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| Keeping the pressure on China | Wu'er Kaixi Liu Xiaobo's Nobel peace prize must be the first of many steps by the west to encourage real political reform in ChinaIt may not be easy to reconcile the recent pledges by the Chinese premier that China will carry out political reforms with its official, outraged reaction to the Nobel peace prize awarded to the dissident Liu Xiaobo, a former teacher at Beijing Normal University who joined us student protesters in the Tiananmen uprising. But for China watchers – and for those of us involved in the rights struggle in China – the cries of "a blasphemy" and threats of diplomatic repercussions for Norway came as no surprise. This is the reaction to be expected from a government that does not tolerate dissent – and will never carry out reforms without a lot more pressure than it has received in the past two decades.The petulant rhetoric of misunderstood authoritarian regimes can strike an amusing note (when the Dalai Lama won the 1989 prize, Beijing retorted that he was a "wolf in monk's robes"). But China is not a "hermit state" like North Korea or Myanmar. It is the world's second largest economy and, not so long ago, it was host to the Olympics. And this is the reason that the Norwegian Nobel peace prize committee's decision to turn the screws should not only be applauded, but welcomed. It is hopefully the first of many steps the west will carry out to put pressure on China and ensure that premier Wen Jiabao's calls for political reform are more than just a sop to critics abroad.The time has come for the world to begin to engage China intelligently – something it has not done in the past 21 years I have been in exile. It is time to abandon the delusional notion that economic prosperity will lead to political reform – it hasn't and it won't. It is also time to abandon the specious argument that China's "special conditions" justify authoritarian one-party rule. Yes, China is a big country but that does not automatically strip its people of rights we hold to be fundamental elsewhere.We don't have to look far to find two examples of authoritarian command economies that once imprisoned dissent and stifled free speech and are now prosperous democracies: South Korea and Taiwan. The west played a role in their transition – encouraging free trade and applying pressure when it came to human rights. It is time to take the same approach to China.Pressure will not transform China into a thriving democracy any time soon. But it would provide hope to brave Chinese who struggle for voices to be heard and are seeking redress for land grabs, forced relocations and illegal detainment of petitioners among a host of other injustices.In 1989, we exiled student protesters were received well in the west. We faced tanks and machine guns in Beijing, but we had the support of the rest of the world. This made us believe that with the support of the international community we could help pressure China into becoming a freer and more tolerant place. Unfortunately, all too quickly, it was business as normal and Tiananmen became an inconvenience. Before meeting us or giving us a venue to voice our views, people began to consider what kind of message that would send to the Chinese regime.But not meeting us and sweeping our views aside sent another message to the Chinese regime – that the human rights movement in China was no longer relevant to the outside world, and we had become insignificant. I have been told as much during the course of my long and failed negotiations to either be allowed to return to China or for my parents to be issued passports so they can visit me.Hopefully, the Nobel prize committee's decision to recognize Liu will be a reminder to Beijing that human rights in China have not been forgotten. Hopefully it will be a reminder to others in the west that it is still possible to put principles ahead of business interests.Chinese dissidents like Liu will continue to play the role they have done while the rest of the world mostly looked the other way. This is a common responsibility for all of us at odds with the regime in China – no matter whether in exile or facing injustice at home. But it is also a global responsibility because it is in global interests. Applying pressure where pressure is due is the only way to make China a more responsible partner on the world stage. And a freer, more transparent and more accountable China is a China that the world can talk to and negotiate with. To fail to engage with China in this way is to passively encourage China to go its own way, to make up its own rules.Engaging with China is not only the right thing to do; it would be wrong not to do so. To not act is a kind of appeasement, and it sends a message to China that it can do what it likes with impunity. If we want to see a China whose astounding economic growth is matched by a political culture that speaks our language, we have to act together to bring that culture into existence.I hope the peace committee's latest decision inspires people worldwide to imagine that the message we send the Chinese regime does not have to be the one it wants to hear. The alternative is to risk another Tiananmen – or the creation of an intractable world power that tolerates dissenting opinions abroad as little as it does at home.ChinaLiu XiaoboNobel peace prizeProtestHuman rightsWu'er Kaixiguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Countrywide's Mozilo settles lawsuit Angelo Mozilo, highest-profile defendant to face trial over US sub-prime mortgage collapse, pays $67.5m in SEC lawsuitAngelo Mozilo, former chairman and chief executive of Countrywide, the biggest US sub-prime mortgage lender, has agreed to pay $67.5m (£42m) in penalties and compensation to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.Known as "the orange one" for his luminous tan, Mozilo will pay a $22.5m civil penalty, plus $45m in compensation to investors.Two other defendants – Countrywide's president, David Sambol, and former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki – also agreed settlements in a Los Angeles federal court. Sambol is to pay $5.5m and Sieracki $130,000. Mozilo also agreed to a permanent ban as a director of a public firm.The settlement came just before Mozilo and his former colleagues were due in court to face charges of civil fraud and insider trading. Under the terms of agreement, the men did not admit wrongdoing.The Securities and Exchange Commission accused the men of misleading shareholders about the quality of the loans on Countrywide's books. The civil complaint also accused Mozilo of acting on his inside knowledge of the company's precarious state when he sold shares between November 2006 and October 2007 ahead of its collapse, reaping more than $139m.Mozilo is the highest-profile defendant yet to face trial for risky business practices leading to the housing collapse that sent the US into recession.In legal filings, regulators portrayed the defendants as engaging in a single-minded pursuit of market dominance, even if it meant knowingly taking disastrous risks. The firm was a major player in the