China Town
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
Since 1998 there has been experimentation at the township level designed to expand the role of township residents in the selection of their leaders; these experiments initially went forward at the recommendation of the NPC despite provisions in China's Constitution which forbid direct election of officials above the village level. Such experimentation came to favor a system of "elections" incorporating open nomination of candidates by township residents and pro forma confirmation by the township people's congress, selected either directly by residents or indirectly by "residents' representatives." However, in July 2001, the NPC issued a directive reminding those responsible that such procedures need to be consistent with the Constitution. While limited experimentation continued to take place, the results of such elections were vulnerable to being overturned as "unconstitutional." ... [Read More]
China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)
Since 1998, there has been experimentation at the township level designed to expand the role of township residents in the selection of their leaders. The country's Constitution forbids direct election of officials above the village level, and a 2001 NPC directive emphasized that direct election of township-level officials was forbidden. In August, Wei Shengduo, a Party official in Chongqing municipality reportedly was detained for 2 weeks for trying to organize a direct election for the head of township government. Nonetheless, experimentation with indirect township-level elections continued during the year, and results of such elections were allowed to stand. Most such "elections" involved open nomination of candidates by township residents and pro forma confirmation by the township people's congress, selected either directly by residents or indirectly by "residents' representatives." ... [Read More]
China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)
The 1998 revised Village Election Law authorized the establishment of "villager's representative assemblies" to oversee the performance of village committees. Such assemblies already existed for years in some provinces; in 1997, for example, an assembly in Zhaoxin county, Hebei Province, reportedly removed 54 allegedly corrupt or incompetent village committee members and vetoed 72 "unreasonable" development projects. Township authorities in several provinces have held experimental elections to select local executive officials. Citizens of Sichuan's Buyun township in December 1998 held the first such vote. Despite central government expressions of concern that this election violated constitutional provisions requiring that the local people's congresses elect executive officials, the central Government ultimately confirmed the vote. Another experimental township election during 1999, the "two ballot" vote in Guangdong Province's Dapeng township, which was ex ... [Read More]
October
1111--10/01/04 Youth Town Hall Meeting ; Brookhaven Boys and Girls Club; Atlanta, Georgia ... 1111--10/26/04 Remarks to Korean Youth Town Hall; Habib House, Residence of the U.S. Ambassador; Seoul, Republic of Korea ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Burma is a source country for women and men trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Burmese men, women, and children (primarily from the country’s ethnic minority populations) are trafficked to Thailand, China, Bangladesh, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Korea, Macau, and Japan for forced labor — including commercial labor — involuntary domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, Burma is a destination for women from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) who are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation occurs from villages to urban centers and other areas, such as truck stops, fishing villages, border towns, and mining and military camps. The junta's policy of using forced labor is a driving factor behind Burma’s large trafficking problem. The Government of B ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: USTR Barshefsky on China WTO Accession, U.S. Trade Policy
Barshefsky brought her message of the benefits for American businesses and workers of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to Los Angeles, where she addressed an audience at the Los Angeles Town Hall March 22. ... Los Angeles Town Hall ... [Read More]
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Ocean TerritoryUnited KingdomIONoneCayman Islands! Cayman IslandsUnited KingdomCJGeorge TownChristmas IslandTerritory of ... (see note 13)! Saint HelenaUnited KingdomSHJamestownSaint Pierre and MiquelonTerritorial ... Virgin IslandsUnited StatesVQCharlotte AmalieVirgin Islands, British! Virgin Islands, BritishUnited KingdomVIRoad TownWake Island(no long-form name)United StatesWQAdministered from Washington, D.C.Wallis and FutunaTerritory of the Wallis and Futuna IslandsFranceWFMatâ'utuWestern Sahara(no long-form name)! To be determinedWINone ... [Read More]
China
The 1998 revised village election law authorized the establishment of "villager's representative assemblies" to oversee the performance of village committees. Such assemblies already existed for years in some provinces; in 1997, for example, an assembly in Zhaoxin county, Hebei province, reportedly removed 54 corrupt or incompetent village committee members and vetoed 72 "unreasonable" development projects. Township authorities in several provinces have held experimental elections to select local executive officials. Citizens of Sichuan's Buyun township on December 1998 held the first such vote. Despite central government expressions of concern that this election violated constitutional provisions requiring that the local people's congresses elect executive officials, the central government ultimately confirmed the vote. During another experimental township election during the year, the "two ballot" vote in Guangdong province's Dapeng township--explicitly authorized by the National Peo ... [Read More]
United States Embassy, Pretoria: Local News, March 30, 2005
The MV Explorer maneuvers into Jetty 2 at the Cape Town waterfront on Monday 1 ... You are in: U.S. Diplomatic Mission > Local News > March 30, 2005 Semester at Sea Program ship arrives in Cape Town with U.S. students and faculty for four day visit 1 ... [Read More]
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