Spacecraft components of China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission have arrived at Hainan Meilan International Airport aboard the An-124 and Y-20 transport aircraft successively on Monday and Tuesday before they were then transported by road to the Wenchang Space Launch Site, Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Wednesday.
According to the CNSA, the latest development marks a significant step for the fourth phase of the lunar exploration program, with pre-launch testing preparations underway.
The launch site facilities are currently in good condition, with all preparations progressing smoothly according to plan. Chang'e-6 is scheduled for launch in the first half of this year, said the CNSA.
The Chang'e-6 mission aims to break new ground in lunar retrograde orbit design and control, intelligent sampling on the moon's far side, and ascent from the lunar surface. It will conduct an automated sample return from the moon's far side, along with scientific exploration of the landing area and international collaboration, according to the CNSA.
Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, has previously revealed that Stage 4 Chang'e lunar probe missions - the Chang'e-6, -7 and -8 - will carry out new planetary exploration missions and further upgrade the country's space launch capabilities in the next 15 years.
According to Wu, who is also the chief scientist and director of China's Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL), the Chang'e-6, to be launched in the first half year of 2024, will attempt to achieve the world's first lunar sample return from the dark side of the moon.
The scale of such samples retrieved from the moon would be around 2,000 grams. The epic Chang'e-5 mission retrieved 1,731 grams.
To enhance international cooperation, Chang'e-6 will carry payloads and satellite projects from countries and institutes including France, the European Space Agency, Italy and Pakistan.
The Chang'e-7 mission, set for 2026, aims to land on the moon's south pole and carry out lunar resource and environment surveys in the area. Besides that, the Chang'e-8 will verify new technology that makes use of lunar resources.
Wu said that China plans to achieve a manned moon landing around 2030.
China's Wednesday update on its fruitful lunar probe series, Chang'e, named after the Moon Goddess in Chinese mythology, came within the same week that US private firm Astrobotic Technology said its NASA-backed spacecraft's attempt to be the first US lander to reach the moon in more than 50 years had "no chance" of touching down on the lunar surface due to an apparent issue with the vehicle's propulsion system.
NASA on Tuesday also announced that it was delaying the mission for US astronauts to travel to the moon by about one year. Artemis III, originally targeted for late 2025, is now set for September 2026, and even that time frame is "very aggressive," the agency said.
The US military has grounded its entire fleet of Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft after a deadly crash off Japan last week. Sputnik spoke to veteran Russian combat aircraft pilot Vladimir Popov to get a better sense of the problems associated with the fledgling technology, and why the US refuses to just close the Osprey program down.
A US Air Force Special Operations CV-22B Osprey flying from Yokota Air Base in Tokyo to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Okinawa went down over the East China Sea on November 29, killing all eight airmen onboard.
The crash was at least the 40th accident involving an Osprey since the aircraft's introduction into service with the US military in 2007, with crashes killing at least 53 US service members to date.
The Osprey program is the realization of an idea going back over a century ago of a tiltrotor, also known as a convertiplane - an aircraft with the ability to take off and land vertically using helicopter-style rotors attached to its wings, and which can adjust them during flight to a something closer to an airplane turboprop engine-style configuration. This dramatically increases the convertiplane's speed characteristics relative to those of an ordinary helicopter (up to doubling them).
The United States, the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Britain were the first countries to begin experimenting with tiltrotor designs, with each country building prototypes from the 1930s into the early post-war period before concluding the technology was too revolutionary to be implemented effectively using equipment and materials that existed at the time.
The USSR began work on a modern-day iteration of the convertiplane in the 1970s with the Mil Mi-30 Vintoplan (lit. 'Rotorplane') project, which featured an airplane-style fuselage design and characteristics allowing it to carry up to 32 people or up to five tons of cargo. The project, envisioned as a prospective replacement for the Soviet and Russian rugged Mi-8 workhorse series fleet of helicopters, was abandoned in the mid-1990s due to lack of funding after the USSR's collapse. The Osprey project, designed by Bell and Boeing in the 1980s and first flown in March 1989, entered mass production in 2007, and has since been introduced into service with the US Marines Corps, Air Force, Navy, and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force. The aircraft can carry up to 24 combat troops or nine tons of cargo. The V-22 is the only convertiplane to be mass produced by any nation, with over 400 built to date.
