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【404文库】二湘的十一维空间|朱令去世一周年,清华学子控诉清华在朱令案中的冷血和无耻

23 December 2024 at 19:45

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今天是朱令去世一周年,一年前,朱令在白天最短,黑夜最长的冬至那天去世。昨天,看到清华学子张黎利的这篇文章《清华大学在朱令案中的冷血与无耻,我如何成了救助朱令的长期志愿者》,张黎利是清华大学92级计算机系的学生,和朱令是同一年进入清华的,他和孙维是初中同学,还认识帮助过朱令的贝志诚,而孙某那个时候的男朋友,清华计算机系的谢某某,和他同系,宿舍也只隔着几个房间。

2013年,他第一次从天涯知道朱令的事情,对朱令非常同情,之后发起并建立了一个专门帮助朱令和朱令家人的基金会,叫华霖救助基金,这么多年,一直在默默地帮助朱令和朱令家人。他还是公号“朱令我们在一起“的唯一的管理员,这么多年,持续为朱令的事情发声。

他最近的这篇文章可以解读为对清华的控诉书,历数清华在处理朱令事件中种种恶劣的行径,一共四个观点,全文看下来,可以说清华在对待朱令的事情上,是相当冷血和无耻,令人非常愤慨!

CDT 档案卡
标题:朱令去世一周年,清华学子控诉清华在朱令案中的冷血和无耻
作者: 空间作者
发表日期:2024.12.23
来源:微信公众号“二湘的十一维空间”
主题归类:朱令案
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

他的第一个观点:朱令的病没有及时治疗,清华负有部分责任。

1995年3月9日朱令第二次住院,神经内科主任李舜伟接诊,李舜伟怀疑为铊中毒,并与相关专家联系。但清华提供的化学品清单排除了朱令接触铊的可能性,导致医生误判,使朱令错失了及时确诊和治疗的机会,病情最终不可逆转。

当然,这里也不得不说这个医生也有责任,既然高度怀疑,为什么不做排查,就那么相信清华的话?

清华当年出书面证明清华本科生不可能接触到铊盐是为了逃避责任,还是出证明的人做事情马虎,我们现在不得而知,但这份证明延误了朱令的诊断和治疗,让朱令之后的三十年成为一个重度残疾人,却是不争的事实。

另外,投毒案是在清华宿舍里发生的,也是因为当年清华对铊盐管理不妥,让那个歹毒的人能够轻易把铊盐带出实验室,给朱令多次投毒才造成朱令悲惨的境遇,所以清华对造成朱令的悲剧,负有相当大的责任。

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张黎利的第二个观点:清华大学对证据丢失、导致案件无法侦破,负有重大责任。

1995年4月28日,朱令被确诊为铊中毒,怀疑有人投毒。朱令父母向清华报警,清华保卫科却通知朱令宿舍的人,结果造成了4月29日宿舍失窃,重要证物丢失。1998年,警方要求检查封存物品时再次发现部分证据遗失。这两次失窃直接导致案件关键物证消失,使案件无法侦破。而事后清华化学系只是赔偿了朱令家3,000元了事。因为清华管理不善,造成了朱令案件最重要的物证丢失,清华的行为令人愤慨。

张的第三个观点:清华在朱令治疗和救助过程中表现得非常冷漠。

朱令作为清华学生,最初是享受公费医疗的待遇的,治疗费用由清华承担。但是在朱令住院一年后(1996年),清华就停止支付医疗费用,并反复催促朱令父母办理退学手续。

办理退学意味着朱令将失去公费医疗,这给朱令父母带来了巨大的精神和经济压力。尽管他们多次写信请求保留学籍,清华都不理不睬,直到1997年4月,在朱令班级毕业前夕,清华才安排与家属见面,但校方态度非常冷漠,明确表示无法保留学籍,断绝了朱令的医疗保障来源。 1997年11月,北京相关部门要求清华提供40万救助款,但清华仅同意支付20万元,另外的20万是由北京市青少年发展基金会承担的。清华还要求签订一次性补助协议,还强调这是“特殊照顾”,与司法程序无关,目的就是把自己撇清。

张同学这段陈述是和朱令的律师张捷的说法是一致的。张捷也提到清华当年为了不承担朱令的医疗费,以休学不能超过两年为由勒令退学。在朱令妈妈强烈反对下,清华给出一个条件就是一次性买断出20万,如果要追究责任就不给。朱家人当年一直财务很困难,只能无奈接受。

做出了这么多不堪的事情,居然还对朱令一家如此刻薄,勒令退学,且一直没有给朱令发毕业证。因为朱令没有大学毕业证,身份一直是工人,又拿不了低保,医保的问题也解决不了。最后是张捷把朱令作为他公司的一个员工,每个月发几千块的工资才得以保障朱令的医保。

张黎利说,清华的做法相当于把在校内被投毒受害人推出了学校,让这个受害人自生自灭,他深深感到了清华的冷血与无情,而受害人的悲剧很大程度是由于清华自身管理不善才导致的。最后还是在上级部门要求下,讨价还价赔了40万的一半。对清华当年的做法真是瞠目结舌,且无比愤慨,天理何在,良心何在?这特么到底是哪个没人性的领导做出的决定,真的很想骂人!

20万买断后,从1998年至2012年的15年间,清华校方与朱令家人没有任何联系,从未打过电话,写过信,彻底对朱令事件不闻不问。直到2013年,朱令事件成为社会热点后,校方在外界推动下,与朱令家人进行了几次接触。2013年9月,清华校长陈某某带着两位管理人员和一位校友探视朱令和家人。那位清华校友当场给了朱令父亲10万现金。这是清华校方唯一一次主动尝试与朱令家人和解。然而,这个行动因为一篇微博文章的公开曝光,引发了校方对潜在舆论风险的担忧,停止了所有后续联系,内部领导更是表态“从今以后清华死猪不怕开水烫”,明确拒绝再与朱令家人进行接触。

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张黎利的第四个观点:清华校方一直在回避责任。

1995年,北京电视台记者采访时,清华拒绝回答是否有铊。中国青年报记者采访时,化学系副主任薛某某声称朱令的实验中绝不可能接触含铊物质,清华本科生不可能接触到铊。但北京市公安局后来查获清华购买铊盐的发票和介绍信,1996年清华校方承认工物系购买过铊。张黎利通过SCI科学索引的数据库,发现1996年,清华大学在荷兰学术期刊《分析化学学报》上发表了一篇涉及铊盐的论文,其第一作者和第三作者分别为清华的童某某和李某某两位教授。根据化学实验研究及论文发表的一般周期推算,该论文的相关实验工作正好发生在1994-1995年间,即朱令中毒期间。而那个时候孙维正在童某某和李某某所在实验室做研究,是唯一能合法接触铊的本科生。

但在1997年,清华总务处和副书记先后表态:学校化学药品管理很好,按规定管理毒品,及时报案,无任何责任。校方始终拒绝承认实验室管理存在问题。

迄今为止,清华从来没有承认过在朱令事件上有任何责任。

去年朱令去世,清华官方发文称朱令为“我校1992级校友”,可知你们对待你们口中的校友当年是何等冷漠残酷?而且这个所谓的校友到现在你们都没有颁发毕业证!清华,你欠朱令一个道歉和一份毕业证!

当然,我也很清楚,我这里一直统称清华,但真正做出这些决定的是当年清华的领导,而不是现任清华的领导。当年具体做出这些没人性没底线的决定的人到底是谁?根据张黎利的文章,朱令父母从1997年开始就写信给当时的清华大学校长,恳请校方先行支付朱令的治疗费用,但是校长秘书拒绝签字接收。当时清华的校长是王大中(1994 到2003任清华校长)。朱令父母只好在97年9月3号以挂号信的方式把这封信寄给了当时的清华党委书记,寄出以后也一直没有回音,直到一年以后才有回音,而之所以有回音并不是他们良心发现,而是因为相关部门要求清华提供安抚款。这个时候根据网上搜到的信息清华的党委书记是贺美英(1995年9月 – 2002年2月),但张黎利的文章里提到当时出面和朱令父母见面的书记的名字是张再兴,我查了一下,张再兴是当时的党委副书记。

我们也要分清楚,清华官方的态度和清华学子的态度是不同的。我认识的许多清华学子也为清华在朱令事情上的处理深以为耻,这位张黎利同学更是本着清华学生一向做事严谨的风格,彻查了当年清华在朱令出事后所作的行动。张黎利的文章还提到他一年多的调查访谈中一些令他震惊的发现:第一,清华校园过去二十年来发生的学生非正常死亡事件不少,但从未听说清华承认过自身的管理责任,反倒看到了清华状告死亡学生家长闹事的新闻。用张黎利的原话就是:“清华园里面游荡着不止一个冤魂”。

第二,清华绝大多数学生,对这些非正常死亡事件知之甚少。他的很多同学和他一样,在毕业十多年后才从媒体上得知了当年发生在身边的朱令惨案。而他调查中采访的清华在校生和近几年的毕业生中,大多数没听说过朱令事件,也不知道其他的学生命案。我想,这种对命案的轻描淡写,生怕担责任的态度,正是这类事件不断发生的根源之一。

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如果张黎利的文章所述都属实,那么清华的确做得太过分了!清华就是这样对待他们的莘莘学子吗?将来那些优秀的学子报考清华的时候是不是要考虑一下?清华现在的领导也应该为当年的管理者做出的恶心事负责,或者说弥补当年的过错,希望他们在朱令父母有生之年,勇敢地站出来给朱令一个迟来的道歉,给朱令补发毕业证,如果可能,也尽可能在经济上补偿朱令的父亲母亲,以告慰朱令在天之灵。

逃避责任,掩盖错误不是解决问题的办法,只会让声誉越来越糟。勇敢承认错误并改正才配得上中国顶尖大学的声誉,才能让清华的校训“自强不息,厚德载物”不再是一句空洞的口号。知耻而后勇,知错而弥补,虽然很艰难,虽然需要勇气,但这是唯一正确的做法。唯如此,才能告慰朱令在天之灵,才能让所有清华学子不再寒心,才能平息所有关心朱令的人的不平和愤怒,才能不辜负清华两个字。

一座独立屋|北京上海,消费撑不住了?

