Word: bans
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...rethinking this 20-year-old arms ban. Spain, which holds the E.U.'s rotating presidency until July 1, has called for a review of the embargo as a way of improving relations with Beijing. "We are all aware of the new role which China is assuming in the world," said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. This is great news for China, especially given its fury over the recent decision by the U.S. to sell $6.4 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province. (See a brief history of U.S. Presidents in China...
China says the lifting of the embargo is more symbolic than anything else - it would signal a European acceptance of the country's status as an equal player on the world stage. The weapons ban has certainly not prevented China from becoming a military power - its annual defense budget officially stands at $70 billion, although the Pentagon believes the real figure to be twice as high. Rather, Beijing sees the embargo as outdated and insulting, considering the other nations currently subject to an E.U. arms ban are all pariah states - Congo, North Korea, Iran, Burma, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe...
Lifting the arms ban may not be so simple, however, with strong resistance already developing against the idea. Many E.U. countries are worried about China's increasingly threatening behavior toward Taiwan and are reluctant to sanction an arms buildup that would further isolate the island. France, for one, had called for the embargo to be lifted in 2004, but now says it should stay in place. The European Parliament is also opposed to ending the ban so long as Beijing continues to sell arms to countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan, whose governments the West accuses of committing or supporting violent...
Fighting over A Veil Ban...
After six months of deliberation, a panel of 32 French lawmakers netted just enough votes to submit a report to Parliament recommending a ban on full-facial veils in certain public institutions. Originally a proposal had been made to pass a law prohibiting the coverings anywhere in public. But after a long and divisive debate, legislators were able to agree only on a ban in government offices, in public hospitals and on mass transit. Parliament will now decide whether any such law should be passed, although it's not expected to act until March...