Foreign news
China outlines four-point proposal on global fight against corruption
China made a four-point proposal on international cooperation against corruption on Wednesday, calling for a zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption and respect for differences between countries.
Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC (CCDI), made the remarks during a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation.
“China is an active participant in and contributor to global anti-corruption governance,” Zhao said. The country contributed to the adoption of the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption by APEC and the High-Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery by the G20, and put forward the Beijing Initiative for the Clean Silk Road to deepen Belt and Road cooperation, he noted
Outlining China’s proposal on global anti-corruption cooperation, he called for extensive efforts to uphold fairness and justice.
“The international community needs to forge broad political consensus, take a zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption, build zero-loophole institutions, carry out zero-barrier cooperation, and press ahead with cooperation on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery and on foreign business bribery,” he said.
Meanwhile, countries should respect differences between them and promote equality and mutual learning, he stressed.
“We need to respect the sovereignty and political and legal systems of each country, respect their right to choose their own ways of fighting corruption, and foster an international partnership for anti-corruption cooperation that is based on equality, respect for differences, exchanges and mutual learning, and common progress.”
China’s anti-graft chief called on the international community to “pursue mutually-beneficial cooperation through extensive consultation and joint contribution.”
He also urged countries across the world to “honor commitments and put action first.” Signatories to the UN Convention against Corruption should “honor their solemn commitment of fighting corruption together.”
China’s ‘sweeping victory’ against corruption
Zhao reviewed China’s anti-corruption drive, stressing that the CPC and the Chinese government “stand unequivocally against corruption.”
“We have adopted a holistic approach to address both symptoms and root causes of corruption, and combined law-based punishment, institutional checks, and education and guidance to made our anti-corruption governance more effective,” he said.
In 2020, disciplinary inspection commissions and supervision agencies across the country investigated about 618,000 corruption cases, leading to the punishment of 604,000 people, a report by China’s top anti-graft body said. A total 1,421 fugitives were brought back to China last year, the CCDI report showed.
With “multi-pronged measures” to tackle all acts of corruption, China has secured and consolidated a “sweeping victory” in the fight, Zhao said.
According to a recent survey by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, 95.8 percent of the Chinese people are satisfied with the country’s anti-corruption efforts, he noted.
‘We cannot allow corruption to continue’
The UN General Assembly convened its first ever special session on combating corruption on Wednesday. The special session will conclude on Friday.no
Addressing the special session, Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, said Wednesday the effects of corruption are “detrimental to all of society” and that it should not be allowed to continue unchecked.
“Transnational financial crime and corruption are unfortunately commonplace in our interconnected, interdependent world,” Bozkir said, adding that corruption affects decision-making processes and “remains one of the most critical challenges for states, institutions, and communities.”
“We cannot allow corruption to continue. We will not,” he stressed.
Foreign news
EU Cautiously optimistic on Syria engagement – Official
Irish foreign minister Simon Harris said on Monday that the European Union (EU) “is cautiously optimistic on Syria engagement” but called for more deeper engagement to strengthen relations with the country.
Harris said this at a news conference held at the EU Headquarters in Brussels, the Belgian capital.
“It’s early days, but I think there are signs of optimism. But it is important that we continue to engage.
“I don’t think it would be a good scenario if any other geopolitical actors and forces engage with Syria and for the European Union not to be in a position to intensively engage with them,“ he said.
In her remarks, Ms. Kaja Kallas, the Vice-President of the EU described Syria’s future as fragile but said that the bloc needed to take the right steps.
“But of course, we need to see the right steps as well. Right now, they’re saying all the right words, and they are doing also the right things.
“Therefore, we have this set step-for-step approach, and if they take the steps, then we are willing to take the steps as well,’’ she said.
On the war in Gaza, Harris said President Donald Trump and his team are very much a party to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after the intensive work that was put in.
He conceded that the Trump administration put in a lot of effort to arrive at a ceasefire agreement in the days before his assumption of office for a return to the White House.
“I think that was important and there is no doubt that the intensive work invested by the Trump administration played a very significant role in helping to bring about a ceasefire – a ceasefire that has now seen a cessation of hostilities, the killing, and the bombings.
“Also, that has seen the flow and has seen hostages being released. It’s really important that the ceasefire is in place.
“It is also important, though, to acknowledge in that ceasefire agreement itself, it does talk about people being able to return, and therefore, I think it’s important that we’re consistent in the approach that we take.
“The priority, I think, needs to be on implementing to the letter, the ceasefire agreement.”
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