23 December 2024 at 19:27

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根据官方统计数据,京沪两地在11月双双遇到消费的大幅下降:北京11月社会品消费零售总额同比下降14.1%、上海同比下降13.5%,同期全国同比增长3%。

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上海2024年11月消费数据(来源:上海市统计局)↑

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北京2024年11月消费数据(来源:北京市统计局)↑

除京沪外,广州11月的社零也同比下降了1.6%,而截至本文发布时,深圳的数据还没有出来。

过去有个说法表示经济下行压力不会影响京沪,因为京沪会吸走全国资源,所以“京沪永远涨”,现在又应该怎样解释?

北京和上海作为中国一线中的一线城市,两地现在的消费状态会不会成为一个全国前瞻指标,或者说有他们背后特殊的因素呢?

京沪消费下降的背后,我认为至少有几点重要原因:资产缩水、就业波动、消费结构差异和更高的居民杠杆率这几点重要原因。

CDT 档案卡
标题:北京上海,消费撑不住了?
作者:房东的ID
发表日期:2024.12.23
来源:微信公众号“一座独立屋”
主题归类:中国经济
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

(1)资产缩水影响巨大

最近被广泛讨论的消费降级,不仅仅是收入变化影响这么简单,相比于收入的变化,资产价格波动带来的财富观对一个人的消费影响来得更大。

我们以北京和上海为例,一套京沪非常普通的住房市值随随便便超过500万,而其他二三线城市可能只有100万,而在过去几年我们很清楚地看到,无论是北京上海这样的一线城市,还是其他二三线城市,都经历了房价的大幅下跌,京沪的跌幅并没有更小。如果各个城市的跌幅都一样,比方说下跌30%,京沪平均总价房产(500万)缩水的绝对值是150万,其他城市平均总结房产(100万市值)缩水的绝对值只有30万,这样的资产缩水对消费心理是有巨大冲击的。

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还需要强调有一个残酷的现实,那就是虽然很多新北京人或新上海人常常自称自己多么励志、多么努力,但其实他们绝大多数人在京沪这样的城市也根本没靠工作**赚到多少钱,只不过当年咬牙买房之后价格涨上去了,最后把时代的红利当成自己的本事,这显然是一种错觉。**

但不可否认的是确实有很多人的满足感和消费潜力是基于之前的房价上涨,曾经国内房地产如火如荼时,就算是出国旅行,很多国人得知当地房价很低之后自己心里都会暗爽一把,现在房价下跌了、也卖不掉了,所以消费也开始减少预算了。

(2)就业波动影响更大

以北京和上海为代表的热点城市汇聚了大量高收入职业,在经济周期向上的时候,这些行业蒸蒸日上,帮助所在城市吸引了全国无数人才;而当这些行业开始衰退的时候,自然就会降薪裁员。

这种情况导致京沪外来人口的流出和消费力的下降,我们可以很明显地感觉到过去这些年,那些造富能力非常强的行业如房地产、金融、教培、互联网,一个接着一个由于客观市场规律或遭遇铁拳使得大量从业者遭遇财务困境。甚至于很多从业者当下的困境恰恰就来自于曾经的成功,例如一个教培或房地产行业的优秀从业者,在2020-2021年用自己在事业上成功所赚到的钱作为首付三倍杠杆买了一套房子,那么现在无论如何都很难支撑,而其他人因为连首付都没有,所以连踩坑的资格都没有拿到,反而成了一件好事。

另外,除非是家境富裕的土著,一线城市的生活是躺不平的,对于大多数年轻人来说,一线城市要么卷、要么走…因为这里的成本比其他城市高不少,如果没有更好的就业机会,他们没有理由继续付出高昂成本留在这样一个地方,而人口一旦流失,消费自然也会下降。

(3)消费结构差异

我们看2024年11月全国的消费数据,可以得到一个非常明显的特征,那就是可选消费大幅下降,其中下跌幅度最大的是化妆品类,同比2023年11月的降幅达到26.4%,而其他一些关乎生活基本需要的必选消费表现相对稳定。值得一提的是,家用电器因为国家以旧换新补贴推动,使得这一项目的同比增长达到22%,这证明补贴消费的效果是立竿见影的,未来这样的补贴应该会越来越多,值得期待。

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过去一线城市的消费升级是走在全国领先位置的,因此一线城市居民的可选消费比例是远远高于其他地区的,这也导致一线城市居民消费下降的空间比其他地区更大…

所以不是其他地方的老百姓不想省钱,而是其他地方的消费者几乎没有经历太多实质性消费升级,现在的消费基本都是吃饱穿暖,实在很难再去省了。

(4)居民杠杆率更高

一线城市的房价收入比,远远要大于其他城市,也就是说即使一线城市的收入更高,但高出的幅度远远不如房价高出的幅度大,这就是杠杆的效果。这也导致相同年龄段、相同行业的人群,在一线城市的(买了房的)人财务压力普遍远远大于其他城市的人…也是由于财务压力原因,一线城市的结婚率、生育率也远远低于其他城市,而在小城市,由于现代金融观念落后、房屋总价相对较低,一般人买房不会把杠杆用到极致,在北京和上海这样的高房价城市,买套很普通的房子就可能需要贷款几百万,居民杠杆压力是非常大的。

我们从数据看,一旦居民杠杆率超过某个临界值后,居民杠杆率越高,消费增速就越慢,两个数据有非常明显的负相关。

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中国居民部门杠杆率 vs 中国社会消费品零售总额增速↑

看过往数据,2020年以来中国居民杠杆率高位盘整,但消费增速还在持续放缓,这说明在现有的可支配收入占比和社会福利保障背景下,60%出头的居民杠杆率应该就是老乡们的极限了,因为居民已经极为努力地顶住压力让杠杆率维持高位而不是掉头向下,但代价是消费的低迷,居民这几年已经开始牺牲消费来扛鼎了,中国人民确实是全世界最吃苦耐劳的群体。

事实和数据证明,在经济下行期,并没有什么地方是绝对安全的堡垒,“京沪永远涨”可能只是一些人的自我安慰,就好像刚需不怕跌一样,这类洗脑式的论断没有参考价值,只有情绪价值。

另外,消费下降说明居民的财务压力已经开始影响到实际生活体验了,所以忘掉房价吧,房价真的已经是一个没什么营养的话题了…因为当你发现困难来的时候,砖头并不能当饭吃,我们普通人下一步最应该关注的是未来一年自己或家庭的工作和收入情况,毫不夸张地说,现在只要是能按时按量发工资的公司那都是好公司。

而在京沪之后,其他热点城市和更多二三线城市是否会出现京沪类似的消费下滑情况,还有待进一步的观察。但消费的疲弱,不只是短期出现的问题,而是长期的结构性短板,因为我们一直以来都重视投资重视生产,但却忽视消费的重要性,甚至有人觉得消费就是吃喝玩乐就是不利于奋斗,这个理解是完全错误的。对于通缩的压力和消费的价值,我这里分享一下之前在我的付费星球发的一个帖子,主要目的是摆事实讲道理的帮助读者克服通胀焦虑,保护好自己的钱袋子。

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总之,消费是经济可持续增长的核心动能,如果没有足够的有效需求,那么生产也将变成失去意义的无效内卷;而且消费的下降一旦成势,就很容易带出一个恶性循环:消费下降导致生产商亏损或减产 – 然后产业链上下游降薪或裁员 – 再然后被降薪或被裁的人因为收入减少于是进一步缩减消费…

另外,2025年就要到来,在川普上任的前景下,我们几乎可以肯定国际间的贸易保护主义会重新抬头、新的贸易摩擦会再次到来,外需将变得不再稳定,这时培育好自己的内需市场就更加重要了,只有自己足够强大稳定,才能以不变应万变。

扩大内需,特别是在居民消费上给予更大的力度的补助已经刻不容缓了。

格隆汇图解天下|京沪消费全面走弱,消费怎么办?

