The Daily Beat: 16 January
The ruling Georgian Dream party, led by party chair Irakli Kobakhidze, continues its “quest” for China, meeting with Xiao Jie, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. “We spoke of political, economic, and cultural cooperation,” commented Kobakhidze after the meeting, emphasizing the importance of the China-Georgia parliamentary dimension. He also stressed that China supports Georgia’s territorial integrity while Georgia supports the one-China principle.
In the meantime, Irakli Garibashvili did not spend his prime ministerial time in vain and received Chinese Ambassador to Georgia Zhou Qian, discussing “close friendly” bilateral relations between the countries and the recent elections in Taiwan. According to the official press release, the Chinese Ambassador “briefed the PM on the so-called elections in Taiwan, to which the PM reaffirmed the Georgian government’s unwavering support for the one-China principle.”
The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) says that the COVID-19 vaccines are out of stock in Georgia. According to the NCDC, no single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available in the country as existing vaccines (Pfizer, Sinovac, Sinopharm) have expired and have already been written off. The director of the NCDC, Tengiz Tsertsvadze, stressed the need for COVID-19 vaccines and, without hesitation, pointed to the health ministry.
The Social Justice Center (SJC), a local watchdog, issued a statement on the recent rise in femicide cases in Georgia, calling on the Government to significantly strengthen policies aimed at systemic prevention of violence against women. “Despite the strict policy on violations against women and domestic violence, the rate of murders of women and attempted murders remain high,” – reads the statement, noting that disturbing cases of violence against women have already been identified in early 2024.
The government’s Communication Strategy, approved late last year, envisages setting up an interagency coordination group “to combat disinformation effectively,” writes local online media outlet Publika.ge. The government document officially obtained by Publika provides for strengthened inter-agency coordination to ensure unity of messages and narratives, to reduce the risk of spreading “unclear” information in society, and to increase public support for government initiatives. In December 2023, Georgia was granted the EU candidacy on the understanding that it would implement nine conditions, including the fight against disinformation, foreign information manipulation, and interference against the EU and its values.
