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China has, apparently, more trade union members than the rest of the world put together, but the unions are subservient to the Party-state. The theme of the paper is the gap between rhetoric and reality. Issues analysed include union structure, membership, representation, and the interaction between unions and the Party-state. We suggest that Chinese unions inhabit an Alice in Wonderland dream world and that they are virtually impotent when it comes to representing workers. Because the Party-state recognises that such frailty may lead to instability it has passed new laws promoting collective contracts and established new tripartite institutions to mediate and arbitrate disputes. While such laws are welcome they are largely hollow: collective contracts are very different from collective bargaining and the incidence of cases dealt with by the tripartite institutions is tiny. Much supporting evidence is presented drawing on detailed case studies undertaken in Hainan Province (the largest and one of the oldest special economic zones) in 2004 and 2005. The need for more effective representation is appreciated by some All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) officials, but it seems a long way off, so unions in China will continue to echo the White Queen: “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today” and, alas, tomorrow never comes.

COVID-19 is a pandemic that is a black swan event that has disrupted the economic activities in the whole world. Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest international organization that unites Muslims to collectively protect their interest by having a global platform to voice out their concerns. This is an exploratory research of which the objective is to understand the implication of this pandemic on OIC countries to suggest ways in which pandemic related economic challenges facing these countries could be resolved. This research identifies four key economic challenges faced by the OIC countries: challenges in adapting to new normal in in re-starting the economic activities; issues in formulating effective plans for economic recovery; increase in poverty, unemployment and inequality in societies; and disruption to global economy chains. To overcome these economic challenges identified, fives recommendations are proposed via which OIC could play the leading role in ensuring that OIC countries could leverage each other to rebound the respective economies in the shortest possible time. The recommendations proposed are made not to gain short term benefits; but they are proposed considering the long-term benefits it will give to the economies of member countries of OIC. The recommendations proposed are: creating a fintech ecosystem for financial services and introducing OIC electronic commerce market; formulating strategies to implement shared prosperity via effective implementation of Islamic social finance; adopting Blue Ocean Strategy; promoting Islamic economic principles; and implementing circular economy concept. It is anticipated that through this research the economic challenges faced by Muslim countries due to the pandemic can be understood and the recommendations proposed could be utilized by the government and policymakers of the respective countries to resolve the challenges identified.

This study explores the influence of cultural heritage tourism perception on China's tourism image. It analyzes the role of the spiritual bond established between overseas Chinese youth and the motherland during their visit to the cultural heritage sites in China. This study constructs a theoretical model with 350 overseas Chinese youth as samples based on the identity theory, Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory, and Howard-Sheth model. The results show that cultural heritage tourism perception directly and positively promotes cultural identity among overseas Chinese youth. It is also indirectly and positively associated with their cultural identity through enhancing the tourism image. Cultural intelligence plays a positive moderating role between cultural heritage tourism perception and cultural identity. The results provide significant implications for developing cultural heritage tourism and cultural communication.

Online, distance, and eLearning (ODeL) continue to gain recognition as a mandatory component of delivery of education in institutions of higher learning (IHL) around the world following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This paradigm shift is informed by the need to ensure uninterrupted, valuable, and safe learning experiences for learners during the pandemic. However, governments ordered the closure of schools and colleges following the declaration of COVID-19 as a world pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). A report by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization revealed that there was a significant loss of schooling time following the closure of educational facilities which affected over 1.5 billion learners in 194 nations globally. This study explored the use of online approaches to intensify online learning efficacy in IHL. Data collection was conducted using qualitative methods and data analysis done using themes and sub-themes. Findings from this study indicate that students’ engagements on discussion forums are consistent with collaborative learning. Results further support the view that regular, prompt, and meaningful feedback is critical in promoting constructive learning and reflection among students. Based on the findings of this study, practical implications are discussed for stakeholders interested in establishing and strengthening effective delivery of online learning content to enhance students’ learning experiences.