23 December 2024 at 17:02

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2024年11月,中国社会消费品零售总额同比仅增长3%,这一增速较10月份的数值4.8%,大幅下降了37.5%,也比市场的预期数值5.3%低了2.3个百分点。对比历史同期数值,3%的增速也处于历史低位,低于过往5同期均值水平4.22%。

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再看一线城市呢?更加触目惊心。11月,北京社零消费零售总额同比-14.1%,创2022年12月以来近2年新低;上海社会消费品零售总额同比-13.5%,创2022年5月以来30个月新低。

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价格是供需均衡后的结果,消费需求不足,价格全线走低。

CDT 档案卡
标题:京沪消费全面走弱,消费怎么办?
作者:格隆汇图解天下
发表日期:2024.12.23
来源:微信公众号“格隆汇图解天下”
主题归类:中国经济
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

2024年第三季度,综合衡量全社会物价水平的经济指标—GDP平减指数,当季同比录得-0.53%。从2023年6月开始,已经连续6个季度为负,这一轮持续时间为近20年来最长。再下跌一个季度,我们就将创下 1990 年代亚洲金融危机的惨淡记录。

具体到CPI和PPI是什么情况呢?

11月份,CPI同比从10月的0.3%再度回落至0.2%,已连续57个月运行在收缩通道内。PPI同比为-2.5%,自2022年10月起由正转负,截至2024年11月,已连续26个月处于负增长区间。

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GDP平减指数连续为负,表明我们的经济陷入通缩风险,消费对经济贡献的乏力也开始显现。

2021-2023年,消费对GDP贡献均值为60.4%,2024年前三季度则大幅下降至50%,单三季度,消费对GDP的贡献仅29%。

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怎么办呢?每当经济需求不足的时候,需要借助外力来吧经济拽出泥潭。我们复盘了此前三轮物价通缩周期的过程,基本是如下路径:

第一,拉外需,外需回暖在此前几轮物价回升过程中发挥着显著的作用;比如1998-1999年亚洲金融危机期间,通过加入WTO,推动外需增长,带动物价回升。2008年和2015年通缩周期也都伴随着外需的回暖。

第二,如果外需承压,通过地产投资来刺激国内需求弥补外需缺口。比如2008年四万亿刺激计划,2015年,地产涨价去库存,通过拉升房地产市场需求,弥补外需缺口,最终带领物价走出泥潭。

那么,这两条路径还能继续奏效吗?

大概率很难。

首先,房地产投资就是目前经济的最大拖累项,并且预计在短期内无法解决。根据我们的预测,2025年房地产行业将会使GDP增长率降低2个百分点,并且这种增长拖累或会持续至2030年。

其次,出口估计也不能做过多指望。

自2017年川普上台开始,全球政治向“右转”,“只扫自家门前雪,不管他人瓦上霜”的民粹主义、保护主义浪潮迭起。而2024年特朗普的再度当选,其保守主义、孤立主义比8年之前表现的更为激进。

在对华贸易政策上,美国新一届政府提出“对中国商品全面征收60%关税”、并积极主张“取消中国最惠国待遇”。更为严峻的是目前不仅仅是美国,包括欧盟、沙特以及东南亚的越南、泰国、印尼等诸多国家都提出要对中国产品加征关税。

这会带来什么影响呢?

根据高盛的测算,美国这一个国家对我们的平均税率从目前的19.3%只提升20个百分点,都将会使我们明年的经济增速下降0.7个百分点,回到4字头的增速。

如果提升到60%呢?

瑞银集团的最新研究也显示,60%的关税将砍去中国经济年增长率的一半以上。

看到了吗?

出口和投资在未来都可能拖累经济的增长,所以拉动内部需求是我们不得不做的必选项。事实上,我们的政府也认识到了拉动居民消费的必要性。

政策层面上,在12月11日至12日举行的中央经济工作会议,把“大力提振消费”放在明年重点工作任务的第一位,强调要全方位扩大国内需求。

实际行动上,也采取了一系列措施,包括发放消费券、实施消费补贴、推动家电市场以旧换新、拉股市等等。

但一系列的措施,效果并不那么显著。那么未来,还有办法让消费起来吗?

有的!

具体应该怎么做呢?路径也很清晰,政策要减少对供给层面的刺激,要落到需求侧,加快修复居民资产负债表,做大居民收入,托底民生保障。让居民既有钱消费,更敢于消费。

首先,帮助居民修复资产负债表,直白一点就是稳住居民最大头的资产-房产。

数据显示,房产占我国居民总资产的比重达70%。

目前无数居民被套牢在房产上,房贷利息为刚性支出。收入一旦下降,不想要断供,只能节衣缩食偿还房贷。还如何指望宏观经济有需求,有未来?

所以,政府救地产的当务之急,就是要拿出真金白银救助存量房,稳住房价,呵护居民最核心的资产,为居民现金流腾挪空间。只有如此,才能护住居民的信心、护住经济的需求。

其次,要大幅提升居民收入占比,缩小贫富差距

消费的底层是收入。一般而言,居民消费支出占比和居民可支配收入占比呈明显的正相关关系,收入越高花的越多。

对比国际情况,我国居民部门可支配收入占比偏低。中国居民可支配收入占比在40%左右,其他我们耳熟能详的经济体,居民可支配收入占比都在50%以上。比如,美国是68%,越南也是68%,印度是58%,俄罗斯低一点,在52%。这意味着,每创造100块钱的GDP,美国人分走68块,印度人分走58块,我们分走40块。

分的少,花的自然少。而这个分的少,主要体现在初次分配中劳动者报酬占比较低,再分配环节向居民部门转移支付效果不显著。

2022年,中国劳动者报酬占国民收入比重为52.7%,低于美国、日本、韩国的62.1%、73.3%、59.8%。

一般而言,在初次分配不均的情况下,政府参与的再分配环节有助于调节收入分配不均的情况。但从我国的现实情况看,再分配调节作用不佳。2022年,居民、企业、政府部门在初次分配环节收入份额分别为62.2%、26.6%、11.2%,三者在再分配环节收入份额分别为60.8%、22.6%、16.6%。

可见,再分配环节并未提升居民收入份额,更多体现为企业部门收入在税收环节向政府部门而不是居民部门转移。比较不同国家的衡量贫富差距指标基尼系数,发达国家的基尼系数值在财政调节后明显下降,而中国的基尼系数基本不受财政调节的影响。

所以,在初次分配中,要提高企业支付的劳动者报酬占比,鼓励企业分红、适当减少利润留存,让居民有钱可花。在再分配环节,政府税收要提升累进性质的直接税占比,比如加大对富人征税,对低收入群体减税,缩小收入差距,这些才是提升居民消费的根本途径。

最后,政府还应该完善医疗和养老保险问题,为居民的看病和养老兜底,让居民消费没有后顾之忧。

从我国当前财政支出来看,社会保障支出严重不足。2010-2020年,美国广义政府财政支出中社会保障一项占GDP的比重平均为17.5%,中国的社会保障支出占GDP比重平均为9.6%,仅为美国的55%。同一时期,美国财政支出中用于经济建设以及相关运营、管理工作的经济事务一项占GDP的比重平均为3.8%,中国则平均为8.1%。

目前的财政支出,向逆周期属性的社会保障支出不足,缓冲居民消费需求的能力较弱。居民对未来收入预期不足的情况下,又没有兜底,消费起来战战兢兢,年轻人不婚不育的的底层逻辑也在于此。

所以,政府要加大财政支出向社保倾斜,让居民没有后顾之忧,敢于消费,敢于畅想未来。

救济经济根本没有特效药,只有综合施策,方能走出困境。

Woman dies after being set on fire on New York subway

23 December 2024 at 18:07
Getty Images Police investigate at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn after a woman aboard a subway car was set on fire and diedGetty Images
Police were called to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn after a woman on a subway car was set on fire

A suspect has been arrested in New York over the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

She said the woman was sleeping on a stationary F train to Brooklyn when she was approached by the suspect who used a lighter to ignite her clothing.

The victim died at the scene, she said, adding that the suspect had been taken into custody after he was detained on another subway train.

Police said the woman, who has not been named, was sleeping in a subway carriage at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at about 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her.

There was no interaction before the attack, police said, adding that they did not believe the two people knew each other.

The man got off the train as police officers on patrol in the station rushed to the fire.

"What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames," Ms Tisch said.

Police are still working to identify the victim and the motive for the attack.

Saudi warnings about market attack suspect were ignored

22 December 2024 at 23:43
EPA A man mourns at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany,  22 December 2024EPA
People have been leaving floral tributes for the victims of Friday's attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany

The Saudi authorities, I am told, are currently working flat out to collate everything they have on the Magdeburg market suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, and to share it with Germany's ongoing investigation "in every way possible".

Inside the imposing sand coloured and fortress-like walls of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh there is a perhaps justifiable sense of pique.

The ministry previously warned the German government about al-Abdulmohsen's extremist views.

It sent four so-called "Notes Verbal", three of them to Germany's intelligence agencies and one to the foreign ministry in Berlin. There was, the Saudis say, no response.

Part of the explanation for this may lie in the fact that Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was granted asylum by Germany in 2016, one year after the former Chancellor Angela Merkel threw open her country's borders to let in more than a million migrants from the Middle East, and 10 years after al-Abdulmohsen had taken up residence in Germany.

Coming from a country where Islam is the only religion permitted to be practiced in public, al-Abdulmohsen was a very unusual citizen.

He had turned his back on Islam, making himself a heretic in the eyes of many.

Born in the Saudi date palm oasis town of Hofuf in 1974, little is known about his early life before he decided to leave Saudi Arabia and move to Europe aged 32.

Active on social media, on his Twitter (later X) account he labels himself as both a psychiatrist and founder of Saudi rights movement, together with the tag @SaudiExMuslims.

He founded a website aimed at helping Saudi women flee their country to Europe.

The Saudis say he was a people trafficker and the Ministry of Interior's investigators, the Mabaatheth, are said to have an extensive file on him.

There have been reports in recent years of dissident Saudis coming under hostile surveillance from Saudi government agents, in Canada, the US and in Germany.

There is no question that the German authorities, both federal and state, have made some serious errors of omission in the case of al-Abdulmohsen.

Whatever their reasons for not responding, as the Saudis claim, to the repeated warnings about his extremism, he was clearly a danger to his adopted host country.

There is also, separately, the failure to close off, or at least guard, the emergency access route to Magdeburg Alter Markt that allowed him to allegedly drive his BMW into the crowds.

German authorities have defended the market's layout and said an investigation into the suspect's past is ongoing.

But a complicating factor here is that Saudi Arabia, although considered a friend and ally of the West, has a poor human rights record.

Until June 2018 Saudi women were forbidden to drive and even those women who publicly called for that ban to be lifted before then have been persecuted and imprisoned.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, still only in his 30s, just, is immensely popular in his own country.

Reuters Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he meets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2024Reuters
The Saudi crown prince pictured in Riyadh during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October

While Western leaders largely distanced themselves from him after his alleged involvement in the grisly murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which the crown prince denies, at home his star is still in the ascendant.

Under his de-facto rule, Saudi public life has transformed for the better, with men and women allowed to associate freely, and cinemas reopening, along with big, spectacular sports and entertainment events, even gigs performed by Western artists like David Guetta and the Black Eyed Peas.

But there is a paradox here.

While Saudi public life has flourished there has been a simultaneous crackdown on anything that even hints at more political or religious freedom.

Harsh prison sentences of 10 years or more have been handed down for simple tweets.

No-one is permitted to even question the way the country is run.

It is against this backdrop that Germany appears to have dropped the ball with Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.

Slovak PM meets Putin in unannounced Moscow visit

23 December 2024 at 18:35
EPA Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (L) during their meeting at the Kremlin in MoscowEPA
Robert Fico has previously reiterated his opposition to the West's policy of arming Ukraine

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin - becoming only the third Western leader to meet the Russian leader since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Fico - a vocal critic of the European Union's support for Kyiv in the war - said they discussed supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia - which his country relies on.

A deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom to transit energy through Ukraine to Slovakia is due to expire at the end of this year.

"Top EU officials were informed about my journey and its purpose... on Friday," Fico wrote on Facebook.

Fico said the meeting in Moscow was a reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling EU leaders that Ukraine remains opposed to Russian gas being piped through its territory.

The Slovakian PM, who survived being shot earlier this year, also said he had a "long conversation" with Putin and the two "exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine".

Both discussed "the possibilities of an early, peaceful end of the war" and mutual relations between Russia and Slovakia, Fico wrote on Facebook.

Slovakia and Hungary, which both depend on Russian gas, have raised concerns about the prospect of supplies being interrupted.

In October 2023, when Fico became prime minister again, he ended Slovakia's military aid to Ukraine.

But, he has insisted he wants to be a "good, friendly neighbour" to Ukraine.

Fico's meeting with Putin came as the leaders of Italy, Sweden, Greece and Finland met on Sunday for a security summit.

Speaking afterwards, Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Russia was a "permanent and dangerous threat" to the EU.

He also stressed the need for increased defence spending and support for Ukraine.

特朗普暗示TikTok短期不会遭禁

23 December 2024 at 20:17

2024-12-23T12:08:28.697Z

(德国之声中文网)特朗普是在亚利桑那州凤凰城对一群保守派支持者发表上述言论的。这也是他迄今为止在TikTok是否应退出美国市场问题上最为明确的表态。

今年四月,美国参议院通过一项法律,以保障国家安全为由,要求TikTok的母公司“字节跳动”同该应用进行剥离

特朗普:至少应允许TikTok在美国继续运营一段时间。

TikTok持有者则希望推翻这一法律,美国最高法院也同意就此案展开听证。而一旦法庭做出不利于“字节跳动”的判决,那么,特朗普正式出任总统前一天,即1月19日,TikTok将在美国被禁止使用。

至于特朗普届时是否以及会如何撤销此前参议院以压倒多数通过的该项法案,目前尚不清楚。特朗普在“美国节”集会上对支持者表示:“我认为,我们必须重新对此问题进行思考,因为大家知道,我们使用了TikTok,并获得了数以十亿计的热烈反响。

特朗普说:“他们带给我一张流量统计,数据看上去非常之好,因此我说,我们也许可以让这个家伙继续保留一段时间。”

周一,特朗普同TikTok首席执行官举行了会谈。稍后他在新闻发布会上表示,他对TikTok很“热心”。因为此前他的竞选活动在这个社媒平台上取得了成功。

今年一月,TikTok首席执行官周受资在美国参议院接受问询。

美国司法部此前曾表示,由于TikTok是受中国控制的,因此对美国国家安全构成了持久性的威胁。这一立场也获得了大多数议员的支持。

TikTok则表示,美国司法部对该社媒软件同中国的关系进行了错误的阐述,并强调该平台的用户数据以及内容推送机制都是在美国甲骨文公司的云端完成的,而内容管理的决定也同样是在美国境内做出的。

(路透社)

© 2024年德国之声版权声明:本文所有内容受到著作权法保护,如无德国之声特别授权,不得擅自使用。任何不当行为都将导致追偿,并受到刑事追究。

特朗普上任之初即退出世界卫生组织?

23 December 2024 at 19:47

2024-12-23T11:21:13.604Z
特朗普同指定的美卫生部长小肯尼迪

(德国之声中文网)《金融时报》22日报导,特朗普团队希望促成在他就职第一天,让美国退出世界卫生组织(WHO)。此消息来自多位专家,他们从新政府交接团队口中听闻这样的打算。

曾任拜登政府新冠疫情应变协调官的扎哈(Ashish Jha)透露,"新政府内部很多人不相信世卫,希望在第一天就象征性地展现出态度,表明他们不玩了"。

特朗普此前提名疫苗怀疑论者小肯尼迪(Robert F Kennedy)为美国卫生部长,美国退出世卫的可能性由此再度浮上台面。不过,乔治城法律学院公卫学者高斯丁(Lawrence Gostin)说,特朗普本人的思考是否跟他的团队契合,把此事当成首要之务,目前还很难说。

截止到发稿,特朗普团队未直接正式回应此事,世卫亦未置评。不过,世卫秘书长谭德塞(Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus)本月曾表示,希望能跟美国决策人士合作,"我相信美国领导阶层理解,美国不可能安全,除非世界其他地方也都安全"。

扎哈示警:"如果不参与这些组织,那下一次疫情爆发的时候,你就很难密切关注情况。"

高斯丁则形容,美国若真的退出,将对全球公卫体系带来"灾难性"的打击。随着世卫失去最大的资金来源,"留下巨大的资金真空和领导空窗,在我看来没人能填补缺口"。随着WTO预算减少,可能难以有效应对紧急公卫事件,甚至不得不大幅削减科学研发人员。

此外,高斯丁认为,欧洲国家不太可能积极增加给世卫的资金,反而是中国会尝试施加更多影响力,"美国退出会把领导权拱手让给中国,这不是明智之举"。

(金融时报等)

© 2024年德国之声版权声明:本文所有内容受到著作权法保护,如无德国之声特别授权,不得擅自使用。任何不当行为都将导致追偿,并受到刑事追究。

Woman dies after being set on fire on New York subway

23 December 2024 at 18:07
Getty Images Police investigate at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn after a woman aboard a subway car was set on fire and diedGetty Images
Police were called to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn after a woman on a subway car was set on fire

A suspect has been arrested in New York over the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

She said the woman was sleeping on a stationary F train to Brooklyn when she was approached by the suspect who used a lighter to ignite her clothing.

The victim died at the scene, she said, adding that the suspect had been taken into custody after he was detained on another subway train.

Police said the woman, who has not been named, was sleeping in a subway carriage at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn at about 07:30 local time (12:30 GMT) when a man approached her.

There was no interaction before the attack, police said, adding that they did not believe the two people knew each other.

The man got off the train as police officers on patrol in the station rushed to the fire.

"What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames," Ms Tisch said.

Police are still working to identify the victim and the motive for the attack.

Saudi warnings about market attack suspect were ignored

22 December 2024 at 23:43
EPA A man mourns at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany,  22 December 2024EPA
People have been leaving floral tributes for the victims of Friday's attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany

The Saudi authorities, I am told, are currently working flat out to collate everything they have on the Magdeburg market suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, and to share it with Germany's ongoing investigation "in every way possible".

