Gala Chinese New Year Banquet 2011 to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit

Our Gala Chinese New Year Banquet 2011 to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, on Tuesday, 15th February 2011. The prestigious event will be held at the Phoenix Palace Restaurant, 3-5 Glentworth Street, London NW1 5PG, and will begin with a champagne reception with canapés at 6.30 pm, followed by a ten course dinner at 7.15 pm.

If you are interested in attending the dinner, please complete the booking form HERE. As in previous years, this event sells out very quickly, so please respond soonest possible.

Senior Shadow Cabinet Ministers and other celebrity guests will be joining us for the evening. As in previous years, the evening will be a night to remember. This, too, promises to be a wonderful occasion, providing an excellent opportunity to enjoy an evening together with other supporters, business colleagues, friends, and a cross section of the Chinese community.

NO Need For Ed Miliband To Contiune To Make Apologies

Can anyone please tell me why Ed Milliband is always apologising for Labour whenever he is being interviewed or appearing on TV? Are you not sick of it now !!!


There is nothing wrong with Labour's Policy in the last 11 years, especially in Blair's period as PM ( the jury on Iraq War is still out ----- let history speak for itself). Sure, we have not got everything right but we got it right in 95% of the Policies. No Party in Power has ever got everything it right 100%.

Ed Miliband seems to suffering from amnesia. He was a very close ally to GB and policy maker under GB's 3-year period as PM. We lost the Election because of GB as PM and supported by Ed Milliband. It is as simply as that and nothing more, nothing less.


Ed Miliband should be honest enough to admit the Election was well and truly lost by Gordon Brown. So I wish he would stop apologising and come out fighting, and say how much Labour has done for this Country and remind people, especially the journalists, all the good things Labour has done. Labour has got nothing to apologise for, especially the Blair years, and indeed a lot to be proud of.

If I can boast about Labour's record with people I meet and people from overseas, why can't Ed Miliband does it !!!!! Sure, some members will say that Labour lost its way when Gordon Brown became Prime Minster. If there is any apologising to be made, then let's apologise that a mistake was made in letting Gordon Brown as Prime Minister instead of remaining as Chancellor Exch, and now let's get move on, leaving Gordon Brown behind us, and don't go on blaming Labour's Policy, especially Ed Miliband, when he had a lot of influence on Policy in the last 3 years of Gordon Brown Government. I make no apologies for saying that I am and have always been a firm supporter of Gordon Brown but there comes a time when I have to say enough is enough nobody can Deny that Gordon Brown was very good at his job as Chancellor Exch.

More Violence Erupts At Student Protests

I was reminiscing during the first UK & the 1989 Massacre in Tiananmen Square student demonstrations which took place in 1989 when a trade union delegation when on a tour to China. The officials where taking us to visit various Public sector Trade unions as I recall at a moment notice the officials usher all of us into a mini van.


Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking's (Beijing) Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tanks rumbled through the capital's streets late on 3 June as the army moved into the square from several directions, randomly firing on unarmed protesters.

The injured were rushed to hospital on bicycle rickshaws by frantic residents shocked by the army's sudden and extreme response to the peaceful mass protest.

Demonstrators, mainly students, had occupied the square for seven weeks, refusing to move until their demands for democratic reform were met.

The protests began with a march by students in memory of former party leader Hu Yaobang, who had died a week before.

But as the days passed, millions of people from all walks of life joined in, angered by widespread corruption and calling for democracy.

The military offensive came after several failed attempts to persuade the protesters to leave.

Throughout the day the government warned it would do whatever it saw necessary to clamp down on what it described as "social chaos".

But even though violence was expected, the ferocity of the attack took many by surprise, bringing condemnation from around the world.

The then US President George Bush said he deeply deplored the use of force, and the then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said she was "shocked and appalled by the shootings".

Amid the panic and confusion students could be heard shouting "fascists stop killing," and "down with the government".

At a nearby children's hospital operating theatres were filled with casualties with gunshot wounds, many of them local residents who were not taking part in the protests.

Early this morning at least 30 more were killed in two volleys of gunfire, which came without warning. Terrified crowds fled, leaving bodies in the road.

Meanwhile reports have emerged of troops searching the main Peking university campus for ringleaders, beating and killing those they suspect of co-ordinating the protests.

The big picture begins to come to focus the student who went to what was suppose to be a peaceful demonstration a few rotten apples started to spoil the march be smashing windows of the Tory HQ then ran into the office roof top to throw a fire extinguisher which nearly missed some police officers now many of you will be thinking am a Tory card member the true is I'm a Labour member card holder and proud of it I was on the first march with my young niece in law who wanted to experience it for the first time on the march the only different is the UK Government is not a dictator like China if the ConDem Coalition Government want to save face then it is time for them to listen to the voice od the students.

Students have smashed up a police van and there have been sporadic skirmishes during a series of major demonstrations against tuition fees.