But as often happens with complex, innovative engineering designs, the glory of having the first fully operational, mass-produced convertiplane is also a heavy burden to bear, with the United States military not only reveling in the Osprey's advantages, but suffering from its flaws, with the V-22 suffering dozens of crashes and at least 16 hull losses to date.
Last week's crash in the East China Sea was the fourth fatal incident involving a V-22 in less than two years, and follows the August 2023 Marine MV-22B crash on Melville Island, Australia during an exercise, killing three service members, the June 2022 crash of a Marine MV-22B in California, killing five troops, and an MV-22B crash in Beiarn, Norway in March 2022, which killed another four Marines.
Investigations into the latest incidents have pointed to technical problems (including a drive system failure caused by a malfunctioning gearbox in the case of the June 2022 incident in California), and pilot error in the case of the March 2022 crash in Norway.
Investigators are yet to offer details on what may have caused the November 29 CV-22B crash off Japan, although eyewitnesses have reported fire coming from one of the aircraft's engines and the Osprey reportedly flying upside down before an explosion spewed wreckage into the surrounding water.
Sunk Costs
Speaking to Sputnik about last week's Osprey crash, and asked why the US military continues to use the convertiplanes despite their crash-prone nature, Honored Military Pilot of Russia Vladimir Popov explained that it likely has to do with the resources the Pentagon has expended on the project.
"The fact is that financial resources have already been invested into the aircraft's creation and implementation," the retired Air Force Major-General with decades of service under his belt told Sputnik.
"Most likely, the engineers, designers, technologists and everyone who took part in the Osprey's development decided that its reliability can be assured, and that it can be improved in the course of operations," Popov said.
"They are likely hoping to get an effective machine, but everything remains in the stages of development and refinement. For now, of course, such an aircraft cannot really be used anywhere, since doing so means losses of personnel and money down the drain. The idea is good, but the implementation, not so much," the veteran pilot explained.
The problem with convertiplane technology at its current stage lies with the components allowing the aircraft to switch from vertical to horizontal flight mode, Popov said. "This node is 'charged' with a great deal of energy, because large loads hang on it. It may not be able to process the transition quite correctly" at times, resulting in accidents.
"Tiltrotors have been flying for a very long time, and they have a short service life. Thus, it's too early to say that it has already reached the peak of its operational maturity. What needs to be done is to clarify what went wrong in each specific case, and to approach the issue carefully and get to the bottom of it. What's also needed is to improve working with personnel, to conduct additional tests, and change the training of the pilot and crew members. The US may continue to operate Ospreys, but they need to think long and hard about how to do so without making sacrifices. Sometimes it's enough to replace only one bolt and everything will work as it should," Popov stressed.
Last week's accident may have been the result of any number of factors, from pilot error and equipment failure to errors in the mathematical calculations by the Osprey's onboard computer, Popov believes.
That said, the veteran pilot is convinced that tiltrotor technology has good prospects for the future, given its status as what is effectively a hybrid airplane/helicopter design that can accelerate to speeds of up over 550 km per hour, far above the roughly 300 km per hour achieved by modern helicopters, which have now maxed out as far as further improvements in speed characteristics go.
COVID-19 infections in China are at a low epidemic level and no unknown viruses or bacteria have been found during the monitoring of respiratory pathogens in China, according to Chinese health authorities on Sunday.
BA.2.86 and its subvariants, including JN.1 variant, have become the dominant variants in some countries, yet, their public health risk in China is low given their low proportion, Chang Zhaorui, a research fellow from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) told a press briefing on Sunday.
The proportion of BA.2.86 variant strains in the reported sequences in China is very low, but the proportion among imported cases has increased rapidly since November, and the growth trend has gradually converged with that of the world, Chang noted,
Since the first imported case of BA.2.86 variant strain was reported on August 31, a total of 160 sequences of BA.2.86 and its subbranches have been reported in China, including 148 imported case sequences and 12 local case sequences, but no severe or critical cases have been found, the research fellow from the China CDC noted.
According to a statement published by National Disease Control and Prevention Administration on Friday, the possibility of the JN.1 variant, a branch variant of BA.2.86, becoming a dominant strain in the country cannot be ruled out due to the subsequent impact of international strains and imported cases.
On November 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) adjusted BA.2.86 from a variant requiring global surveillance to a variant requiring attention, evaluating the risk of clinical severe infection as low and the overall assessment of public health risk as low.
Experts reached by the Global Times said infectious diseases are common throughout the world. New variants of the novel coronavirus can appear in the future at any time and people should get used to their existence. More attention should be paid to overlapping infections of influenza and other respiratory diseases.
In the past months, China has been experiencing a spike in respiratory disease.
Mi Feng, a spokesperson from National Health Commission, said on Sunday's press briefing that hospital visits for respiratory diseases across China have shown a downward trend.
Mi said that local medical institutes have been doing their part to ease pressure on major hospitals, accounting for 44 percent of total fever and outpatient visits.
The spokesperson called for the continued strengthening of surveillance and overall situation analysis for respiratory diseases and the allocation of medical resources to cope with the spike.
According to latest weekly report by the China CDC, the positive rate of influenza virus in the southern and northern provinces of China slowed down between December 4 and 10, and some provinces showed a downward trend.
A new strong cold front pushing north to south through China is expected to turn a vast area of the country’s territory into a huge “refrigerator” from Thursday till Saturday, leading to over 20 provinces, regions and municipalities bracing for below freezing temperatures.
From north to south, many places across the country suffered blizzards, freezing rain, and other extremely weather conditions on Thursday. Meteorological experts explained that the recent frequent cold fronts were caused by global warming heating up the Arctic and bringing cold fronts southward.
Temperatures in multiple places in Northeast China and North China will further plunge to record lows, as severe cold snaps and cold fronts have been making their way across the country from the north to the south since earlier this week, according to Weather China.
The meteorological forecast website predicted on Thursday that temperatures in multiple places in the southern part of the country will drop to the lowest seen so far this season, with 0 C temperatures expected in the southern part of Southwest China’s Guizhou Province and the northern part of South China, making people from more than 20 provinces feel like they are living in a “refrigerator.”
The cold fronts that came in December, earlier than usual, have been particularly severe. Although temperatures are reaching levels rarely seen in the past, this does not mean that brass monkey weather, which usually occurs in January or February, will be colder this year, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Thursday.
When the rare cold front ends next week and highs rise back to 0 C or above, the average temperature will return to usual levels.
China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) continued to issue a yellow alert for low temperatures early Thursday morning, forecasting daily lows or daily average temperatures 5 C lower than usual in multiple regions from the middle and western part of North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the regions south of the Huanghuai region. The 0 C isotherm will stretch from the southern part of Guizhou to the northern part of the South China.
According to the weather forecast on Thursday by Weather China, from north to south, the highs in the majority of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province and the middle and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia will be lower than -18 C. Temperatures in most parts of Northwest China, North China, and the Huanghuai and Jianghuai regions will remain below freezing, making them the “freezer compartment” of this “refrigerator” wave.
Whereas in the southern parts of China, such as the Jiangnan area, Sichuan Basin, Chongqing and Guizhou areas, highs will remain at 10 C or below, while highs in South China and Southwest China’s Yunnan Province will remain above 10 C.
Since the beginning of December, the temperatures across the country have experienced roller-coaster-like temperature fluctuations. The national average temperature from December 1 to 13 was higher than usual, the highest of the same period in history. However, since December 14, affected by the large-scale cold wave, the temperatures have plummeted in most parts of the country, and the maximum daily temperature drop of some national weather stations has broken historical extremes.