Inside the imposing sand coloured and fortress-like walls of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh there is a perhaps justifiable sense of pique.

The ministry previously warned the German government about al-Abdulmohsen's extremist views.

It sent four so-called "Notes Verbal", three of them to Germany's intelligence agencies and one to the foreign ministry in Berlin. There was, the Saudis say, no response.

Part of the explanation for this may lie in the fact that Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was granted asylum by Germany in 2016, one year after the former Chancellor Angela Merkel threw open her country's borders to let in more than a million migrants from the Middle East, and 10 years after al-Abdulmohsen had taken up residence in Germany.

Coming from a country where Islam is the only religion permitted to be practiced in public, al-Abdulmohsen was a very unusual citizen.

He had turned his back on Islam, making himself a heretic in the eyes of many.

Born in the Saudi date palm oasis town of Hofuf in 1974, little is known about his early life before he decided to leave Saudi Arabia and move to Europe aged 32.

Active on social media, on his Twitter (later X) account he labels himself as both a psychiatrist and founder of Saudi rights movement, together with the tag @SaudiExMuslims.

He founded a website aimed at helping Saudi women flee their country to Europe.

The Saudis say he was a people trafficker and the Ministry of Interior's investigators, the Mabaatheth, are said to have an extensive file on him.

There have been reports in recent years of dissident Saudis coming under hostile surveillance from Saudi government agents, in Canada, the US and in Germany.

There is no question that the German authorities, both federal and state, have made some serious errors of omission in the case of al-Abdulmohsen.

Whatever their reasons for not responding, as the Saudis claim, to the repeated warnings about his extremism, he was clearly a danger to his adopted host country.

There is also, separately, the failure to close off, or at least guard, the emergency access route to Magdeburg Alter Markt that allowed him to allegedly drive his BMW into the crowds.

German authorities have defended the market's layout and said an investigation into the suspect's past is ongoing.

But a complicating factor here is that Saudi Arabia, although considered a friend and ally of the West, has a poor human rights record.

Until June 2018 Saudi women were forbidden to drive and even those women who publicly called for that ban to be lifted before then have been persecuted and imprisoned.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, still only in his 30s, just, is immensely popular in his own country.

Reuters Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he meets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2024Reuters
The Saudi crown prince pictured in Riyadh during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October

While Western leaders largely distanced themselves from him after his alleged involvement in the grisly murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which the crown prince denies, at home his star is still in the ascendant.

Under his de-facto rule, Saudi public life has transformed for the better, with men and women allowed to associate freely, and cinemas reopening, along with big, spectacular sports and entertainment events, even gigs performed by Western artists like David Guetta and the Black Eyed Peas.

But there is a paradox here.

While Saudi public life has flourished there has been a simultaneous crackdown on anything that even hints at more political or religious freedom.

Harsh prison sentences of 10 years or more have been handed down for simple tweets.

No-one is permitted to even question the way the country is run.

It is against this backdrop that Germany appears to have dropped the ball with Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.

Morrisons discount cards not working and Christmas deliveries delayed

23 December 2024 at 18:37
Getty Images The exterior of a Morrisons on a sunny day, with the logo prominentGetty Images

Morrisons customers have been unable to get discounts on their shopping ahead of Christmas after a problem with the More loyalty card.

The supermarket has been advertising heavy discounts on Christmas dinner food, including vegetables, in the last week.

But social media users say their discounts are not working at the till, with one person posting a photo of an error message at the self-checkout, which reads: "We are really sorry some promotions and discounts are not working at this time."

The Morrisons website also appears to be down, with a "502 bad gateway" error message on some pages.

Morrisons has been contacted for comment.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Good news for Christmas travellers as weather improves ahead of final rush

23 December 2024 at 17:18
Getty Images Cars on M4 motorway near Tata Steel Port Talbot in south WalesGetty Images

Weather conditions are improving across the UK ahead of the final Christmas travel rush and last-minute shopping dash.

Almost all weather warnings which had been in place have now been lifted, after the weekend saw strong winds cause flight cancellations and widespread rail delays.

The disruption included a plane suffering an emergency incident at Belfast City Airport on Sunday evening, when its nose wheel appeared to break during landing in stormy conditions. The runway reopened on Monday morning.

The Met Office has forecast a "grey Christmas" with "extremely mild" temperatures for most in the coming days - ruling out any prospect of a white Christmas for the majority of the country.

It comes after parts of the UK were hit by chilly temperatures and 50-60mph winds on Saturday and Sunday - with the strongest gust recorded in South Uist on the Western Isles clocking in at 82mph.

But the travel picture looks far more straightforward for those making journeys today or on Tuesday.

While Heathrow Airport was forced to cancel around 100 flights on Sunday due to the conditions, a spokesperson said it was "business as usual" on Monday.

And National Rail was not reporting any widespread issues on Monday morning, though there were some isolated problems around Inverness, Portsmouth and Southsea.

Ferry customers are still being warned of ongoing disruption on some routes operating from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A yellow weather warning for ice will remain in place for parts of northern Scotland until 10:00 GMT on Monday.

Temperatures are expected to improve "considerably" in the final run-up to Christmas Day, with sunshine forecast in some areas.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said "temperatures will be well above average" in England in Wales, though it will be overcast for many.

Christmas Eve is forecast to hit an average temperature of 12C or 13C, while Christmas Day is expected to be 11C or 12C.

"The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we'll be around double where we usually are," he added.

Hollywood stars support Blake Lively over legal complaint

23 December 2024 at 18:08
Getty Images America Ferrara, who has long black hair, next to Blake Lively, who has long blonde hair, on Good Morning America back in 2008Getty Images

Hollywood stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel have publicly backed US actress Blake Lively after she filed a legal complaint against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

Ms Lively filed the legal complaint over the weekend against Mr Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and a campaign to "destroy" her reputation.

Mr Baldoni's legal team told the BBC on Saturday that the allegations are "categorically false".

Ferrera, Tamblyn and Biedel, who starred with Lively in 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, issued a joint statement on Instagram on Sunday saying they "stand with her in solidarity".

Coleen Hoover, the author of It Ends With Us, also showed her support, describing Ms Lively as "honest, kind, supportive and patient".

Lawyers for Ms Lively say the legal complaint follows a meeting earlier this year to address "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour" by Baldoni, her co-star and a producer on the movie.

In their statement, Ferrera, Tamblyn and Biedel said: "As Blake's friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation.

"Throughout the filming of It Ends with Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice."

Getty Images Blake Lively, Alexis Biedel, America Ferrara and Amber Tamblyn cosy up for a group photo at New York's MTV Studios in 2008Getty Images
L to R: Blake Lively, Alexis Biedel, America Ferrara and Amber Tamblyn

They added: "Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors' stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.

"We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment," the statement added.

"We are inspired by our sister's courage to stand up for herself and others."

Lawyers for Mr Baldoni said they hired a crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.

In the drama It Ends With Us, Ms Lively plays a woman who finds herself in a relationship with a charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Mr Baldoni.

In a post to her Instagram stories, Colleen Hoover, the author of the novel on which the film was based, also voiced her support: "@BlakeLively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.

"Thank you for being exactly the human that you are.

"Never change. Never wilt."

She then linked to a New York Times article titled We Can Bury Anyone: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine.

Hoover also re-posted the statement from Ferrara, Biedel and Tamblyn, adding: "This statement from these women and Blake's ability to refuse to sit down and 'be buried' has been nothing short of inspiring."

The meeting between Ms Lively and Mr Baldoni, together with others involved in the movie's production plus Ms Lively's actor husband Ryan Reynolds, took place on 4 January 2024, and it aimed to address "the hostile work environment" on set, according to Ms Lively's legal filing.

Mr Baldoni attended the meeting in his capacity as co-chairman and co-founder of the company that produced the film, Wayfarer Studios. He was also the film's director.

In the legal complaint, Ms Lively's lawyers allege that both Mr Baldoni and the Wayfarer chief executive officer, Jamey Heath, engaged in "inappropriate and unwelcome behaviour towards Ms Lively and others on the set of It Ends With Us".

In the filing to the California Civil Rights Department, a list of 30 demands relating to the pair's alleged misconduct was made at the meeting to ensure they could continue to produce the film.

Among them, Ms Lively requested that there be no more mention of Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath's previous "pornography addiction" to Ms Lively or to other crew members, no more descriptions of their own genitalia to Ms Lively, and "no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex, or on camera climaxing by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project", says the complaint.

Ms Lively also demanded that Mr Baldoni stop saying he could speak to her dead father.

Getty Images Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of It Ends With US. They are mid-conversation. Baldoni is wearing all black. Lively has a brown dress on with an orange shirt over the top.Getty Images

Ms Lively's legal team further accuse Mr Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of leading a "multi-tiered plan" to wreck her reputation.

She alleges this was "the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr Baldoni and Mr Heath created".

Responding to the legal complaint, Mr Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said on Saturday: "It is shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives."

Mr Freedman accused Ms Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film", which would end up "ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met".

He alleged that Ms Lively's claims were "intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media".

In a statement via her attorneys to the BBC, Ms Lively said: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."