Rallies have been held across the country, including in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Cambridge and Brighton.

Police moved to contain the demo in the capital by using the controversial "kettling" tactic - meaning large numbers of people could be held in one place for several hours.

But the Metropolitan Police soon shifted the policy to one of "controlled dispersal".

THE PROTEST SCENES AROUND THE COUNTRY

However, moving the hundreds of protesters held in Whitehall was a slow process and it took until around 10pm to clear the area.

As frustration mounted among the demonstrators, attempts were made to smash a window at the Treasury and a bus stop was set on fire.

Earlier, protesters surrounded a police van in Whitehall, rocking it back and forth and smashing the windscreen with wooden poles.

'Shouting Didn't Do Anything'

Meet Zoe Williams, the lone student who stepped in to try to stop a gang of people trashing a police van during the protests in central London.

Other students tried to halt the vandalism, but it was later looted.

Zoe Williams, who tried to stop the demonstrators, told Sky News she wanted the students to "rationalise" their actions.

She added: "I didn't want other people to get injured - people don't realise that when you rock a van it can fall over."

A demonstrator stands on top of the trashed police van

Thousands gathered in and around Whitehall and Trafalgar Square to protest against the hike in university fees and the planned cutting of the education maintenance allowance (EMA).

The protests around the country have been largely peaceful, although four arrests were made in Manchester, four in Bristol and one in Brighton.

The Met said 32 arrests were made in the capital.

Higher University Fees: The Facts

The students are revolting but the Government says its plans to hike up university fees are misunderstood. Who's right?

However, sporadic violence broke out in central London, where protesters threw wooden poles at officers and tried to break through the police line.

One police officer is thought to have suffered a broken hand, while a second sustained leg injuries. Seventeen members of the public have also been hurt.

Sky News home affairs correspondent Mark White said two metal barriers were thrown at police.

A masked protester sits in a police van

Education Secretary Michael Gove has condemned the disorder. He told Sky News: "I respond to arguments, I don't respond to violence."

But march organiser James Mills said scrapping the £30-a-week EMA would be a "punitive cut".

He added: "If we can find £7bn to bail out Ireland we should be finding £500m to bail out the poorest in the country."

PROTESTER CRITICISES GOVERNMENT AND POLICE

Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt said toilets and water have been brought for those protesters being held in place in Whitehall.

It is thought it is the first time such provisions have been made for a contained crowd.

Describing containment as a "widely condemned tactic", Brunt added: "Police will be disappointed they were not able to allow the peaceful protest to continue."

A protester held in place in Whitehall shows his frustration

Demonstrators were heard chanting "let us out" - while at least one protester started to do his homework.

Graham Wettone, a former Met Police public order intelligence officer, praised the police action.

He told Sky News: "It's been a successful operation. It's very warm when you are jumping up and down but when you are standing still it gets cold very quickly."

Fireworks are thrown at mounted police in Bristol

The decision to contain the demo was made amid intelligence that a group wanted to attack the Liberal Democrat HQ.

A statement from the Met said the tactic was employed "to prevent further criminal damage".

Police have been keen to show they are well prepared after claims they were caught out by the high turnout in Westminster on November 10 that led to a riot and 60 arrests.

Gove: Government Won’t Respond To Violence

Ahead of the protest, former Met Police commissioner Brian Paddick told Sky News the police would "throw the kitchen sink" at the demo to ensure there was no violence.

In a speech on Tuesday evening, Nick Clegg called on students to reconsider their opposition to the Government's plans.

He said: "Listen and look before you march and shout. Our plans will mean that many of the lowest income graduates will repay less than they do under the current system."

Demonstrators hanged an effigy of the Deputy Prime Minister

NUS president Aaron Porter told Sky News he wanted students to protest in order to hold the Government to account, but insisted: "There are no conditions in which violence is acceptable."

The protests came on the same day Edward Woollard, 18, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after admitting throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of Millbank Tower during those protests.

Two men were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of violent disorder, one in Leicester and another in London.

Muhammad Ali Centre In Birmingham

About two years ago there where talks about demolishing the Muhammad Ali Centre in Birmingham City Council by the then Councillor Ray Hassall, Cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, has issued a public letter announcing the “only option available” is to demolish the derelict building and clear the site.

I would like to know what has happened to the proposal to this ugly building as it is now become more of an eye sore by the Hockley Flyover I have walk pass this building on a daily bases and keep asking myself when will this site be demolished.

It has been rumoured There has been people who has certain land rights to the land and building to which in my mind I don’t think there is as my understanding is that the centre was making a lost and that Birmingham City Council brought the building and over 25 years ago.

Instead of using the land that is available to build houses or apartment I find this ConDem coalition in Birmingham are all over the place yet we have three local Labour Councillors for Soho Ward lacks the courage to tell the full council to demolish this building and community leaders if they want continue to campaign against the change and they want to continue to look on this eye sore building they should come up with a alternative plan so the city council can re look at it again.

I also blame both Labour & the Birmingham ConDem coalition for lack of intuitive just think of the income this eye sore building could have generate for the city.

Con-Dems on health: Like Thatcher on speed

The pace and scale of the cuts is inexorably rising across England as primary care trust and trust boards resort to desperate measures to slash back spending and deliver huge savings targets this year, next year, and up to 2014.

The real-terms cuts that have now been confirmed by last month's comprehensive spending review have piled on more pressure - and with the prospect of shrinking actual resources for health services for the next three years or more have come policies and practices which hark back to the grim days of Margaret Thatcher.

For three years in the mid-1980s NHS spending was static or fell in real terms - forcing cuts, closures and lengthening queues for care.

In the early 1990s another financial squeeze brought proposals by some local health authorities to ration care by excluding a list of "low-priority" or "less effective" treatments from the NHS.

Primary care trust and trust bosses are turning again to these policies, with cynical trust bosses reviving tricks such as the deliberate demoralisation of staff in threatened units and the non-replacement of those they persuade to leave, to the point where they can claim that the closure of the A&E, maternity or other unit is both necessary and urgent for the sake of patient safety.

Vacancy freezes have become more or less the norm across most NHS trusts, even though this is the most random and chaotic way of imposing cuts, and of course dumps extra stress and workload onto the staff who remain behind.

The Royal College of Nursing has estimated that up to 27,000 jobs could be set to go from the NHS workforce of around one million.

Last year's controversial McKinsey proposals suggested a 10 per cent cut in the workforce across the NHS to generate the massive £20 billion of so-called "efficiency savings" which Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is now committed to impose by 2014.

The knock-on impact of this on the staff who remain is underlined by a recent Unison survey of 8,000 front-line staff, which showed that half were already facing staff shortages.

As the inquiry continues into the disastrous failings at Mid Staffordshire Hospitals Trust, where £10m of cost-cutting reduced staffing levels below the bare minimum, it's clear that dozens of trusts are now being forced to contemplate cuts as big or bigger in their own budgets.

Lansley's scrapping of the waiting time targets which, alongside investment in staff and buildings had been the key to Labour's success in improving the NHS, has predictably been followed by an immediate increase in waiting times in A&E.

But primary care trusts are also looking for savings by deliberately increasing waiting times for operations. NHS South West Essex so far seems to have the most ambitious plan to impose a four-week pause in non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments in all its provider trusts, effectively pushing a whole month's worth of work into the next financial year to "save" £8.4m (while hospital trusts such as Basildon carry the cost).

Decisions vary. NHS Warwickshire has decided to halt all elective orthopaedic operations for six months. East Kent has also resorted to longer waiting times as a way to save money - more will certainly follow.

In each case the unspoken hope of primary care trust bureaucrats is that patients will decide not to wait but to find the money to go private.

This is also the implicit logic behind the decision by more and more primary care trusts to draw up lists of treatments and operations that will no longer be funded by the NHS.

While IVF treatment has been widely picked on as a relatively "soft" target by many, the lists can be very extensive.

The £52m cuts package adopted by NHS South West Essex, for example, includes adding a further 113 treatments and procedures to a pre-existing list of 94, bringing a total of 207 which are no longer to be funded by the local NHS, including hip and knee replacements.

East Kent has included cataract operations on its excluded list. NHS Warwickshire will no longer fund injections to relieve chronic back pain. All of these will of course still be available for those with the money to pay privately.

And while some primary care trusts have continued to provide them, others have arbitrarily decided not to - creating a postcode lottery for patients.

South West Essex also decided to cut £1m from its £6.5m spending on HIV/Aids, despite warnings from a leading clinician in the public board meeting that such cuts would inevitably mean cutting off drugs to patients who would die without them.

This inequality in access to treatment will become even more random as a result of Lansley's decision to neuter the body that Labour set up to combat the postcode lottery - the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.

NICE will now lose its power to decide whether drugs and treatments offer value for money. Instead decisions will be made by local GPs, to the delight of the big drug companies.

While big pharma profits seem set to increase, the primary care trust cuts are spreading to trust level.

In Stoke on Trent the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS), which hit national headlines back in 2006 when it was one of the first to announce big job losses as it wrestled with a huge deficit, is facing a £22m deficit by March. It is staring down the barrel of drastic new cuts which trust bosses warn will "distress" local people.

UHNS's plight is similar to many front-line trusts hung out to dry by primary care trusts attempting to solve their financial problems by simply refusing to pay for hospital treatment of local people, even where no alternative community-based services to reduce the pressure on A&E have been put in place.

Trusts are left treating thousands of patients more than they are paid for.

UHNS bosses are warning this can't go on, especially since the trust must also find another £12m in "efficiency savings" to pay for the refurbishment of wards and departments in preparation for the opening of a new PFI-funded £400m hospital in 2012, which will immediately soak up 10 per cent of its budget.

Around the country acute and mental health trusts are facing the same problems.

NHS Lincolnshire is seeking to cut £54m over three years, Doncaster £51m, Bradford £50m, Sheffield £100m. Plymouth's Derriford Hospital Trust is £7m behind target in its quest for £27m savings this year - and slashing pay for temporary nursing staff.

Add to this the massive financial blow that has just been struck against specialist children's hospitals, which face a massive cut in the premium they are paid above the standard paediatric tariff - from 75 per cent extra to just 25 per cent - slashing £70m from these hospitals.

What is it that Lansley and the Tories have got against children?

Couple these cuts with the dynamic towards privatisation at the centre of Lansley's white paper, which is being speeded up regardless of all the criticism and opposition, and it's clear we are set for more than a miserable winter. The very fabric of the NHS and its values are being undermined.

And while NHS managers revive some of the cynical manoeuvres and techniques of the 1980s and the Con-Dem government drives through a reactionary programme that makes Thatcher look like a social worker, there is sadly no sign yet that either the Labour leadership or the health unions have revived the tradition of militant resistance that challenged Thatcher and fought each NHS cutback.

Labour has been near-invisible in opposition to cuts and the white paper, while the unions have yet to crank up the national campaign that is so desperately needed to defend jobs, pay and the country's most popular public service. Time is short. Let's press for serious action.

John Lister is director of Health Emergency.

Inequality Of Life Still Blights The World

Despite our global economic hard times, the world has more than enough wealth to ensure every adult on the planet a significant nest egg.

This heartening news comes from the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse. Its first-ever Global Wealth Report crunches data for over 200 countries and maps the wealth belonging to the world's richest people - and everybody else.

Those inclined to see the sunny side will certainly find it in these numbers. They indicate that total global net worth, despite the 2008 global economic meltdown, has rocketed up 72 per cent since 2000.

The world's 4.4 billion adults, the bank's researchers note, now hold $194.5 trillion (£121.7 trillion) in wealth.

That's enough, if this asset stash were shared evenly across the globe, to guarantee every adult in the world a $43,800 (£27,400) net worth.

But the world's wealth, of course, isn't evenly divided. And this study helpfully breaks down the arithmetic of our staggering global unevenness.

At the wealth spectrum's uppermost reaches we've got just over 1,000 billionaires and another 80,000 "ultra-high net worth individuals" worth over $50 million (£31m) each. We can add into this wealthy summit another 24 million adults worth between $1m (£626,000) and $50m.

At other end of the global spectrum sit three billion people - more than two-thirds of the world's adults - whose wealth averages less than $10,000 (£6,300).

About 1.1 billion of them have a net worth of less than $1,000 (£626).

"Our analysis," the Credit Suisse study says in a whopping understatement, "finds some stark differences in the distribution of wealth."

Here's perhaps the study's starkest data snapshot - half the people on earth who are 20 and older hold under $4,000 (£2,500) in net worth, after subtracting debts from assets. They wield less than 2 per cent of global wealth.

Meanwhile, the world's richest 1 per cent - adults who have at least $588,000 (£368,000) to call their own - hold 43 per cent of the world's wealth.

As the report underscores, personal wealth actually means much more in some places than others.

If you live in a society with a frayed social safety net, your personal wealth is crucial. Without substantial net worth, you're going to be vulnerable "to shocks like unemployment, ill health or natural disasters."

By contrast, if you live in a society with a robust safety net - a nation that boasts "good public health care, high-quality public education, generous state pensions" and the like - the size of your personal fortune matters considerably less.

Take, for example, the US. No other nation, to be sure, holds as much total wealth as this superpower. With only 5.2 per cent of the world's population, the US boasts 23 per cent of the world's adults worth at least $100,000 (£62,600) and an even greater proportion, 41 per cent, of the world's millionaires.

But people in the United States, a society with an inadequate social safety net, need more personal net worth than those who live in nations with healthier social service networks.

This means that average Joes and Janes in many nations with stronger social safety nets than the US actually have more net worth than their US counterparts.

Consider Canada, a nation with national public health insurance.

Credit Suisse calculates the 2010 median wealth in Canada, the wealth of the typical Canadian family, at $94,700 (£59,000). That's about double the $47,771 (£30,000) US median net worth.

"The past decade has been especially conducive to the establishment and preservation of large fortunes," Credit Suisse sums up.

Banking giants may be able to live comfortably with that reality. The rest of us need to change it.

China Introduces Subsidies Amid Food Shortages

Some vegetable prices have risen by almost two-thirds so far this month

China's government has said it will provide poorer households with subsidies in response to double-digit food price inflation.

Inflation accelerated to 4.4% in October, with food prices rising 10.1%.

The government also said it had not ruled out price controls if current grain and vegetable shortages worsen.

Meanwhile the Shanghai stock exchange has fallen nearly 10% in four days on fears of more interest rate rises in response to the price rises.

The Shanghai composite index ended Wednesday down a further 1.9%, having fallen more than 4% on Friday and again on Tuesday.

Painful price rises

The People's Bank of China raised rates unexpectedly in October in response to growing inflation pressures, and has adopted a more hawkish tone since.

Consumer price inflation rose to 4.4% in October, which was up from 3.6% a month earlier and its highest level in two years.

SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX

Last Updated at 23 Nov 2010, 07:50

value	change	%
2828.28	- -56.09	- -1.94

More data on this stock index

The average wholesale price of some vegetables in Chinese cities rose by nearly two-thirds in the first 10 days of this month, raising fears that food hoarding was exacerbating shortages.

It is also thought the government may be considering stiffer penalties for those caught hoarding food.

The latest move comes after premier Wen Jiabao said the government was "formulating measures to curb the overly fast rises of prices".

"Great attention should be paid to market supply and demand and prices because they are related to the public's basic interests," added Premier Wen in his statement.

The government also announced it would increase diesel supplies after industries reported fuel shortages.

Easy money

China's inflation problems - and the concomitant threat of civil unrest - also lie behind Beijing's recent criticism of the US Federal Reserve's resumption of quantitative easing (QE).

The Fed's new round of QE threatens to weaken the dollar, making Chinese imports less competitive in the US.

But in order to maintain a competitive exchange rate with the dollar, the People's Bank of China would have to intervene to buy more dollars and sell more yuan.

However, by selling more yuan, China risks further fuelling inflation, as well as what some see as asset bubbles in property and stocks.

The Campaign To End Legal Loan Sharking

Thank you for the support you have shown the campaign to end legal loan sharking. Now we need your help again to secure action on this issue.


Currently the Government is consulting on acting to cap the cost of borrowing for credit cards and store cards. For the millions of Britain’s poorest consumers who cannot access these sources of borrowing and instead rely on payday loans, home credit companies and hire purchase agreements this will do nothing to protect them from the exploitative practises of these legal loan sharks. Many of these consumers are paying interest rates of anything upto 2,500%!


Other countries have capped the interest these firms can charge on their loans or the repayment and admin fees they apply. We think they could bring in variable caps on the kinds of loans people can purchase and that the Government could intervene to stop the worst excesses of these companies. Now thanks to the work of MPs, Compass, the Better Banking Coalition, the Co-operative Party and Citizens UK, they have agreed to listen to the case for action - but only if they receive a large number of representations from the public. We need your help to make them listen.


Please add your voice to the thousands of others calling for action on legal loan sharking and write to the Consumer Credit Review to ask the Government not to ignore Britain’s poorest consumers. You can do so by emailing peter.lovitt@bis.gsi.gov.uk or by writing to Peter Lovitt, in the Consumer and Competition Policy Department at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET. The consultation closes on Friday 10 December 2010 and you can get a sample consultation response to send to them by emailing Stella@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk.


We will also be holding a rally in support of this campaign on Tuesday 7 December 2010 in Committee Room 5 in the House of Commons at 7pm with several guest speakers. This event is open to all supporters of this campaign - please RSVP on Facebook if you would like to attend.


Please share this information with other friends and family so that they can add their voices to the call to act as well – together we can protect the poorest consumers in Britain from the legal loan sharks.


Hope you can make the 7th - and please submit a response to the consultation!

Theresa May shelves 'equality duty' on councils Theresa May gives her speech

It is a very sad day for people who are suffering from hate crimes when we have a recession with the likelihood of loss of jobs and increase of violent crimes at a time when the government will drop Labour's proposed law requiring councils to tackle social deprivation.

Mrs May described the clause as a "politically motivated target" which could have skewed public funding.

About 90% of the Equality Act came into force in October, the rest is being reviewed by the government.

Labour's Yvette Cooper said the move was a "licence to abandon the hardest pressed in society".

The "social-economic duty", part of predecessor Harriet Harman's Equalities Bill, had been opposed by the Tories in opposition.

The law gives public bodies in England and Wales, including councils and health authorities, a new social-economic duty.

For example, health trusts would be required to target services, such as stop-smoking clinics, at people in deprived areas - where smoking rates tend to be higher.

Education authorities would be expected to come up with policies which prevent children from poorer backgrounds from missing out on places at the best schools.

But critics had dubbed it "socialism in one clause".

'Ridiculous and simplistic'

In her first big speech on equality, Mrs May, who is also home secretary, said the clause she dubbed "Harman's law" could have led to public spending being skewed.

Bin collections and bus routes would have had to be designed "not on the basis of practical need but on this one politically-motivated target", she said.

Mrs May said: "You can't solve a problem as complex as inequality in one legal clause.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Just as cuts are about to strike, the government is removing protection for those on the lowest income who are likely to be hit hardest”

End Quote Yvette Cooper Shadow equalities minister

"The idea that they could was symptomatic of Labour's approach to Britain's problems. They thought they could make people's lives better by simply passing a law saying that they should be made better.

"This was as ridiculous as it was simplistic. And that's why I'm announcing today that we are scrapping Harman's law for good."

She added: "We shouldn't just compensate people for the barriers to opportunity that they face, we should take action to tear down those barriers altogether."

Mrs May also said there were plans to allow people with old convictions for consensual gay sex to apply for their record to be deleted from the police national computer.

And she said the right to request flexible working would be extended to everyone - not just parents and carers.

But she did not confirm whether the government would go ahead with Labour's plans to require employers to disclose whether they pay women as much as men. She said there would be an announcement on that in the future - but she said the pay gap for full-time women employees remained at over 12%.

Equality campaigners the Fawcett Society said failing to bring in the powers would be "tantamount to endorsing the shocking gender pay gap".

And shadow equality minister Yvette Cooper criticised the move to scrap the social-economic duty on councils as "shocking". She said: "Just as cuts are about to strike, the government is removing protection for those on the lowest income who are likely to be hit hardest.

"It makes a mockery of any pretence these cuts will be fair."

Must try harder: Cameron gets C- for his trip to China

Article by Sonny Leong Chair For Chinese For Labour

Cameron’s recent trip to China, using diplomacy to promote business is hardly new. British Embassies and High Commissions throughout the world have always promoted trade and her diplomats speak with abundant pride in assisting British companies do business in new markets. Their market intelligence, local knowledge of customs and culture is far superior to any private organisations.

Among the 50 strong delegation who accompanied David Cameron to China is a distinct absence of Chinese names. British Chinese businesses in the UK is flourishing and doing big business in China – property development, food technology, health care and travel and tourism, some with multimillion pound turnover, which could have opened more doors culturally and in terms of political and economic strategy. This was a lost opportunity.

The list is dominated by the CEOs of blue chip companies, where many of these already have regional offices in China and hardly needed this extra trade boost – would the £750 million Rolls-Royce and the £45m deal to export breeding pigs really not have happened anyway?

Britain does not make many of the goods China or any developing countries are interested in. If they want machine tools or engineering expertise, they will look to Germany or Japan, if they want wines, perfume or agricultural knowhow they will look to France. In fact, Britain sells less to China than Italy!

Chinese policymakers raised concerns during the visit about the government’s plans to introduce a cap on immigration. They fear it could limit visas for business executives and the 85,000 Chinese students in Britain. This is in stark contrast to Cameron offering India a say on plans for Britain’s new immigration policy when he visited India in July. We wait to see whether the Prime Minister will relax immigration rules to Chinese investors, employees and students.

So, what does China want from us? We are good in services – legal, financial, education, creative industries and of course, our world class retail shops.

A single trip coupled with all the noise and column inches in the media will not win the trade billions the Prime Minister is after. This is a long haul – trust and respect – two essential ingredients needed in any business relationships in the Middle Kingdom.

We also need to educate our people in the way China does business – language, culture, respect and customs. Mandarin classes should be encouraged and taught in schools. We expect overseas CEO’s or their representatives speak to us in English why shouldn’t the Chinese expect the same in Mandarin. Understanding Chinese companies’ corporate management structure is a challenge in itself – the most senior person or general secretary is not necessarily the most senior executive!

It is often said that the Chinese never forget, especially when criticised in public – “face saving” or “losing face” is in every Chinese genes – so be prepared to be cold shouldered if you offend the Chinese.

When Cameron said “we don’t know what is going to happen with Iran [and] we can’t be certain of the future in China”, this will be noticed by the Chinese. To talk about China – a permanent member of the Security Council – in the same breath as a rogue state like Iran – is an insult to the people of China.

The 2010 Queen’s Speech referred to an “enhanced partnership with India”, it made no specific reference to China – this must have agitated Beijing.

Therefore, has Cameron been ‘cold shouldered’ by Premier Wen Jiabao when he called Cameron’s major business delegation trip to China “fruitful”. This is hardly a ringing endorsement.

In coded language, Cameron told his audience at Peking University that, democracy and civil rights were the best guarantor of prosperity and stability. Every country tries to lecture China on human rights but these won’t suddenly materialise while half the Chinese population and members of its civil institutions still don’t know what human rights mean.

These countries forget that they had many centuries developing those values and norms. China is still a relatively ‘young’ country. First they have to develop their basic institutional structures, lift the social economic standards of its people, and have the resources in place before they can adopt these values. China will do things their way and no amount of lecturing will change the status quo. We need to be patient and not expect immediate social transformations.

Cancelling bilateral DFID aid to China which seems a perverse attitude to a country we are seeking so hard to influence, and when we are talking about modest amounts of money sent to underdeveloped regions where some very good work has done.

Germany, Japan followed by France are the largest donor countries, is it any wonder that these countries are the biggest beneficiaries of China’s economic boom.

Like any good salesman, Cameron must totalled the volume of business generated from this trip. Other than those announced earlier, a paltry sum of £2 million of new business is hardly much to shout about. This must hurt compared to when Hu Jintao, the Chinese President signed agreements on deals worth $20 billion when he visited Paris earlier this year.

All he gets for this China trip is a C-, must try harder.

An evening to be proud of – the MuLan Awards 2010

Chinese for Labour is proud to be the lead organiser of this year's MuLan Awards, about 90 people gathered on Wednesday, November 27 in the opulent River Room, House of Lords to congratulate the winners of the MuLan Awards 2010.

Amongst the guests were Baroness Helene Hayman, the Lord Speaker, Baroness Margaret Jay, former leader in the House of Lords, Lord and Lady Woolf, Lord Pendry, Madam Lu Xu from the Chinese Embassy.

Lady Katy Blair in her welcome statement said, "I would like to say how pleased we are to gather here tonight to acknowledge, honour and celebrate the tremendous effort of women in the Chinese diaspora who put themselves forward in so many worthy projects, either as an individual or working within an organisation. Although instigated by Chinese for Labour, the Award is understood from the outset that it is a non-political event."

Chair of Chinese for Labour and Chair of the Organising Executive, Sonny Leong said, "Chinese women up and down the length and breadth of the United Kingdom are the pillars of the community – they run and manage the hundreds of voluntary community centers and associations. With little or no help from the government or local council they provide vital and needed services to the young and elderly Chinese. These unsung MuLans are reflected on tonight's winners, and I congratulate every one of them – they make us proud to be Chinese."

The judging of the Awards led admirably by Mei Sim Lai comprised of Lady Woolf, Merlene Emerson and Dr Qu Li. We thank them for their time and impartial deliberations.

The judges' short biographies are as

Mei Sim Lai OBE DL

She was the first female partner of a leading city chartered accountancy firm and now runs her own practice. Having clearly mastered the art of time management, Mei Sim also holds a dizzying array of posts in the commercial world and is active in promoting diversity within business for both women and ethnic minorities. Mei Sim is the Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Brent and one of the Award judges last year.

Lady Marguerite Woolf

The Wife of the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, Lady Woolf served as a lay magistrate for over 25 years and Chairman of the Richmond Family Proceedings Court. Though not a lawyer herself, she was attracted to the Bench by the prospect of doing public service. In 2003, Lady Woolf did not hide her dismay at proposals to close almost all the family courts in London. She argued that the plans would put battered women and children at risk. She is a trustee of The Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths. Lady Woolf was one of the judges for the Award last year.

Dr Qu Li

Dr Li did well enough in her studies in China that she was allowed to come to Britain in 1990 to study for her PhD at Leeds University. Graduating in 1996, she dedicated her 450-page thesis on metallurgy – entitled 'The effects of vanadium and nitrogen additions on the grain coarsening characteristics of titanium steels' One account suggests that to pay her way through university, she started working in a local restaurant. She is now a successful entrepreneur based in the UK.

Merlene Emerson

Merlene was born in Singapore and came to London in 1979 as a law student. After graduating from King's College London, she obtained a Master of Laws degree at Cambridge University. She qualified as a Solicitor and worked at a leading City law firm in the high adrenalin-fuelled world of corporate finance and banking. She is currently a Director of the Chinese Welfare Trust and the registered social landlord, Richmond Housing Partnership (serving in the New Developments and Finance Committee). She is also an active member of her local Save the Children branch.

Cherie Blair

A successful barrister and mother, Cherie has extensive charitable and public involvements. Her own foundation's mission is to strengthen the capacity of women entrepreneurs in countries where they lack equal opportunities so they can start and grow their businesses and become greater contributors to their economies.

COMMUNITY WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Maria Gingell

Maria has worked hard for the Chinese community in SE London for over 25 years, which continued after her retirement from the caring profession.

In 1984 Maria became the first Chinese/Vietnamese Development Officer, acting as translator and link for refugees accessing their rights in the local authority. She has over the years set up various projects including the 'Lunch club' which has since been replicated across other local authorities. As an assessor at Lambeth College she helped students achieve their NVQ's in Health and Social care.

In 2007 she co-founded the Orpington Chinese Association for elder Chinese, secured funding for their services and helped raise the profile of the Chinese in Bromley. Maria is also a loving wife, mother and full-time carer.

Angela Jim Kwok

Angela was the organiser and Chair of the South Wales Chinese Woman Group Organisation since 1983 and has contributed for most of her life to the South Wales Chinese Society.

She was the Secretary of the Shuen Wan Overseas Joint Village Association in UK and in 2007 successfully established the first funding of £10,000 from the HongKong Shuen Wan Overseas Joint Village Association. After the Sichuan earthquake, she was instrumental in raising some £13,000 from the South Wales area to help the victims of the earthquake in China.

Angela has also worked to counter against racism in Wales and served as trustee on the board of Race Equality Firsts in Wales. She is a Director of the South Wales Chinese Sunday School and now the President of the South Wales Chinese Woman Federation Group.

CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC LIFE

Yoke Koh

Originally a journalist from Malaysia with a commitment to redressing social injustices, Yoke won the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship to the UK in 2002. She completed her Master's degree in Gender and the Media in the LSE, after which she worked at the Chinese Information and Advice Centre as the Women's Worker.

She worked tirelessly for a number of years to help women who were victims of domestic violence, marital breakdown and family crisis. Despite being in this high stress environment, Yoke managed to work over and above her routine duties and by her own initiative managed to raise additional funds (of about £160,000) for the charity.

She has also pioneered a programme for Chinese children affected by domestic violence and was involved in a women's consortium with women from Asian, Iranian, Turkish, Latin American and Afro Caribbean background.

Passionate about raising awareness on women's and migrant issues, Yoke has organised multi-agency seminars and workshops across London and continues to champion the rights of the weak and vulnerable.

Irene Chu

Irene has worked for the Birmingham Chinese Society since 1994, first as an Employment Development officer and then as Chief executive from 1997. She has succeeded in developing the Society's services with limited resources to provide from counselling, CV writing, ESOL training, vocational training to inter-generational programmes for the elderly and the young.

Irene has served on the boards of the Birmingham Specialist Community Health Trust, Women's Health Group and often been recognised as the "voice" of the Chinese community. As a Board member of the West Midlands Minority Business Forum, Irene has also championed the needs of the Chinese business community, establishing effective working relationships with the local authority, a local college and the NHS.

Irene has been a great role model for Chinese women, the impact of her work on cultural life of the community has been substantial and she continues to help countless people with her dedication and passion for her work within the Chinese community.

WOMAN VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Magdeleine Chia

A devoted volunteer at the Lambeth Chinese Community Association since her retirement, Magdeleine has worked tirelessly at the centre, fundraising for the association and running and arranging the lunch and leisurely services. She was elected as a member of the LCCA's Management Committee and was Vice- Chair since 2008.

As a result of Magdeleine's activism and fundraising efforts, the centre now owns the freehold of the premises at 69 Stockwell Road. With her excellent language skills, Magdeleine has led the volunteer team in organising a variety of programmes and outings, and spends 6 days a week at the Leisurely Club, serving and looking after the elderly.

She was also largely responsible for organising the LCCA Dragon Boat race team which has taken part in the annual boat race in East London in the last few years.

FEMALE BENEFACTOR OF THE YEAR

Connie Alexander

Connie is a graduate from the College of Further Education in Beijing Dance Academy. She came to Britain for her further education completing her MBA in financial management and fashion design.

However dance has always been her passion and she established the London Chinese Dancing School in 2008. She is also passionate about promoting the exchange in Chinese and Western culture and has pioneered a number of culture related charitable projects.

She has set up an Alexander foundation for children and adults from poorer background to benefit from dance and mandarin study. She helped to organise events and performances for China Now - China in London with V&A charity performances and at London Trafalgar Square. She had also organised charity performances to raise funds for the Sichuan earthquake.

Last year she joined in activities for the 60th anniversary celebrations in London of the Chinese PRC and this year participated in the Chinese Tiger Year celebrations organised by the Chinese Embassy at Westfield Shopping centre. These are only some examples of the activities that Connie has spear headed – for promoting Chinese culture in Britain.

Connie Jay

Connie Jay has been involved in charitable work since the 1980s and was one of the founding members of the Lambeth Chinese Community Centre. She became a member of the association's Management Committee in the 1990s and subsequently the Chair in 1999.

Her contribution to the Chinese community range from fundraising for the acquisition of the premises to working with the elderly in the community. She was also instrumental to the setting up of the weekend Mother tongue school and volunteered her time over many weekends talking to students and teachers and listening to views on running of the school.

Amongst her other interests are in singing and calligraphy and she has over the years organised London-wide activities, including writing Chinese calligraphy and telling stories about Chinese people's lives.

FEMALE YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR

Maxine Chan

Maxine is 22 years of age, in her 5th year of Medical study at University College, London. She is a bright student of many talents. She obtained her Grade 8 in Piano at the age of 15 and has also started giving piano lessons to partially support herself. A gifted cook, her cooking has been described as "heavenly" and to restaurant standards.

Maxine has used her medical training, music and cooking to raise funds for her volunteer work with disabled children both in UK and overseas. She has so far made a trip to Ghana in 2008 and another to Argentina in 2009 promoting various charitable causes. She continues to champion the needs of disabled children and has worked on projects to train nurses in Ghana, working with medical teams in both the UK and Ghana.