market for high-risk sub-prime mortgages and became the biggest US mortgage lender overall before it spiralled into disaster when the mortgage market collapse hit.As the largest US mortgage provider, Countrywide has shouldered much blame for the aggressive promotion of loans to poorer households. It is under investigation in Illinois for misleading customers about their repayment commitments.The company provides one in seven US home loans but its shares collapsed by 80% in 2007 as the market realised that many of Countrywide's mortgages were to people unable to afford repayments once their short-term "teaser" rates expired.Countrywide was saved from bankruptcy by Bank of America, which paid billions to settle investigations over the mis-selling of risky loans to thousands who could not afford them. The firm ran a "VIP programme" that gave loans on favourable terms to influential figures including Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee; heads of the federal-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and former assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke.US housing and sub-prime crisisUS economySecurities and Exchange CommissionRegulatorsCredit crunchMarket turmoilFinancial crisisUnited StatesReckitt BenckiserPharmaceuticals industryHealthcare industryNHSHealthJulia Kolleweguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
What future for the Lausanne movement? | Matthew Cresswell Relations with China continue to pose a challenge to evangelical Christians' global vision as they meet in Cape TownThis week, more than 4,000 evangelical Christians from 198 countries have flocked to Cape Town for The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation. Although lacking more than 200 Chinese delegates, who were barred from attending by the Chinese government, the organisers believe it may be the "most representative gathering of the Christian church in history". US evangelist Billy Graham's original Lausanne conference in 1974 changed the way evangelicals thought, acted and went about their mission. However, whether Lausanne III will build on that legacy without its world famous preacher – now aged 91 and unable to attend – remains to be seen.Many of the Chinese delegates were turned away just hours before their flights. According to reports, the Chinese government accused the conference leaders of inviting members of China's underground house churches and not inviting members of its official state churches. But the conference has denied this, saying it invited representatives of the China Christian Council (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The executive chair of the Lausanne Movement, Doug Birdsall, said: "The Lausanne planners have no intention of challenging the Chinese government's principle of independent, autonomous and self-governed churches. We recognise the nature of the Christian community and their contribution in Chinese society while respecting China's established institutions."It was hoped that Lausanne III would be a landmark in improving relations with the Chinese authorities. But this week only demonstrates that China is still not at ease with many international evangelical movements. At the last Lausanne Congress in Manila in 1989, 200 seats reserved for Chinese delegates were also left vacant, having again been barred by the government. More than 20 years on, the situation is the same.Graham convened the International Congress on World Evangelism in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 1974. The conference produced the Lausanne Covenant, which evangelicals regard as one of the most significant documents in recent church history. Not only did it call for a renewed mission to the world, but it argued for a more holistic approach to evangelism. Instead of just preaching at people and handing out a few gospel tracts, Christians were encouraged to commit to social justice and to think more globally.Fifteen years later this was built upon on at the Manila conference. Here delegates formed more than 350 partnerships around the world. However, the conference happened just months before the fall of the Berlin wall. Suddenly the world they had planned for changed dramatically, rendering much of their work void.Mark Greene, executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, has some insights into Lausanne's legacy. "I think one thing the Lausanne movement did achieve through 1974 was to help the evangelical wing of the church see how concern for people's everyday needs, and in particular the poor, is an intrinsic part of the good news," he said. "Sitting there in the abrahamic covenant is a call to make the world a better place. The effect of 1974 meant that the notion to serve the poor didn't mean you were giving up on the gospel – which says if you don't know Jesus then there are dire consequences – instead it meant you are demonstrating one of its core values."He and others argue that without Lausanne many modern Christian organisations, would look very different. However, Greene fears Lausanne III may not be tackling a certain need – the task of discipling the world's converts. "This week a man from Rwanda, attending the conference, made the basic point that 90% of Rwandans were Christians and, yet, they still saw a terrible genocide, why was this? It was because they hadn't been discipled in the gospel of Jesus. They weren't told that being Christian means not hating Tutsis if you're a Hutu, or not hating Hutus if you're a Tutsi."Graham's legacy remains at the heart of the Lausanne movement. There is frequent video footage of his preaching rallies being shown at the Cape Town conference. But can this movement perpetuate his momentum? The conference hosts some of the most influential evangelicals in the world including the Alpha Course's pioneer Nicky Gumbel, US pastors Rick Warren and Tim Keller – both authors of best-selling books – and a host of African bishops, including Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda. But is there a firebrand like Graham? A man who could sell out stadiums, schmooze with presidents and start worldwide movements, whether you believed a word he said or not.Ruth Padilla DeBorst from Costa Rica, a spirited woman preacher and a rising star on this scene, believes the Lausanne movement has a future. She serves as General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship and this week made history by being the first woman to exposit the bible in a main Lausanne conference meeting, although there were murmurs of a mini boycott of her talk. "I think that God uses different people, in different ways in different times, and Billy Graham was a catalytic force in his day," she told me. Given the glowing reports of her speech at the conference, many delegates would no doubt want Padilla DeBorst to take on Graham's mantle.ChristianityReligionChinaMatthew Cresswellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
French MPs adopt pension reform France's National Assembly votes to raise the pension age by two years after weeks of industrial action against the change. bbc.co.uk |
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