghaibased tracker, drew up separate lists of individuals for the NPC and CPPCC, listing 10 each of their richest members. The monitor then combined the two lists to bring out a list of the 10 richest persons.
The top 10 wealthiest NPC and CPPCC delegates are worth $391 billion in total. The top 10 richest NPC delegates are worth $261 billion. The monitor said the top 10 richest CPPCC delegates are worth $273 billion.
Combining the two figures puts the worth of the 20 richest entrepreneurs attending the Two Sessions, as the twin summits are called, at a staggering $534 billion.
LI KEQIANG
THE MOVE IS
LIKELY TO FURTHER SOUR RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES, WHICH ARE ALREADY AT THE LOWEST POINT IN DECADES.