She also denied that she or any of her representatives had planted or spread negative information about Mr Baldoni or Wayfarer.

The film was a box-office hit, although some critics said it romanticised domestic violence.

Cadbury loses royal warrant after 170 years

23 December 2024 at 18:31
Matt Cardy/Getty Images A large slab of several squares of Cadbury chocolate.Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Cadbury was granted its first royal warrant under Queen Victoria in 1854

Chocolate maker Cadbury has been dropped from the list of royal warrants for the first time in 170 years.

The Birmingham-based chocolatier was awarded its first royal warrant as chocolate and cocoa manufacturers by Queen Victoria in 1854, but it has lost its royal endorsement under King Charles.

The King has granted royal warrants to 386 companies that previously held warrants from Queen Elizabeth II, including John Lewis, Heinz and Nestle.

Companies holding the Royal Warrant of Appointment, granted for up to five years, are recognised for providing goods or services to the monarchy.

Among the King's list of warrant holders are many firms selling food and drink, such as Moet and Chandon, Weetabix and chocolate makers Bendicks and Prestat Ltd.

Warrant holders are allowed to use the coat of arms of the royal they are associated with on packaging, as part of advertising or on stationery.

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'Cheeeeese... meet the man behind Wallace's new voice'

23 December 2024 at 18:13
BBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis Wallace & Gromit in Vengeance Most Fowl, running away from something with Wallace holding a torchBBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis
Wallace & Gromit in Vengeance Most Fowl

If you asked TV viewers to name a favourite double act, chances are the two stars of Vengeance Most Fowl would be close to the top of the list.

It's Wallace & Gromit's first major appearance in over a decade, and the first film not to feature the voice of Peter Sallis as the cheese-loving inventor.

"It has been quite emotional [doing this production] since we lost Peter, he was such an original, unique voice," says Nick Park of Sallis, who died in 2017 at the age of 96.

"So it's very hard for anyone to step into his shoes. But we have been blessed with a youngish actor whom we've known for many years who can do a fantastic Wallace impersonation.

"He's stepped in very kindly, and is just great. It's hard to tell them apart."

PA Media The original voice of Wallace, Peter Sallis with Nick Park in 2008PA Media
The original voice of Wallace, Peter Sallis with Nick Park in 2008

Take a bow, Ben Whitehead - the 47-year-old actor and voice artist says he feels honoured to be taking on the role. But also admits to feeling a degree of pressure.

"Enormous pressure!" he tells the BBC.

"Because it's a very popular character. I got to work with Peter [Sallis] a couple of times for [2005's] The Curse of the Were-Rabbit film.

"So yeah, there's a great deal of pressure with that. And I feel very grateful to Aardman for giving me so much time to build the character.

"You kind of have to do the 'hmm' and the 'hee-hee'," he continues - demonstrating some Wallace-isms that sound indistinguishable from Peter Sallies's Yorkshire tones.

"Definitely the elongation of the vowels like 'cheeeeese'!"

Why return now?

Fans have been clamouring for more from the plasticine pair for years. So why now?

"Whenever we've done talks around the world, the last question is always, 'When is the next Wallace & Gromit film?', explains Park. "The last time we did that I just came home burning with this idea that's been around for years."

The idea was - what if Wallace created a pre-programmed, voice-controlled smart Gnome.

Enter Norbot, but of course regular viewers of Wallace & Gromit will be unsurprised to learn that the inventor's well-intentioned idea, as usual, ends up causing mayhem.

Aardman Animations Wallace & Gromit with the smart gnome NorbotAardman Animations
In Vengeance Most Fowl Wallace & Gromit are joined by smart gnome Norbot

This isn't the only familiar element to appear in this latest story.

This new adventure also features an old villain, the criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw, a chicken-impersonating-penguin whom Wallace & Gromit - mostly Gromit - defeated in 1993's The Wrong Trousers.

BBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis Feathers McGrawBBC/Aardman Animations/Richard Davies/Stuart Collis
Feathers McGraw is back

"Whenever we're out and about talking about the future of Wallace & Gromit, the single most asked question is 'when will Feathers be back?", says Merlin Crossingham, who directs Vengeance Most Fowl alongside Nick Park.

"Everybody loves a villain, it's often said your film is only as good as its villain, [so it] seemed a perfect opportunity to bring Feathers back for this story."

Aardman Animations Directors Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park on one of the film's setsAardman Animations
Directors Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park on one of the film's sets

Wallace & Gromit were first introduced to audiences with 1989's A Grand Day Out. Since then their adventures have involved everything from malfunctioning clothing to mysterious were-rabbits.

"I think Wallace & Gromit have so many facets to their relationship," says Crossingham.

"They are best pals. They're kind of partners in crime, they're man and dog. And hopefully in the films, their stories, and their relationship everybody young and old relates to them.

"I truly think it's that relatability, not just of their simplicity of lifestyle from which madness erupts.

"But everybody somewhere in the stories connects with them on some level.

"And I think that what Nick has created, right back at the beginning with A Grand Day Out, has really struck a chord with people."

'Christmas day ratings battle'

The last time a new Wallace & Gromit adventure went out on Christmas Day was in 2008 with A Matter of Loaf and Death. It was day's most-watched show, with more than 16 million viewers tuning in.

It was also the most-watched show of the entire year.

While it's still possible that it could repeat that feat, it's up against some extremely tough competition.

"Bring it on, Gavin & Stacey!" jokes Crossingham, acknowledging the huge popularity of the Essex and Barry-based comedy, whose finale also goes out on Christmas Day.

However while Gavin & Stacey might be reaching its conclusion, this definitely isn't a finale for Wallace & Gromit.

"[It's] certainly not the end," says Nick Park. "I think there's plenty of bounce still in their bungee.

"We'll carry on. There's always ideas worth kicking about."

"Give us a minute though," Interjects Merlin. "They take a while to make!"

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is on BBC One at 18.10 on Christmas Day.

Unsealed crates reveal forgotten funfair dreamed up by art legends

23 December 2024 at 09:00
© Keith Haring Foundation/licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC Children and adults pile onto  Keith Haring’s carousel in Hamburg as others watch on.© Keith Haring Foundation/licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

Children played on fairground rides designed by the world's greatest artists for a single summer before they disappeared for decades.

The attractions were part of the world's first art funfair - Luna Luna - dreamed up by little-known Austrian creative André Heller in the 1970s, featuring a carousel by Keith Haring, a Ferris wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a David Hockney pavilion.

Visitors could wander Roy Lichtenstein's hall of mirrors and marvel at Salvador Dali's fun dome, sampling biscuits decorated by artist Gertie Frölich as actors dressed as nuns and flamingos milled about.

A successful attraction for months, plans for a grand European tour formed - but when they later fell through, an extensive legal battle ensued and the rides were shut down, disassembled and packed away, forgotten.

Until now.

Luna Luna is unwrapped

American entrepreneur Michael Goldberg stumbled across Luna Luna on an art blog. He'd never heard of it, despite some of the art world's biggest names contributing. Neither, to his surprise, had his friends in the industry.

"Everyone asked me what I was talking about," he said. "Something seemed a little odd."

'In love' with the fair, Goldberg wrote to Heller, introducing himself and proposing a new iteration of the Austrian's original dream.

The two slowly built a rapport and Heller revealed that the attractions had been stored in 44 shipping containers in Austin, Texas since their disassembly.

Opening in 1987, Luna Luna was a colourful success for three months. Its run was extended twice due to high demand, but while trying to fund a European tour, Heller fell into debt and sold the fair to an American foundation.

© Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC A young David Hockney smokes a cigarette as he paints a blue and red structure with someone peering over his shoulder. © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC
Artist David Hockney works on a model of his Enchanted Tree pavilion in Los Angeles, California, the year before Luna Luna first opened.

The foundation tried to back out of the deal - "buyers remorse", according to Goldberg - but eventually went through with it. For the duration of the years-long battle and the new ownership, however, the rides were kept in storage.

Decades since Luna Luna was packed away, Goldberg rallied a team of investors to buy what might be left of the exhibition from the foundation - sight unseen.

His key investor? Global rap star Drake, via his investment and entertainment business DreamCrew.

"The idea of restoring something so rich in cultural history outweighed the risks and for us, it wasn't about guarantees," Anthony Gonzales, CEO of DreamCrew, told the BBC.

The New York Times estimated they paid $100m (about £80m). The Guardian reported the sum at $1m. Goldberg did not disclose the final price to the BBC.

© Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC Two performers dressed as flamingos touch beaks at the center of a crowd.© Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC
Performers dressed as flamingos and nuns walked among visitors at Luna Luna in 1987.

When he opened the first of the containers, Goldberg started to sweat. Luna Luna's original merchandise had been torn to shreds.

"Did I just lead a group to spend millions of dollars on a pile of dust artwork that essentially rotted away?" he wondered.

It was a sleepless night.

But the next day, as more paper was removed from a second container, the light caught a toffee-apple-red handlebar to Haring's carousel, then the white floorboards of Basquiat's Ferris wheel, which "could have been painted days ago". It was a moment of "instant relief", said Goldberg.

The return of Luna Luna

Unearthing the artwork wasn't the hardest part of Luna Luna's revival.

Brad Gooch, author of recent official Haring biography, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, saw Luna Luna being reconstructed, describing the feat as "mind boggling."

"It was like a giant Lego with no instruction kit," he said.

A crew of artists, carnival technicians, curators and architects worked together to meticulously rebuild Luna Luna for two years before its grand reopening in LA this March.

Now, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy has come to a Midtown Manhattan art and theatre complex, The Shed. The fair is on display alongside exhibits detailing its surreal curation process.

Brian Ferry courtesy of Luna Luna LLC Visitors to Luna Luna's exhibits are blurred as they rush past the rides.Brian Ferry courtesy of Luna Luna LLC
Performers dressed in costumes by art collective Poncili Creación mingle with crowds at Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy in New York.

Alex Poots, creative co-founder of The Shed, described the journey as a "Raiders of the Lost Ark story", in reference to the film, praising Heller's ability to commission artists of such high calibre while finding a format appealing to "art lovers and yet to be art lovers."

"That is a holy grail kind of pursuit," he added.

Most of the original rides are now housed in a towering 17,000-square foot space. There, exhibition-goers can "marry" one another in Heller's Wedding Chapel - originally a form of protest art against anti-LGBTQ marriage laws of the 80s.

Hockney's Enchanted Tree Pavilion still smells faintly sweet, as if stampeding children once crushed fallen popcorn into its floor.

Goldberg's wish to incorporate "today's greatest artists" is fulfilled with a soundtrack by modern musicians André 3000, Jamie xx and Jockstrap echoing around the space.

Drake isn't involved day-to-day but, "he is passionate about Luna Luna and has provided his full support since the beginning," Gonzales said.

All the fun of the fair?

There's one big difference between 1987's Luna Luna and today's: Children aren't allowed on the rides.

Basquiat's Ferris Wheel and Kenny Scharf's swing ride are display-only. So too (thankfully) is Manfred Deix's Palace of the Winds in which performers originally farted into microphones.

Haring biographer Gooch doesn't think the artist would have approved of children just watching his carousel turn.

"I can't imagine he would allow it," he said. "He was pretty insistent about interactivity of children with art, and this was art that was specifically made for them."

BBC/Ottilie Mitchell Keith Haring's carousel with bold cartoon figures is in close up.BBC/Ottilie Mitchell
Keith Haring's cartoon-covered carousel spins without riders from time to time at the New York exhibition of Luna Luna.

Poots, who played a significant role in coordinating the interdisciplinary side of the exhibition said of the decision: "They're priceless works of art now."

But he champions the possibility of audiences becoming "part of this moving exhibition" through the "carnival-esque environment with performance artists with light, with sound".

It has been a career-long mission of Poots not "to create these silos for elites".

He added that ticket prices, criticised by some as being too high, are "pretty reasonable" as the show cost "millions and millions of dollars to install".

Among the families wandering around The Shed on Thanksgiving weekend were Raemy Suwatson and her 11-year-old daughter, who learned she wouldn't be able to go on the rides the morning of their visit.

Haring's carousel was her favourite. "I wanted to ride it" she said, then added "but it was also cool to watch".

© Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna LLC Luna Luna's rides and attractions from a birds eye view sit in a field.© Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna LLC
Luna Luna was originally held in a field in Hamburg before the rides went into storage.

The show is running from 20 November to 23 February, and will tour after it leaves The Shed. Ticket prices range from $44 for an adult to $241 for a Super Moon pass that allows buyers to skip lines. Children's tickets start at $25.

Top Arab Diplomats Visit Syria to Build Ties With New Leadership

By: Euan Ward
23 December 2024 at 19:10
Ministers from Jordan and Qatar were among the first high-ranking Arab diplomats to meet with the leader of the rebel coalition that toppled the Syrian regime two weeks ago.

© Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

Syrians celebrating the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on the second Friday after the fall of his regime.

被告人黄文以危险方法危害公共安全案一审宣判

By: 新华社
23 December 2024 at 17:14

新华社

2024年12月23日,湖南省常德市中级人民法院公开审理被告人黄文以危险方法危害公共安全案,对被告人黄文以以危险方法危害公共安全罪判处死刑,缓期二年执行,剥夺政治权利终身。

法院经审理查明:被告人黄文因投资亏损、与家人矛盾等原因,为发泄个人情绪,于2024年11月19日7时37分许,驾驶汽车在湖南省常德市鼎城区玉霞街道双潭路附近,加速、连续冲撞小学生等人群,并在车辆因故障停驶后持械下车攻击群众,被当场抓获。黄文的犯罪行为致7人轻伤、16人轻微伤、7人轻微伤以下损伤,其中包含18名小学生,使公私财产遭受重大损失。

常德市中级人民法院经审理认为,被告人黄文的行为构成以危险方法危害公共安全罪。黄文选择不特定多数的无辜小学生作为主要作案对象,犯罪动机卑劣,主观恶性极深;选择人流集中的地段、学生入校高峰时段,驾车冲撞人群,犯罪情节极其恶劣;犯罪行为造成多人受伤,使公私财产遭受重大损失,给被害人及在校学生、周边群众造成心理创伤,严重危害公共安全,扰乱社会秩序,造成恶劣影响,社会危害极大,应依法惩处。法庭遂作出上述判决。

河南“法官遭报复杀害”案一审宣判

23 December 2024 at 15:30

央视新闻客户端

12月23日,河南省安阳市中级人民法院对党志军犯故意杀人罪一案进行一审公开宣判,以故意杀人罪判处被告人党志军死刑,剥夺政治权利终身。

事件回顾

2024年8月7日傍晚,河南漯河市郾城区法院立案庭副庭长、一级法官王佳佳被犯罪嫌疑人党某某行凶报复,不幸遇害。

据漯河市郾城区公安机关侦查:

2024年8月7日18时26分,公安机关接报,某小区地下停车场负二层电梯口处有人被刺伤,公安机关立即赶赴现场,发现郾城区法院王佳佳法官颈部被刀割伤,已无生命体征。经查看相关录像,行凶者系王佳佳法官所办道路交通事故损害赔偿案件的原告党某某(男,50岁,漯河市郾城区居民,未婚)。

2024年8月8日3时许,公安机关在党某某家中将其抓获,被抓获时党某某已畏罪服毒,处于昏迷状态,经送医治疗无生命危险。

经上级法院组织对党某某起诉的道路交通事故损害赔偿案件进行评查,该案审理和判决情况如下:

2024年4月4日,党某某驾驶的两轮电动车(购于2021年,价格1800元)与李某某驾驶的小型客车发生轻度碰撞,造成党某某左踝关节处、左腕关节处轻微损伤。经交警部门事故责任认定,李某某负事故全责,党某某无责任。

因双方和解未成,2024年7月4日,党某某向郾城区法院提起诉讼,请求判令被告李某某和李某某投保的某财产保险公司赔偿其医疗费等各种损失18832.93元,经党某某申请,当地司法局为其指定了援助律师。

此案由王佳佳法官承办,经公开开庭审理,根据党某某在交通事故责任认定书上签字确认的损失范围以及双方提供的证据,对党某某主张的医疗费、施救费等损失全部予以支持;

因其住院29天中的后14天并未实际住院,医嘱仅开具1盒口服止痛胶囊和3盒外用消痛贴膏,结合交警部门认定党某某伤势轻微及被告的答辩意见,故酌定按15天计算住院伙食补助费、营养费、护理费、误工费、交通费;

对缺乏证据证明的其他财产损失请求依法不予支持。

遂于7月23日判令某财产保险公司在交强险责任限额内赔偿党某某各项损失9384.89元。

判决后,党某某对王佳佳法官未全部支持其诉讼请求心生不满,未通过法定程序寻求解决,于8月7日18时左右持凶器进入王佳佳法官居住的小区地下车库伺机作案,实施上述犯罪行为。

【CDT报告汇】AEP:中式人工智能充满党性,政治审查严重(外二篇)

23 December 2024 at 17:30

编者按:《CDT报告汇》栏目收录和中国言论自由及其他人权问题相关的报告资讯。这些报告的来源多种多样,包括机构调查、学术研究、媒体报道和网民汇集等等。也欢迎读者向我们推荐值得关注的报告。

CDT 档案卡
标题:【CDT报告汇】AEP:中式人工智能充满党性,政治审查严重(外二篇)
作者:中国数字时代
发表日期:2024.12.22
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

中国数字时代本周推荐媒体:

自由娜拉NORA:是一个缘起于“铁链女事件”民间行动的独立媒体,持续关注和监测中国人口贩运和精神障碍权益的最新新闻和政策动向,推动相关问题的政策倡导、学术交流和公共传播。

一、AEP:中国人工智能屏蔽真相,散播谎言,咄咄逼人,企图称霸全球

美国非营利组织AEP于12月21日发布了一份研究报告,揭示了中国人工智能(AI)存在积极的政治审查,否认中国侵犯人权的行为,并散播官方谎言做大外宣。

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报告封面

据悉,AEP全称为“美国优势项目”(The American Edge Project),是一个非盈利组织,由多位美国政界、军界高层人士发起,旨在用技术和创新推动美国经济发展。