Between December 14 and 17, a large-scale cold wave affected a vast area of the country with wide influence, long duration and large accumulative precipitation. The maximum temperature drop reached or exceeded 20 C in 95 national weather stations, among which the maximum temperature drop in Datong, North China’s Shanxi Province, reached 26.3 C.
While a warm winter was previously forecast this year, Ma explained that such extreme cold weather conditions will not necessarily overturn previous predictions. Before the impact of the recent cold waves, the southern part of the country, especially the Yangtze River basin, did experience warmer weather than usual. The overall average temperature in the next phase will decide whether this winter will be considered a warm winter, Ma said, noting that more attention should be paid to increasing extreme weather.
Since the strong cold wave gripped Northeast China’s Jilin Province on December 15, temperatures in the province have plunged to freezing. According to the Jilin Meteorological Service, the highest temperatures during daytime in Jilin on Thursday was between -20 C and -16 C and the lowest temperature was forecast to be between -30 C and -27 C, with temperatures in some mountainous areas in the southeastern part of the province dropping as low as -32 C.
On Wednesday, the Jilin Meteorological Service forecast that temperatures in the middle and western parts of the province will rise starting Saturday while the eastern part of the province must wait to Sunday to see a rise.
In East China’s Shandong Province, the coastal cities of Yantai and Weihai have suffered snowstorms since December 15, with a blizzard pouring 35.6 millimeters of snow on the Wendeng district in Weihai.
The Shandong Meteorological Bureau has forecast snowstorms or blizzards in Yantai and Weihai from Wednesday to Friday with accumulated snowfall reaching 35 millimeters or above.
Meanwhile, East China’s Shanghai recorded the chilliest day of December in four decades with temperatures expected to remain below zero all day throughout the city, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said, noting the city’s lowest temperatures will reach -4 to -6 C in the city’s suburbs.
Local meteorological experts have forecast that the lowest temperatures will remain below 0 C in Shanghai between Thursday and Monday, possibly the coldest mid-December in the past four decades.
The water in the West Lake in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, even froze over early Thursday morning as the temperature dropped to only -4 C, the NMC said in a post on Sina Weibo.
Affected by the continuous low temperature, patients suffering from frostbite are also increasing, and some hospitals have set up frostbite clinics.
A doctor from the dermatology department of Zhongda Hospital Southeast University told the Health Times – affiliated to People’s Daily – that the recent frostbite patients mainly suffer from frostbite on the hands, feet, ears, face and other parts. Most of them had stayed outdoors for a long time, such as riding electric bikes and doing outdoor work. Some children suffer from ear frostbite due to playing outdoors.
China's Olympic champions believe the universal language of sport is a key to bridge communications for athletes as well as people of different countries and regions, as they continue their preparations for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
"Winning or losing is indeed the essence of competitive sports, but now I no longer think it's everything because we have something more valuable than victory," swimming queen Zhang Yufei told reporters at a forum held by the China Public Diplomacy Association in Beijing on November 22.
The essence of competitive sports goes beyond winning and losing, believed Zhang, who won six gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Zhang's touching moment with Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where they embraced despite being rivals, became a memorable scene.
"We participated in the same discipline but it was until the final day of 50 meters butterfly final that she made onto the podium," Zhang said.
"Her ability to return to the competition is a miracle. It is her perseverance that inspired me to continue when facing a bad situation."
Zhang was referring a fever she caught on day four of her competitions at the Asian Games, when she had to continue to achieve her personal goal of becoming the MVP of the event, which required more gold medals at the time.
"It is her perseverance she demonstrated after wading through leukemia which sidelined her from competing after achieving six gold and two silver medals at 2018 Asian Games," Zhang noted.
Zhang's teammate Qin Haiyang, a breaststroke specialist who set a new 200 meters world record this year, noted that he hopes to inspire more people to participate in sports activities, expressing his desire to showcase not only athletic achievements but also the confidence, unity and friendship of Chinese athletes on the international stage.
The power of role models is limitless as gymnasts Zou Jingyuan and Zhang Boheng mentioned the influential figures in their sport, such as Li Ning, Li Xiaoshuang and Japan's Kohei Uchimura.
"Although we are competitors on the field, off the field, we are friends. Athletes worldwide share a common philosophy of developing modern gymnastics, innovating movements, and spreading the love for sports globally," Zou said.
All-rounder Zhang is often linked to Japanese gymnast Hashimoto Daiki, as the duo are being considered the top athletes in the sport. This year they have competed head-to-head in China at the Chengdu Universiade and the Hangzhou Asian Games.
"Although this year I won, but I don't think he is at top form. I expect to compete with him when both of us are in-form. Maybe the stage will be the Olympics next year," Zhang said.
"All the gymnasts in the world share a common philosophy, that is, to develop modern competitive gymnastics, constantly innovate movements, share our understanding of gymnastics, and our love for sports with the world," Zou added.
Off the field, interactions and friendships among athletes from different countries and regions highlight the Olympic spirit that unites the world, as two-time Olympic taekwondo champion Wu Jingyu, now chair of World Taekwondo Athletes Committee, underlines the communication among the athletes facilitate the Olympic spirit.
"In addition to athletic achievements, athletes' perseverance and pursuit of dreams are also part of the Olympic spirit. This Olympic family allows athletes to freely show and express the spirit of sports, inspire more people with spiritual strength," Wu said.
The film Snow Leopard, directed by China's late Tibetan writer-director Pema Tseden, won the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival held from October 23 to November 1.
This movie was Pema Tseden's last film before his passing in May. Born in December 1969, Pema Tseden passed away this year due to an illness. Recognized as a pioneer of Tibetan-language films, the director created several famous works, including the 2018 film Jinpa and the 2019 film Balloon.
Pema Tseden was also an award-winning novelist, whose work has been translated into English, French, German, Japanese and Czech. He was a professor at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, and a member of the China Film Directors' Guild as well.
Described as a family drama, Snow Leopard was Pema Tseden's eighth Tibetan-language film. The film explores the close association between humans and animals through a story in which a snow leopard kills nine of a sheepherder's flock. It delves into the differing perspectives of various individuals regarding whether to release the snow leopard after it gets trapped in the sheep pen.
It took about three years to make the film, which was shot at the scenic Donggi Cona Lake in Madoi county in Northwest China's Qinghai Province. The name of the lake means "lake surrounded by a thousand mountains" in the Tibetan language. The area is also a habitat for snow leopards and many other endangered species.
Jigme Trinley, Pema Tseden's son and assistant director on Snow Leopard, said that his father's works have always told stories of the culture and life of Tibetan people, and how modern civilization has been impacting and integrating into their lives and thinking, media reported.
Snow Leopard was considered a significant breakthrough in Pema Tseden's filmmaking journey, embodying his new understanding of life, the world, and Tibetan culture, Jigme Trinley added.
The Israel-Gaza conflict entered its fourth day with Israel declaring on Tuesday control regained over the Gaza border. Chinese analysts urged US and Western leaders to stop the long-term marginalization of the Palestine issue or fan the flames of the conflict, calling for more efforts to calm the situation in order to prevent a potential sixth war in the Middle East.
In retaliation for the Hamas militant attack on Saturday, Israeli airplanes bombarded Gaza City's downtown nonstop until early Tuesday, cutting off the Gaza Strip from food and other supplies. According to Reuters, the Israeli military activated an unprecedented 300,000 reserve soldiers and placed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, increasing concerns that it was preparing a ground invasion in response to the most daring and deadliest Hamas offensive in decades.
As of press time on Tuesday, the cumulative death toll on both sides had risen to nearly 1,600. Gaza's Health Ministry on Monday said at least 687 Palestinians had been killed and 3,726 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave, Reuters reported.
Early Tuesday, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US released a joint statement in which they expressed their "steadfast and united support" to Israel and condemned the Hamas attack.
The Western leaders' acknowledgement of "the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people" was noted in the statement, but it has come under fire from netizens on social media for their double standards on the Palestine issue. Observers voiced concern that the US and certain Western leaders' biased support would worsen the conflict.
As long as Israel is seen as a member of their camp and Hamas as terrorists, the US and many European nations would want to offer Israel support in diplomacy and in rhetoric. However, if the conflict spreads, the scenario may get worse, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
In an attempt to provide symbolic support to Israel and intimidate Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group, US made the one-sided decision to send weapons and warships to Israel.
However, since the US has been reducing its commitments in the region, it will not readily get back into the conflict, but to demonstrate its role, it may provide Israel with weaponry and intelligence, Liu said.
Although several EU leaders expressed support for Israel, considering the widespread sympathy for the Palestinians in European nations, the bloc may not accept long-term one-sided support for Israel, according to the expert.
For example, divisions among EU member states and a lack of convergence from EU institutions were on display on Monday over plans to halt aid to Palestine in response to Saturday's attack on Israel by Hamas. According to European media, several countries, including Ireland, Luxembourg and Denmark - had been pushing for the EU to call for de-escalation.
Concern over escalation
The international community is concerned about how the conflict will evolve. According to Liu, in order to reassure its citizens, the Israeli government would undoubtedly exact retribution on Hamas and undertake the heaviest strike it has ever launched. But it also faces another problem - Hamas is hard to eradicate from Gaza due to its close links to the local community, and if its use of force results in significant civilian casualties and humanitarian catastrophes in Gaza, it will come under greater moral pressure.
Liu noted that the risk of a sixth Middle East war still exists if Israel is engulfed by the desire for revenge and expands the war, or if Hamas finds itself fighting a last-ditch battle, or if more countries are dragged into the war.
"It would be a more pitiful situation if the war escalates with relevant parties losing their minds," said Liu.
There was no sign of cease fire on Tuesday. Hamas is ready to fight a long war with Israel, a senior member of the militant group was cited by the Associated Press as saying on Tuesday.
Moreover, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into Israel after at least three of its members were killed during an Israeli bombardment of Southern Lebanon amid soaring tensions on Israel's northern border, according to media reports.
The situation in Gaza is being closely watched by the international community. Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University said that the immediate priority is to stop additional parties from engaging in the Israel-Gaza conflict and from adding fuel to the fire. However, if Israel deploys significant ground forces into Gaza, the situation may become challenging with the possibility of an alarming humanitarian disaster.
As the situation worsened, the United Nations, foreign relief organizations, and public health professionals said they were increasingly worried about humanitarian needs in Palestinian regions. Approximately 6 percent of Gaza's population, or more than 137,000 individuals, are now taking refuge in facilities administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, according to a statement made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to reporters in New York.
China has paid high attention to the continued escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict and urged all relevant parties to enact a cease fire. China is willing to maintain communication with all parties and make efforts toward stabilizing the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The bloodshed and deaths in the Middle East once again bring to light the disastrous consequences of the US and Western countries' long-term marginalization of the Palestinian issue, analysts said. It also highlights that the US' strategy to promote normalization between Israel and the Arab states would be a castle in the air without resolving the Palestine issue.
Although there has been no official information from any relevant parties, there have been growing reports that a US-brokered deal to formalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel may be victimized in the escalation of situation.
The Palestinian issue has historically been viewed by the global community as the most important, sensitive and fundamental problem in the Middle East. But in order to achieve reconciliation between Israel and Saudi Arabia and persuade more of its friends and other moderate nations to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, the US strives to sidestep or even ignore the Palestinian issue. Its goal is to put together a unified front to attack Syria and suppress Iran, Sun said.
