The Social Security System in Reform

China,already possessing a large number of retirees,will become one of the countries with a predominant-ly aged population by the end of the century.A retirement boom is ex-pected for the year 2030,when China will have over 100 million senior citizens living on an annual pension of billions of yuan.There-fore China is working to legislate a Chinese style social insurance system by the year 2000.This system will be independent of enterprises and cov-er workers in both rural and urban areas.It will be reasonable in its.expenditures because its funding will come from a wide range of sources.It will make a balanced and rational use of these funds and will be run by a highly socialized and coordinated administration.

Challenges of Palestinian Security Sector Reform:Blame Israeli Occupation or Internal Political Fragmentation?

The debate on Security Sector Reform(SSR)in Palestine has emerged within the context of the peace process between Israel and Palestinians,in particular following the Oslo agreement in 1993.There are different perceptions of the significance and relevance of SSR in the Palestinian context,and these depend on ideological,political allegiances and interests of domestic,regional and international actors talking about SSR.Some blame the Israeli occupation and military activities and also the governance of the Palestinian security sector for the deterioration of internal security.Others consider that the SSR is an integral element of the process of state-building to allow the Palestinians to establish an effective authority over their territories.However,Israel and external actors like the United States and the European Union still look at Palestinian SSR as a means to confront“terror and violence”and to prevent the emergence of any dangers to Israel.Israeli occupation and internal political divisions described and analyzed in this article as major challenges for Palestinian SSR.In addition,this article argues that this reform is not an end in itself,but is a necessary and a fundamental element to achieve the Palestinian national project in terms of liberation and state-building.

Muslim States and Reform of the United Nations Security Council

This article explores reform of the United Nations Security Council and the response of the Muslim-majority member states seeking greater participation in the organization.A variety of models and plans for Council reform have emerged since 2000.Within this debate,Muslim-majority member states have focused on the restriction/abolition of the veto,the inclusion of Egypt and Nigeria as permanent African/Muslim representatives,and instigating the procedural reforms.Despite this sentiment,the reform process has led to inter-state rivalry among these states and confusion about the best path to progress.As a result,there is little promise for Muslim states in gaining an increased level of participation in the Council.Muslim ambitions are hindered by an inability of these states to coordinate a unified reaction;inter-state rivalry;the reticence of existing Council members to approve permanent Muslim membership;the relatively weak bargaining position that these states hold in the negotiations,and the tendency for many to support one of the different reform models,some with mutually-exclusive perspectives.

New Blood Propels Change New make-up of the UN Security Council will influence reform

A new UN Security Council has been unveiled to the world as India,South Africa,Germany,Portugal and Colombia won two-year non-permanent seat on the council.

Assessment for Social Security Pilot in Jilin and Hei Longjiang of China

The present paper reviews the social security pilot in Jilin and Hei Longjiang that was carried out between 2004 and 2005. The pilot in the two provinces has basically achieved its main objectives, but there are still some unsolved problems, the most severe being lack of effective investment of the funds accumulated by individual accounts. During periods of high economic growth and high growth in average wages, this problem might undermine the partially-funded security system. To this end, the paper makes some suggestions, one of which is to introduce the notional defined contribution system.

Institutional Root Cause of the Irregularity of Social Security Funds in China

This paper analyzes institutional defects in the Chinese social security system, based on irregularities in social security funds revealed in the Audit Report by the China National Audit Offce. The author divides the irregularities into five categories according to the nature of fimd use. The results show that the institutional root cause of the irregularities lies in the unreasonable design and operation of the social security system, which currently faces management and institutional risks, This paper argues that simple rhetoric about strengthening regulation and supervision cannot help to reduce illegal practices, or to realize risk control. The only solution is to reform the social security system. Specifically, the Chinese Government should regulate the administrative cost of the social security system, and the behavior of its agencies, through legislation, reform the investment regime to increase rate of return of pension assets, and adjust and reshape the existing social security system, so as to elevate its pooling level.