The world economic crisis spells the death of globalization and action is needed to protect the poor, said organizers of the World Social Forum as it wrapped up in Brazil on Sunday.
“We have come out against neoliberal globalization, and now that this globalization is destroying itself we have to define the world we want,” said Candido Grzybowski, the founder of the event.
Another member of the forum’s organizing committee, Fatima Mello, said: “The crisis has forced us to improve our proposals. We have built up a big network against the crisis and we will launch various days of world action and campaigns this year to make sure the poor don’t pay its high price.”
The forum’s leaders hailed the strong participation at this year’s gathering, which brought together 133,000 people from unions, religious associations, family organizations, ecologists and other left-wing groups.
A large proportion of young attendees “guarantees the continuity of the World Social Forum,” Grzybowski said.
The first major protest to be mounted from meetings at the forum will be on March 28, against a G20 summit of developed and developing countries in London called to evaluate measures to combat the crisis.
Unions and other groups subscribing to that demonstration complain the G20 is not representative enough, and want a body such as a reformed UN to take up the task.
They also suggested an international tax on financial transactions and the wealthy to finance global public programs, an end to speculation in commodity markets and a shift of international monetary reserves away from the US dollar.
Although the forum started in 2001 as a leftwing alternative to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, it has become increasingly focused on its own activities.
The presence this year of the leftist presidents of Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay underlined its growing political importance, organizers said.
But attention was also directed at US President Barack Obama, with hopes high among participants that he would reverse policies by his predecessor George W. Bush seen as damaging to the environment, Latin America’s poor and the economy.
Many of those attending the forum expressed frustration at its “chaotic” nature, saying disorganization hampered the search for unified solutions and analyses.
“There was a lot of confusion between aims and methods,” said Lieven Vanhoutte, representing the Belgian union La Centrale Generale.
He called many of the 2,000 debates that took place as “symbolic,” but added that “the idea of bringing everyone together is a good one.”
Still, each association felt they had made some progress in pursuing their respective goals.
“Boycotting Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestinian land is on the social agenda for 2009,” said Arlene Clemesha of the Palestinian Movement for All.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS