by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
Education and research politics have been a concern of mine for many years. I was involved in university politics during my studies, worked for the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and at various institutes of the RWTH after my studies, and am a member of the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment in the Bundestag.
And even though my focus there is on research and transfer, advocacy for the situation of students is still important to me – especially during the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
That is why, together with my fellow parliamentarians in the SPD, I have campaigned extensively for the one-off payment of 200 euros for students and trainees. We were also able to ensure that the energy price allowance of up to 300 euros was also paid to mini- and midi-jobbers, which also benefited numerous students.
For over 50 years, the state has been supporting young people in their school or university education with BAföG. Since the beginning of the legislative period, we have amended BAföG three times. This will strengthen educational equality. For example, first-year students in need can now receive a study start-up grant of 1,000 euros. The basic needs rate and the flat-rate housing allowance will continue to rise. We were able to raise the maximum subsidy rate to 992 euros. We have also raised the age limit, the allowances and the flat-rate housing allowance. And we want to continue by making BAföG more independent of parents as a further step.
These reforms led to support a group that was particularly hard hit by rising prices, especially during a difficult period.
Mobility is participation and must therefore be accessible at a low threshold. This is also reflected in the price. Since the summer semester 2024, many students have been able to use a discounted Deutschlandticket for 29.40 euros to use local public transport throughout Germany. I am committed to ensuring that the price remains as low as possible and that there are predictable and uniform regulations for semester tickets.
But politics for students are also important to me beyond that. Because as young people, they belong to a group in our society that often does not have a strong enough lobby and is not listened to enough. The years of the Corona pandemic were a cautionary tale of this.
I would like to do that differently. That’s why I’ve been offering an anger session for students since 2022. Of course, I can’t always solve all problems immediately in these conversations. But I want to listen, even if it’s criticism of our policies.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
I am a woman with a visible migration history. My parents are from South Korea and came to Aachen as students, before I was born. Because of this biography, I have been affected by migration and integration policies in Germany all my life.
Germany is an immigration country. This can also be seen more and more in politics. I can still remember very well the first parliamentary group meeting after the Bundestag elections, in which all the new members of parliament were asked to introduce themselves briefly. It was a real Kodak moment: so many different and exciting life stories. 49 deputies under the age of 35, but also, for example, many who – like myself – were naturalized only a few years ago. Who told stories of how their parents and grandparents never imagined that their children and grandchildren would one day be elected to the German Bundestag.
That is why I am glad that our coalition and the federal government stand for a more liberal social and immigration policy.
With the Opportunity Residence Act, we are giving people who have only been tolerated in Germany for years, but who have been integrated, the prospect of a secure residence and employment opportunities.
We have improved the immigration of skilled workers through more modern immigration law. This way, we facilitate the immigration of skilled workers and give people who want to work, study or train here a secure perspective. People who we need in our society.
We have also reformed the nationality law. We have made naturalization easier and faster and generally enabled multiple nationality. We believe, it is important to show people who have lived here for a long time, who are committed to our society and work for it: You belong, you are welcome here. And that is why you should get all the rights that come with German citizenship.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
Before I was elected to the Bundestag, I was a local politician on the Aachen City Council. There, my focus was on mobility policy. I represented this policy area as the mobility policy spokesperson of the SPD council group from 2014 to 2022.
This is another reason why I remain committed to mobility policy and to working for a sustainable and ecological mobility transformation. For us as the SPD, the social character of the mobility turnaround is paramount. We need fossil-free transportation and propulsion technology, but we need to make it so that everyone can participate in this transformation.
That is why, together with my colleagues in the SPD parliamentary group, I am campaigning for social and sustainable mobility options in the Bundestag.
We introduced the 9-euro ticket in 2022 – originally as a relief measure – which we were then able to continue in the long term as the 49-euro ticket or Deutschlandticket. This is the first time ever that one ticket for public transport is valid throughout Germany. When I was still making mobility policy in Aachen, I could never have imagined that we would reach such a milestone in 2022.
Mobility policy often seems very technical. Complicated terms often hide big changes. The term planning acceleration is a perfect example for this. In this way, we in the Bundestag are increasing the speed with which infrastructure projects can be planned and implemented in the railroads or rail network, for example.
And we have amended the Road Traffic Act to give local authorities more opportunities to regulate local traffic themselves. This is another change that I always very much wanted to see during my time on the Aachen City Council, so that we could decide locally on the best solution for regulating traffic.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
On September 16, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini died. She died after being arrested by Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing an improperly fitting headscarf. Her death sparked the largest protests in Iran in decades.
I admit: Before September 2022, I was not particularly interested in Iran. I mean, no more than other people. I read news about the country and knew that there is a dictatorship in Iran. But back then I didn’t know, about the courage of its citizens, and about the terror that the Iranian government is waging against its own people.
Since September 2022 – and actually much longer – the women and men in Iran have been fighting for what we take for granted. The freedom to speak their mind. The right to criticize their government. The ability to decide for themselves what clothes they wear. For being able to live without fear of their own state.
I first came into closer contact with the Iranian protest movement in October 2022. I was on a trip to Rwanda to attend the Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international association of parliamentarians. There I gave a speech about the protests in Iran and the courage of the women and men who are taking to the streets.
The topic has been on my mind ever since. When I was asked if I would take on a political sponsorship for Toomaj Salehi in November 2022 I agreed immediately.
Toomaj is a very famous rapper in Iran, who supports the protests and criticizes the government with his lyrics and music. He was arrested for this in October 2022 and sentenced to six years in prison in July 2023. In April 2024, he was sentenced to death, a sentence that was overturned two months later by the Iranian Supreme Court.
As a political sponsor for Toomaj, I have been pointing out his case and the human rights violations he faces at the hands of the Iranian regime: neither his arrest nor his conviction have any basis in the rule of law. He was tortured during his detention. He was punished for expressing his opinion.
I see it as my task to keep up the attention for Toomaj, both in the German public and towards the regime in Iran. That is why I have been writing letters every week since November 2022 to the Foreign Minister, the Ambassador to Germany and Iran’s highest judicial authority. And I am not doing this alone: Following my sponsorship of Toomaj, many of my colleagues in the Bundestag, as well as in other parliaments in Germany and Europe, have also taken on sponsorships for political prisoners in Iran.
We have to keep looking and not let up.
by Ye-One Rhie | 28. September 2023 | Unkategorisiert
When I was elected to the Bundestag in 2021, I would never have thought that a few months later the largest war in Europe since World War II would begin.
We all knew that the Corona pandemic was not over yet and that its consequences would keep us busy for a long time. But we didn’t know that we would suddenly have to deal with a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine in violation of international law.
The war against Ukraine has destroyed many certainties. For a long time we believed that the path of change through convergence would work. Since February 24, 2022, this is no longer possible, at least for a long time.
Three points are particularly important to me about the war against Ukraine.
We stand by Ukraine and support the Ukrainian people in their struggle for their freedom and in defense of their sovereignty and integrity. That is why I am fully behind Germany’s financial and humanitarian support – and also behind the arms deliveries.
But it is equally important that we prevent the war from spreading and avoid an uncontrollable escalation between NATO and Russia. I am glad that the German government, under the leadership of our Chancellor Olaf Scholz, weighs every decision carefully and prudently and always seeks to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in Europe and in NATO.
In addition, we must also alleviate the consequences of the war here in Germany. Of course, these are not nearly as bad as what the people of Ukraine are suffering.
But the energy and economic crisis triggered by the war is putting a strain on people and businesses in our country. That is why we have decided on relief programs worth almost 300 billion to overcome this crisis. I believe, it is crucial to learn from the mistakes of the past, for example from an overly one-sided dependence on energy supplies.
