Russia's far east, whose population is declining, is keeping a careful eye on neighboring China as the world's most populous country witnesses rapid economic growth, the visiting governor of the Khabarovsk region said.
"We are closely studying the development of China," Victor Ishaev said, noting that China faces "a very large number of threats which it won't be able to resolve on its own internally."
Ishaev said the threats to the country of 1.3 billion people included massive unemployment in both cities and rural areas and a lack of water and arable land, as the nation with 22 percent of the world's population has only 7 percent of the world's fertile land.
"All of this is leading to the development of business in other territories," he said on Tuesday on a visit to Tokyo.
The 13 regions of the Russian far east have lost 17.8 percent of their population since the collapse of the Soviet Union, nearly entirely due to emigration with 1.8 million people leaving since 1990, Ishaev said.
Asked whether Chinese labor could pose a threat, the governor said his region was delighted by the presence in Khabarovsk of businesspeople and tourists and welcomed workers from China, North Korea, Ukraine and Turkey.
"But I certainly don't want to say there are no problems," he said.
No more than 10,000 Chinese people head to the Khabarovsk region each year, Ishaev said.
"We are in control of this issue for the moment," he said.
"But nature hates a void. If we, that means Russia, work actively to develop the Far East, all will be fine. If we don't, all will go badly," he said.
He said the outcome of the foreign-labor issue was up to Moscow.
"The worse the [central] power carries out its functions, the more problems there will be," he said.
Russia and China reached a deal in October in Beijing to demarcate the final 2 percent of their 4,300km border under which islands in the Amur river were divided.
The governor said that "not one square meter of farmland" and "not one dacha [country home]," were handed over to China.
Nonetheless, "even if there is no economic loss, we can be starting a political precedent," he said.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS