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Protestors block the entrance to the airport terminals after a scuffle with police at Hong Kong's international airport on August 13, 2019. - Hundreds of flights were cancelled or suspended at Hong Kong's airport on August 13, 2019

Viewpoint by: Chen Li, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Finland

Recently, the situation in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China drew wide attention from the international community. For a long time, Hong Kong has always been a global metropolitan city, one of the most robust economy and a center of international banking, trade and cargo. It has a beautiful name “Pearl of the Orient”, and is seen as a paradise for shopping. But today’s Hong Kong turns into a scene of chaos. What on earth has Hong Kong become?

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Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban waits for a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House May 13, 2019, in Washington...Lehtikuva, Creator: Brendan Smialowski

A new surprising addition to the long list of the Hungarian government’s enemies is Finland. Here is why.

“We need a nervous system, a strong nervous system, to enable us to show due respect, and answer questions politely – not with a smile or a laugh – when our Finnish friends ask us about and delve into the rule of law in Hungary” – said Viktor Orbán Hungarian PM in his opening speech at the 30th Bálványos Summer Open University and Student Camp.

A boat sails past as a cargo ship berths at a port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 10, 2019. - China's exports beat gloomy forecasts to rebound in May though imports sank more than expected as the trade war with the United States heats up, official data showed on May 10. (Photo by STR / AFP) / - LEHTIKUVA / AFP

Currently, the so-called Sino-US economic and trade friction and its affiliated issues have become a heated topic worldwide, and drew intensive attention from all countries including Finland. As a follower of this matter, I would like to share some of my personal observations.

Firstly, trade conflict prompted by the US affects many countries and many areas in the global market, and goes far beyond China-US trade issues. As the world’s second largest economy, China is a main victim of the US’s tariff sticks. After 11 rounds of consultations, the US suddenly threatened to raise tariff rates on China.

A video grab taken from AFP TV footage shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he is driven by British Police to Westminster Magistrates Court in London on April 11, 2019. - WikiLeaks founder Assange appeared in a London courtroom on Thursday, hours after being arrested in Ecuador's embassy on an extradition request from the United States and for breaching bail in Britain. (Photo by - / AFP) - LEHTIKUVA / AFP

On April 11, the ongoing saga of journalist and transparency activist Julian Assange took a dangerous turn.  Ecuador's president, Lenin Moreno, revoked his asylum in that country's London embassy.

British police immediately arrested him -- supposedly pursuant to his "crime" of jumping bail on an invalid arrest warrant in an investigation since dropped without charges but, as they admitted shortly thereafter,  actually with the intent of turning him over to US prosecutors on bogus "hacking" allegations.

From time to time I am asked, which science is the stronger one, ecology or economy. The answer is obvious. Ecology sets the framework for all human activities, including and especially the economy. There is no sustainable economic or social development if we keep breaching ecological limits.

Coast of the Barents Sea. Teriberka, Russia

Russia and certain Scandinavian countries have already implemented a number of projects across their joint border areas aimed at developing tourism infrastructure with joint management of specially-protected natural areas. 

Pasvik Nature Reserve is an example of such protected areas. It is located in the extreme northwest of Russia, in the Pechenga district of the Murmansk region.

View of the headquarters of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA in Caracas, on January 29, 2019. - The United States announced sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company Monday in a coordinated effort with the main opposition leader to cripple embattled President Nicolas Maduro's power base. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

The short: The Trump Administration wants the Maduro Administration to leave.  H.E. Nicolas Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela wants to stay.  The governments of the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China believe that the repayments of what could be approaching US$100 billion might be best served by President Maduro remaining in office.  The Republic of Cuba wants the Chavez Administration (1999-2013) to return.

If the Trump Administration provided assurances that the commercial interests of each country, which are not the same with respect to what they have received and what they want would be guaranteed, they each might support the removal of President Maduro and his exile to the Republic of Cuba. 

Africa’s population is predicted to double in size by 2050. In Finland, we have the opposite problem - our birth rate is in steady decline. The number of births this year is the lowest is has been in a hundred years. As the population continues to age, the questions we must ask are whether we will have enough qualified people to look after children, the elderly and the sick in the future? And what should be done about this?

Finland needs more employment-based immigration

Statistics Finland published a new population projection for Finland last November. According to the projection, Finland’s birth rate is continuing to fall and has reached its lowest level in 148 years. If the birth rate remains at the current level, there would be only 760,000 inhabitants aged under 15 in Finland by 2030.

NET IMMIGRATION would sustain population growth until 2035. However, after the year 2035, the population would go into a steep decline and by the 2050s, Finland’s population would already be below the current number. This declining trend in population growth means big challenges for Finnish society and its future.

“Who do I call if I want to call Europe?”, the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is famously claimed to have asked. The European Union has not had a strong identity in foreign or security policy but in a matter of just two years, the situation has evolved rapidly.

A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, 23 EU member states signed a joint notification on the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) as a part of the EU’s security and defence policy.

PESCO was introduced already by the Lisbon Treaty, which was signed 11 years ago. It took until last year for the EU to take this crucial organizational step. The world looks very different now than it did during the time the Lisbon Treaty was signed.