Advancing Food Safety in China

on March 1, 2008

Over the past year, intense media attention has focused on food safety in the People’s Republic of China. Since the headlines broke, the government of China has been quick to respond, both highlighting the work it was already doing and taking many further concrete actions. It has also recognized that there is more work to do, and has indicated that it would welcome capacity building support and advice both from the international community in general and from the UN System in particular. The purpose of this paper is to set out the UN System’s analysis of the food safety situation in China.

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Kennett Werner
Topics: 
Health
Keywords: 
Food Safety
Health Care
United Nations
Organization: 
United Nations

Hong Kong SAR as a Financial Center for Asia: Trends and Implications

By Cynthia Leung and Olaf Unteroberdoerster on March 1, 2008

We document Hong Kong SAR's evolving role as an international financial center in the Asia region, the importance of the growing special link with China as well as supply-side advantages, and outline the scope for future financial services growth. Hong Kong SAR has a long established track record as Asia's premier center for cross-border financial transactions. Further financial opening of China is likely to consolidate Hong Kong SAR's leading position as Asia's international financial center over the medium term. However, preserving Hong Kong SAR's first-mover advantage in the long-term calls for a development strategy that balances reaping the benefits from the special China role with the need to transcend into a truly international center in the long run.

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Topics: 
Economy
Keywords: 
Finance
Hong Kong
International Capital Flows
Organization: 
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

People’s Republic of China: The Olympics Countdown—Crackdown on Activists Threatens Olympics Legacy

on March 1, 2008

With little more than four months to go before the Beijing Olympics, few substantial reforms have been introduced that will have a significant, positive impact on human rights in China. This is particularly apparent in the plight of individual activists and journalists, who have bravely sought to expose ongoing human rights abuses and call on the government to address them. Recent measures taken by the authorities to detain, prosecute, and imprison those who raise human rights concerns suggest that, to date, the Olympic Games has failed to act as a catalyst for reform. Unless the Chinese authorities take steps to redress the situation urgently, a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics looks increasingly beyond reach.

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Topics: 
Law
Keywords: 
Beijing Olympics
Human Rights
Reform
Organization: 
Amnesty International