It is ‘Global Village Today’ that delivers major news from various countries around the world.
Host) What news do you have today?
Reporter) Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia next week to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The French government has been criticized for passing the pension reform bill without a parliamentary vote.
Host) Global Village Today, this is the first news. Has it been announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia next week?
Reporter) Yes. The governments of China and Russia announced simultaneously on the 17th. President Xi will pay a state visit to Russia from the 20th to the 22nd at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It’s been almost 4 years since President Xi visited Russia. President Putin invited him to Russia at a meeting with President Xi in December last year.
Moderator) What is the specific purpose of President Xi’s visit to Russia this time? How did the two countries explain it?
Reporter) Yes. First, at a regular briefing on the 17th, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that President Xi “exchanged in-depth views with President Putin on major international and regional issues of common interest and relations between the two countries, promote strategic cooperation and substantive cooperation between the two countries. It will inject new impetus into the development of country relations.”
Moderator) Are you talking about discussing current issues between the two countries and promoting the development of bilateral relations?
Reporter) Yes. Spokesperson Wang also said, “Currently, the world is entering a new era of turbulence and reform as the change of the century accelerates.” It goes far beyond that,” he said.
Moderator) What did the Russian side, which invited President Xi, say?
Reporter) Yes. The Office of the President issued a statement. “The two leaders will exchange views in the context of deepening cooperation between the two countries in the international arena, and discuss issues of further development of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction,” the statement said. “President Xi and President Putin will sign important bilateral documents,” the statement added. Earlier, Putin said that Xi’s visit could “show the world the strength of bilateral relations and could become a major political event of the year for bilateral relations.”
Moderator) Was there no mention of the Ukraine issue in the presentation of the two countries?
Reporter) Yes. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a Twitter post about President Xi’s visit to Russia on the 17th, “China will maintain an ‘objective and impartial stance’ on the war in Ukraine and will play a constructive role in promoting peace talks.” In a regular briefing on the 17th, Spokesperson Wang Wonbin also explained that Xi’s visit to Russia was partly “to promote peace”, although he did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine.
Moderator) Regarding the war in Ukraine, Spokesperson Hua Chunying and Spokesperson Wang Wonbin mentioned ‘peace’. China recently proposed a plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Reporter) Yes. On the 24th of last month, the first anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, China published a document titled “China’s Position on the Political Resolution of the Ukraine Crisis”. China proposed 12 items in the document, including respect for sovereignty, cessation of hostilities, initiation of peace negotiations, and cessation of unilateral sanctions.
Moderator) The Western side showed a lukewarm response to this proposal, right?
Reporter) Yes. The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), etc. showed a reaction. However, Russia and Ukraine have shown a more open attitude than the West to such Chinese proposals. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang urged Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva on the 16th to start peace negotiations with Russia. “China has always maintained an objective and impartial stance on the Ukraine issue, committed to promoting peace and advancing negotiations, and called on the international community to create conditions for peace talks,” Qin said.
Host) What did Ukraine say about this?
Moderator) Yes. Kuleba tweeted that she and her pro-minister had “discussed the importance of the principle of territorial integrity”. “I emphasized the importance of the peace formula proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky to end aggression and restore peace,” he said. Meanwhile, Minister Kuleba also spoke with US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln on the same day (16th).
Moderator) China seems to be trying to mediate the peace plan in Ukraine. Has there been any real success in this mediation activity in other regions?
Reporter) Yes. China recently brought Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two “enemies” of the Middle East, to Beijing to mediate an agreement to restore diplomatic relations that had been severed for seven years since 2016. After reaching an agreement, Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China’s “diplomatic command tower,” said, “We will continue to play a constructive role in global conflicts and show a sense of responsibility as a major country, in accordance with the wishes of all countries.” . The AFP news agency analyzed that the agreement “challenged US supremacy in the Middle East.”
Moderator) By the way, there was also a report that President Xi Jinping would speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone?
Reporter) Yes. It was reported that Xi would speak to President Zelensky after wrapping up his visit to Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba told the BBC that Zelensky was ready to speak with Xi. However, the Chinese government has not confirmed this report.
Moderator) Shall we listen to some news about Ukraine? Have you heard the announcement that Poland is providing fighter jets to Ukraine?
Reporter) Yes. Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on the 16th that Poland would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine within days. In addition, President Duda said that he will send several more fighters of the same type in the future. The number of fighter jets Poland will provide to Ukraine is said to be between 11 and 19. Meanwhile, the U.S. government said the U.S. still has no plans to deliver warplanes to Ukraine.
Protesters against pension reform march in Paris, France, on the 15th. (data photo)
Host) Global village today, the next news. This time it’s from France. Conflict over pension reform has entered a new phase?
Reporter) Yes. The French government of Emmanuel Macron decided to pass the pension reform bill on the 16th without a parliamentary vote. To this end, President Macron instructed Prime Minister Elisabeth Born to exercise the powers stipulated in Article 49 Paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
Moderator) What does this provision specifically mean?
Reporter) Yes. The provision would allow the executive to pass legislation without a House vote after cabinet deliberations.
Moderator) Is there any way for Congress to reverse this action?
reporter). Once this provision is invoked, Congress has 24 hours to introduce a no-confidence motion. If this no-confidence motion is approved by a majority of the full number of MPs, the bill becomes null and void and government ministers, including the Prime Minister appointed by the President, must be removed from their seats. However, if there is no no-confidence bill, or if it does not pass the vote, the bill is considered adopted and becomes law.
Host) Has there ever been a case in the past where a no-confidence bill was passed after Article 49, Paragraph 3 of this Constitution was invoked?
Reporter) Yes. After the current constitution of the Fifth Republic was enacted in 1958, a no-confidence bill was passed only once, in 1962.
Moderator) The core of the pension reform proposed by the Macron government was to raise the retirement age, right?
Reporter) Yes. The goal is to raise the age at which you can receive your pension when you retire from 62 to 64. Macron’s government has called for a higher retirement age to prepare for retirement savings and the depletion of pension funds as birth rates fall and people live longer.
Moderator) But didn’t fierce opposition erupt around the union?
Reporter) Yes. Many workers are still enduring hardships while waiting for the day they will retire, but they protested that raising the retirement age was unfair and could never be accepted. When the government pension reform plan was released, workers’ organizations continued to strike and resist. In the political world, there are voices opposing not only the opposition parties but even within the ruling party.
Moderator) Are you protesting that the government has destroyed this hope when workers are waiting for the day they get a pension?
Reporter) Yes. There is criticism that the government is only for the rich. Opponents of the pension reform bill call it cruel, inhuman and degenerative. Meanwhile, when news broke that the government had handled the pension reform bill without parliamentary approval that day (16th), fierce protests broke out in Paris, the capital.
Moderator) Do you think there will be a motion of no confidence in Macron’s government in the parliament?
Reporter) Yes. First of all, the far-right National Front party announced on the 16th that it would submit a no-confidence motion in parliament. However, even if the no-confidence bill goes to a vote, it is unlikely that it will pass. This is because most of the far-right, left-wing, and conservative opposition parties must join forces.
Host) I will listen to the global village today.