该机构测试了中国三大AI模型——腾讯“混元大模型”(Hunyuan-Large)、阿里巴巴“Qwen2-72B-Instruct”,以及清华大学“ChatGLM-4”。他们将这三款AI模型与美国的Grok(X公司)、Llama(Meta)和ChatGPT(OpenAI)对比。结果发现:“美国的AI模型即使面对关于美国历史和领导人的敏感话题,也能提供详细且基于事实的回应,而中国的系统则展现出一致性的审查、扭曲以及迎合中国共产党的叙事。”

具体来讲:

  • 系统性的历史审查: 视频证据显示,中国AI模型主动扭曲重大历史事件。腾讯的混元模型错误声称“在天安门广场抗议活动中没有人死亡”,而ChatGLM则将死亡报道称为“不实”后完全自我审查。观看视频:
  • 人权问题上的错误信息: 在被问及已被记录在案的人权问题时,中国的Qwen2将对维吾尔族镇压的指控称为“毫无根据且虚假”,而Hunyuan则将其视作“公然的政治阴谋”以诋毁中国。美国的模型则提供了详细且基于事实的回应,并引用了国际人权组织的资料。观看视频:
  • 选择性政治审查: 中国的AI系统在政治话题上表现出系统性的偏见——它们可以随意批评西方领导人,但会主动阻止对中国领导人的任何批评。ChatGLM针对拜登总统给出了10条批评意见,但当被问及习近平主席时,却回复“对不起,但我无法满足该请求。”观看视频:

该机构CEO道格·凯利(Doug Kelly)表示:“中国的AI模型系统性地撒谎、审查并歪曲事实,以服务于专制议程——而中国正努力推动这些模型成为全球标准。美国必须在开源和闭源AI开发方面都保持领先,以确保自由与透明——而非审查与控制——塑造我们的全球数字未来。”

此外,报告还发出严厉警告:中国目前正在实施一项规模达1.4万亿美元的技术战略,其中包括通过“一带一路”倡议向155个国家扩展其AI系统。该机构称,其结果可能是中共将其AI技术及意识形态嵌入全球数字基础设施。

最后,报告以一系列建议作为总结,呼吁美国政策制定者加速开发与闭源AI模型的创新,并推广民主技术标准,积极在全球南方争夺技术影响力。

二、西藏研究机构:中国在不丹兴建“跨境村庄”

西藏研究网络“绿松石屋脊”(Turquoise Roof)于12月20日发布了一份报告,称中国截至2023年已经在不丹传统领土上建成了22个跨境村庄和定居点,总计约825平方公里的土地,占不丹总领土面积的2%。

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报告封面

报告称,中国的这一举措不仅对中不边界谈判产生了重大影响,还在中印地缘政治关系中引发了深远的战略考量。

据悉,这些中国村庄包括19个完整的村庄和3个小型定居点,共计752个住宅区,约2284个住宅单元,可容纳约7000名居民,包括普通移民、边防警察、建筑工人和军人。

其中,报告称中国在不丹西部洞朗高原(杜克拉码)周边地区建了8个村庄。然而,洞朗高原是中印对峙的关键地区,对中国在喜马拉雅地区的战略意义重大。因此,中国当局通过控制这一地区,在与印度的军事博弈中获得优势,同时推动不丹在首都廷布设立中国大使馆。

报告表示,中国对不丹土地的逐步占领通过六个阶段实现:

  1. 1990年代初:派遣牧民进入争议地区,与不丹牧民竞争土地使用权。
  2. 搭建牧民避难所并建立永久住所。
  3. 派遣军队巡逻以支持当地牧民。
  4. 建设军事哨所,后升级为永久性建筑。
  5. 从2004年开始修建连接西藏城镇的公路网络。
  6. 自2016年起,在争议地区建设村庄并迁移居民。

然而,中国并没有停下占领不丹领土的脚步。自2023年初以来,中国新增了7个村庄,使得东北部的住房数量达到此前的三倍以上。这些村庄的建设密度和规模表明,中国已不太可能将其占领地区归还不丹。即使未来达成协议,不丹可能仅能收回部分尚未开发的地区,而中国在东北部和西部的核心占领区域预计将保留在中国控制下。

绿松石屋脊表示:“中国在不丹境内建设跨境村庄的行为为国际社会带来了深刻的警示。这种‘强力外交’手段凸显出较小国家在面对大国机会主义领土要求时的脆弱性。”不丹由于印度的安全关切,始终未能与中国达成有效协议,而中国则利用这一僵局加速其战略推进。2023年3月,不丹似乎无奈接受了中国的大部分谈判条件,表明在中印地缘政治压力下,不丹的谈判空间极为有限。

最后,报告总结称,这种策略不仅影响了中不边界谈判,也为区域内其他领土争议提供了潜在先例,挑战了现行国际边界体系和小国的主权独立性。因此,在全球关注地缘政治平衡的背景下,中国在不丹的行动及其长期后果值得全球关注和警惕。

三、《中英联合声明》40周年,ARTICLE 19发文痛批中国当局失言

今年12月19日是1984年《中英联合声明》签署40周年。言论自由倡导组织“第19条”(ARTICLE 19)当天发文,批评中国当局“背信弃义”,今天已经完全背离了声明中“一国两制”的原则。

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文章截图

ARTICLE 19全球中国项目负责人迈克尔·卡斯特(Michael Caster)评论称:

40年前,中国向香港及国际社会作出了具有法律约束力的承诺。然而今天,它却系统性地剥夺了其在《联合声明》下所有与人权和基本自由相关的承诺的遗迹。

从2017年起,中国当局声称《联合声明》的大部分条款不再具有约束力,认为其“不具实际意义,也完全没有任何约束力”,只是“一份历史文件”。

然而,ARTICLE 19表示,《联合声明》实际上是一项国际法律协议,自1985年以来就已被注册为具有约束力的条约。其中,《联合声明》明确规定“在香港特别行政区内,法律将确保包括人身自由、言论自由、新闻自由、集会自由、结社自由、旅行和迁徙自由、通信自由、罢工自由、职业选择自由、学术研究自由和宗教信仰自由等在内的权利和自由”。

尽管如此,香港却从一个区域内自由表达的活跃灯塔迅速转变为一个日益接近中国内地的地方,成为世界上言论自由最受压制的环境之一。

ARTICLE 19每年都会发布全球言论自由指数。可是,在过去十年中,香港是下降最严重的地区之一,一共跌落了54分至“危机”等级。在2023年,这一指数显示香港在161个国家和地区中排名第125位。

ARTICLE 19称:“对香港自由的攻击主要来自北京于2020年实施的《国家安全法》和2024年的《维护国家安全条例》。这两项法律在由听命于北京的立法会通过后,成为打压异见的工具。这些法律被用来为大规模逮捕和监禁提供依据,例如2024年11月19日对45名民主派人士的大规模判刑,其中包括法律学者和和平抗议领袖戴耀廷以及学生领袖黄之锋,分别被判处10年至4年的监禁。”

最后,迈克尔·卡斯特(Michael Caster)表示:

通过肆意无视其在《联合声明》中的核心义务,中国逐渐剥夺了“一国两制”所剩无几的理念,以至于香港很快可能与中国大陆这个人权荒漠无异。中国单方面否定其仍然有效的条约义务,这种行为反映了该国对法治的蔑视,以及其对香港相关历史和国际法的系统性歪曲。

国际社会必须与香港团结一致,并加大措施追究中国的责任。

Haitians in Ohio Face Another Fear: Trump’s Vow on Deportations

23 December 2024 at 18:02
Many Haitian immigrants work at an Amazon warehouse near Springfield, packaging thousands of holiday gifts. But after Donald Trump won the election, some worry about their future.

© Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Frantzdy Jerome, who works at the Amazon warehouse in West Jefferson, Ohio, with his daughter, Jhade.

Sending Troops to Help Russia Was North Korea’s Idea, U.S. Officials Say

North Korean troops have now entered Russia’s war with Ukraine in a major way, and some have been killed, Western officials say.

© Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, left, and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, in a photograph provided by North Korean state media. Mr. Kim has sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia, according to Ukrainian and Western estimates.

Why Are North Korean Troops in Ukraine Taking Heavy Casualties?

23 December 2024 at 18:02
The North Korean army is one of the world’s largest.​ As it joins Russia’s war against Ukraine, its soldiers are paying a price for Kim Jong-un’s geopolitical maneuvers.

© Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

A photograph provided by North Korean state media showed troops taking part in a military parade last year in Pyongyang, North Korea.

U.S. Takes Aim at China’s Production of Essential Chips

23 December 2024 at 18:01
The older-style chips are crucial for a wide array of appliances and other machinery, including weaponry.

© VCG, via Getty Images

China is building more new semiconductor factories than any other country, threatening the viability of chip plants in Europe and the United States, U.S. officials argue.

Mpox Is Spreading in Congo’s Capital, Threatening Global Efforts to Contain the Virus

In crowded Kinshasa, two strains of mpox are sweeping through a community that relies on selling sex. Hundreds of thousands of vaccines sent to the country have not been used.

An mpox patient receiving care in a health center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.
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