Long reads etc

The EU Internal Market Sub-Committee, of which Lord Wei is a member, today published a report on 'Brexit: trade in nonfinancial services'. The report considers the potential impact of Brexit on trade in five services sectors: professional business services, digital services, creative services, air services, and, tourism, education and health-related travel services. The UK is the second largest exporter of services in the world. The majority of these services are non-financial, encompassing a broad range of sectors such as ICT (information and communications technology), telecoms, broadcasting, fashion design, aviation, tourism, education, and professional services such as accountancy and law. These ...

Lord Wei today spoke on the 2nd reading of the National Citizen Service Bill. Lord Wei was delighted to see this Bill presented and with the reception it had received so far. He was involved in establishing the Challenge Network charity in 2009 to create one of the original pilots of the National Citizen Service programme. Prior to this, he was involved with colleagues from Shaftesbury Partnership in designing a working prototype to accompany, refine, and road-test the original policy idea which had been proposed by David Cameron (and before him many others from across the political spectrum over the ...

Lord Wei is a member of the EU Internal Market Sub-Committee which recently published a report on online platforms and the digital single market. Lord Wei launched the report at a Tech UK startup event in Brussels on April 19th 2016. The EU Internal Market Sub-Committee has been investigating whether large online platforms, such as Google, Amazon, Uber and Airbnb, which act as gateways to some markets, operate above the law. Its report, Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market, sets out its findings which cover regulation, e-commerce, consumer protection, and competition. The report recognises that online platforms have accelerated e-commerce ...

On September 8th, Lord Wei spoke in the House of Lords on the Report of the European Union Committee on Civilian Use of Drones in the EU. He commended the proportionate recommendations put forward and focused his remarks on the challenge highlighted by the report regarding the need to balance and recognise rapid innovation, alongside mitigating risks associated with both commercial and leisure use of drones and the development of a regulatory framework that works and is cost-effective but does not become obsolete before it has been enshrined in legislation and regulation. He felt that a blanket legislative as it ...

The Hon Ed Vaizey MP, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, Michael Lillis, Private Secretary to Ed Vaizey, and Rick Holyomes, Department for Culture, Media and Sport appeared as witnesses before the Select Committee on European Union Internal Market Inquiry on Roaming Charges on September 7th 2015. Lord Wei asked about the fairness of disruptive communication services such as Skype and WhatsApp which use telecoms infrastructure but do not contribute towards the maintenance of the infrastructure. Ed Vaizey responded that they have looked at these issues in detail. A lot of these over-the-top providers make their own ...

Lord Wei sits on the EU Internal Market Sub-Committee. At a meeting on 6th July 2015, the Committee looked at the Government response to the Civil Use of Drones in the EU. It made a number of comments: It welcomed the Government’s continuing commitment to actively contribute to the development of harmonised safety rules and light regulation for civil drones across the EU. It asked for more information on making SME participation in EU consultation easier and the governance structure to ensure legislation is drafted in good time. It recommended that national aviation authorities, such as the Civil Aviation Authority ...

On January 15th, Lord Wei was delighted to host Mr James Higa who spoke to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for East Asian Business in conjunction with the APPG for Japan. Mr Higa, a second generation Japanese-American, who was born in the US and grew up in Japan and previously reported directly to Steve Jobs in the Office of the CEO, Apple. During his long career at Apple and NeXT that spanned nearly three decades, Mr Higa was instrumental in developing industry firsts. Among his most significant contributions to the global IT industry that we now enjoy include his involvement in the development of major milestones ...

Lord Wei spoke in a debate on Tuesday 6th January on the topic of a reduction in representatives of the House of Lords. He observed that in his experience, the primary function of the House is that of a revising Chamber—a place in which to amend and suggest improvements to laws produced by elected representatives in the House of Commons, whose primacy over the House of Lords is enshrined in conventions. He felt the House functioned, in modern terms, as a kind of human Wikipedia for the laws of this country, suggesting changes and improvements to legislation that may, for whatever reason, have been created ...

Lord Wei, in his capacity as Chair of the APPG for East Asian Business, hosted a reception in Parliament focused on China business opportunities on Deecember 8th. The reception was addressed by The China Britain Business Council’s CEO, Stephen Phillips. He stressed that China should not be seen as one market. There are growing opportunities at the granular level of individual cities and sectors. There is also a growing sophistication in the Chinese market. The UK now receives the largest amount of Chinese investment in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. The UK is attractive both as a destination in itself and as ...

Lord Wei spoke in a debate on Friday 5th December on the topic of Soft Power and Conflict Resolution. In summary, he reflected on the place of trade as a means of influence. Soft power is often thought of in terms of non-profit, diplomatic and associational activity. However, commercial and cultural initiatives have criss-crossed the world over the centuries and have enabled countries and cultures to communicate and connect across language and other barriers. For example, the European initiatives emanating from the courts of kings and nobles in France, Italy and beyond, find their expression still today in the luxury wares and fashions that ...