Month: July 2019

(Xinhua)13:56, July 04, 2019

WASHINGTON, July 3 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Justice Department has been instructed to reverse its course and explore whether there is a path forward to add a citizenship question on the 2020 census while keeping consistent with the Supreme Courts decision blocking the move for the time being, local media reported Wednesday.

The shift came after President Donald Trump tweeted earlier on Wednesday that we are absolutely moving forward, as we must on the citizenship question in response to the departments Tuesday statement that the administration had dropped the question from the census.

The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect, or, to state it differently, FAKE! Trump tweeted.

Jody Hunt, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, told a federal judge in Maryland later that if they find a viable path, they plan to go to the Supreme Court for instructions … to simplify and expedite the remaining litigation and provide clarity to the process going forward.

The judge has asked for more information from the Justice Department by 2 p.m. Friday.

The Supreme Court ruled in late June that the Trump administration did not give an adequate reason for adding the question to the 2020 census and sent the issue back to the Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau, for further explanation.

If judicial review is to be more than an empty ritual, it must demand something better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the courts 5-4 majority opinion. He joined with the courts liberal wing in delivering the ruling.

Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham has agreed to testify on the issue before the House Oversight Committee on July 24.

The Trump administration had planned to ask all recipients a citizenship question on the 2020 census for the first time since 1950, claiming the question is needed to enforce the Voting Rights Act. Those who oppose the questions addition argue that the move will lead to an inaccurate population count since it will cause immigrants and noncitizens to skip the question or the census altogether.

Traditionally, there is another survey that is sent to one out of 36 households that asks the citizenship question.

The data obtained from the census, which is conducted once a decade under the Constitution, is used for the allocation of congressional seats and the distribution of billions of federal dollars to states and localities over the next ten years.

(Xinhua)16:14, July 04, 2019

BUENOS AIRES, July 4 (Xinhua) — The Sarti family is no different from a typical family of five living in Argentinas capital Buenos Aires, except for one significant difference: they recently became the first household in the city to supply the local electricity grid with energy produced at home.

Earlier this year the Sartis decided to install 12 Chinese-made solar panels. Authorities then equipped them with a bidirectional meter, which can show the flow of current that powers the household and the surplus that is fed into the electricity network.

The household is now recognized by a nationwide program — promoted by a new law called Distributed Generation of Renewable Energy Sources — as both a user and generator of energy.

We installed a photovoltaic energy system to supply the households consumption and, through the new Distributed Generation law, the surpluses can be returned to the grid, Ricardo Sarti, an engineer, told Xinhua at his home in the neighborhood of Belgrano.

Ricardo, who has worked in renewable energies for 15 years, said his household is the first in Buenos Aires to contribute to the grid, but not the first in the country, because there are others in other provinces.

The law was passed in March, and by April the family had begun the process of switching to solar power.

There were several stages, such as reserving the amount of power (the home) needed. Then the electric company checks if the equipment at home complies with all the norms, and finally, the company replaces the meter with a bidirectional meter, said Ricardo.

Besides tax breaks for users and other incentives, the government has helped lower the cost of installing solar power systems to promote the scheme, he noted.

Ricardo said the system is new in Buenos Aires, but it has been in existence for decades elsewhere in the world.

The system does not generate energy centrally, but can distribute the energy generated throughout a whole city or province, he said.

The benefits of this plan have become clearer since the largest blackout in Argentinas history struck on June 16, which left as many as 44 million Argentinians in the dark. Preliminary reports suggested problems with high-voltage transmission lines caused the outages but government authorities have not yet confirmed the claim.

The issue is that something like a faulty wire can affect an entire city … and with this system, if the generators continue to operate in many places, they will continue to deliver electricity, he said.

The Chinese-made solar panels have many advantages, noted Ricardo. If one panel is damaged, the others continue working.

In addition, they can be monitored remotely, and we can see how much current and how much power each of the panels is generating during daylight hours, he said.

Chinese companies have also made micro-inverters more accessible, which convert direct current (DC) energy produced by solar panels into alternating current (AC) energy that sustains household appliances.

The micro-inverters are from a U.S. company, but they are manufactured in China. They are cheap and simple to install, so there is no need for high-level professionals to be hired because it does not involve the use of high voltage, said Ricardo.

He expects that such solar power systems will become more commonplace as they become more affordable.

The use of this type of system will gradually grow, as the price of all of these components drops and the price of electricity continues to rise, he said.

To give you an idea, the price of photovoltaic modules dropped 40 percent in the past year and a half, Ricardo said. In the long term, everyone who has a house will be able to supply a large part of his own energy needs.

(Xinhua)17:02, July 04, 2019

VIENTIANE, July 4 (Xinhua) — The China-Laos railway will create thousands of local jobs when the project becomes operational in 2021, a Lao government official said.

Accordingly, the Lao government is planning to build a Lao railway vocational technical college with assistance from China to train and supply professional railway personnel.

Lao Deputy Minister of Education and Sports Kongsy Sengmany told Lao media that the college is in the design stage and will be finalized soon.

We think project construction will commence by the end of the year, he was quoted by local daily Vientiane Times on Thursday as saying.

Kongsy said construction of the facility, to be located near the National Stadium in Lao capital Vientiane, would take two years.

Lao Ministry of Education and Sports has sent more than 30 teachers for training in China as part of preparations for the new Lao railway vocational technical college.

One kilometer of the railway will require 15 people – including engineers and technicians for internal services and computers, he said.

Kongsy said the vocational technical college would help prepare skilled laborers and ensure local people could be employed in the railway project that will link Lao capital Vientiane to the Laos-China border.

Once operational, the college will comprise six courses and will accept about 300 students a year. Students will learn all aspects relating to the running of railway machinery, including driving trains, services at stations, as well as electrical repairs and maintenance.

The 414-km China-Laos railway runs from Boten border gate in northern Laos to the capital Vientiane within an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

By ZhongSheng (Peoples Daily)14:38, July 01, 2019

The outcomes of the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka summit on June 29 have sent a positive signal to the two countries and the world.

At their gathering, the two leaders agreed to restart economic and trade consultations between their countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

They also agreed that the US side will not impose new tariffs on Chinese exports and the negotiating teams on both sides will hold talks on relevant issues.

Only by correctly grasping the fundamental issues concerning the China-US relations can the two countries charter the course for the development of their relations. It is of great significance to jointly advance a China-US relationship featuring coordination, cooperation and stability.

The essence of the China-US economic and trade cooperation is to find mutual benefit and create win-win situations, Xi emphasized.

China and the US have highly integrated interests and extensive cooperation areas. They should become good cooperative partners, which is good for both sides, as well as the world. Xi has repeatedly stressed this point and China鈥檚 stance has never changed.

The Chinese and American people have a long tradition of friendship. On the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations, people should not forget the profound friendship between the two peoples starting from ping-pong Diplomacy, and the economic development opportunities delivered to China and the US by the opening-up of the Chinese market.

Responding to the voice of the people and safeguarding the common interests of China and the US requires the two sides to work hard to explore and mobilize all the positive and potential energy. In that way, the cooperation prospects between the two countries will become wider and the momentum for constructive action will become stronger.

Although there are some differences between China and the US, the reality of dominant significance is that the interests of the two sides are highly intertwined and the fields of cooperation are broad.

To deal with the relationship between major countries, we must focus on the big picture, stand on the overall height and rationally weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

Controlling differences is a responsibility China and the US need to jointly assume. It is imperative to avoid making irreparable historical mistakes due to short-sightedness and particularly necessary to be aware not to fall into so-called traps of conflict and confrontation.

The right thing to do is to let real wisdom play a role, choose the path of mutual promotion and common development and create conditions for brighter prospects.

For his part, Trump said he values the good relationship with Xi, adding that his country is willing to cooperate with China.

The US side harbors no hostility towards China, hopes for better relations between the two countries and will follow the principles and consensus established by the two heads of state.

Trump鈥檚 remarks also attracted international attention. By making the decision to restart economic and trade consultations, the two countries have indicated that they are willing to find a mutually acceptable solution to solve problems through dialogue and consultation. The key is to keep the words and take actions.

It is worth noting that only by complying with the will of the two peoples and respecting rules can China and the US maximize common interests. The two sides both benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation, and cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation.

Practice has repeatedly proven that key for a healthy China-US relationship is to firmly grasp the correct direction. Without mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, it is impossible for China-US relations to continue developing in a healthy and stable manner.

At present, it is urgent for the two countries to follow the principles and direction set by the two heads of state by maintaining exchanges at all levels and strengthening cooperation in various fields.

At the Osaka summit, China announced measures to expand opening-up, which include further opening up its market, proactively expanding imports, continuously improving its business environment for foreign enterprises, extending equal treatment to all foreign investment and pressing ahead with various trade agreement negotiations.

China is accelerating the formation of a new opening-up landscape and embracing a bright future of high-quality development.

The country has full confidence in following its path and running its own affairs well. It will work in the spirit of peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation with all other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind and to tirelessly pursue a brighter future of the global economy.

To explore the future of China-US relations, we should not jump out of the historical and international background.

It is hoped that through restarting economic and trade consultations, the China-US economic and trade relations will go back onto the right track.

The two countries should increase mutual trust with sincerity, make choices with rationality and promote action through consensus building. The process may be a long and arduous effort. We must press ahead with a sense of urgency and perseverance to achieve our goals.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People鈥檚 Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)