The US should reflect its regional strategy and advocate for long-term solutions to Israel-Palestine conflict rather than stoking tensions, said Sun.
Palestine and Israel are neighbors that cannot be moved and the two-state solution is a concluding and right solution to solving the Palestinian issue. Without an independent country of the Palestinians, the security of Israel cannot be guaranteed, Sun said.
The highly anticipated Indonesian cultural festival kicked off in the opera hall of Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music recently to promote cultural exchanges between China and Indonesia and encourage people to learn more about the traditional Indonesian instrument the Kolintang.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun, delivered a speech saying that the Indonesian cultural performance held in Beijing is particularly important for the promotion of Indonesia's rich and colorful culture and enhancement of civil relations between Indonesia and China.
Oratmangun also stated that through this event, he hopes that the Kolintang instrument will be recognized by UNESCO in 2024.
Accompanied by the Kolintang, Oratmangun and his wife sang the Chinese song The Moon Represents My Heart, which resonated with the audiences and received thunderous applause.
This event serves as a bridge for cultural exchange between the two countries, enhancing cultural exchange and mutual learning, and strengthening the friendship between the two peoples, while promoting the healthy development of bilateral relations.
The Philippines and Japan hope to hold a joint exercise under a new bilateral security pact next year, which Chinese experts said on Wednesday is a dangerous plan that could pose several threats to regional peace and stability.
Gilberto Teodoro, Defense Secretary of the Philippines, said on Tuesday that a joint exercise by Philippine and Japanese troops under a proposed reciprocal access agreement (RAA) between the two countries could be held as early as next year, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.
The talks on the RAA will go "very smoothly" and be signed at "the soonest possible time," Kyodo News quoted Teodoro as saying.
The RAA will not only facilitate joint defense drills but also contain a data sharing mechanism, Teodoro said, with Kyodo News noting that Japan is supplying coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines, and that the Philippines has a similar security agreement with the US and Australia.
Teodoro then pointed to China, saying that the pact is significant in order to make the Philippines and Japan more secure, and thanked Japan for "condemning China" for an event on October 22 in which Philippine vessels trespassed into waters off China's Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea and intentionally caused bumps amid countermeasures by the Chinese side.
China should stay on high alert over the recent military cooperation attempts between Japan and the Philippines, because they are not simple bilateral cooperation, but can cause serious consequences to regional peace and stability, analysts said.
The Philippines knows that its own military capabilities cannot support its scheme of snatching Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, so it is colluding with countries from outside the region including the US and Japan, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"It's like inviting wolves into the house," the expert said.
Song Zhongping, another Chinese military expert, told the Global Times that Japan is breaking its military restrictions by changing its principles on arms transfers and exporting weapons to foreign countries like the Philippines.
Japan also aims to contain China's development in concert with the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, Song said.
Using the Philippines and Japan as pawns, the US is strengthening its strategic encirclement on China through allies and partners along the first and second island chains, experts said.
Countries in the South China Sea region should be cautious over this situation of external interference, which could harm the main theme of cooperation and development that benefit all, analysts said.
The extreme rainstorm witnessed in Beijing on July 21, 2012, the heaviest rainfall in six decades that left 79 people dead and caused widespread havoc in the capital city over a weekend, left deep scars in many people's hearts. Fortunately, when Beijing broke a 140-year-old rainfall record in the days between July 29 and August 2, the nightmare witnessed by Beijing residents over a decade ago were not replayed.
Based on flood prevention experience and lessons learned from previous rainfall disasters, including the catastrophic Henan floods in July 2021, Beijing appears to have made quantifiable to the city's disaster forecasting, relief, and response programs. There have been no major recorded roof collapses, backlash on the internet, damage of power lines, or flooded highway underpasses, scenes that were widely seen in the tragedy 11 years ago.
New technology and digital networks have become an important force in averting tragedy. The Beijing Haidian District Water Affairs Bureau utilized a cutting-edge smart system to direct emergency rescue operations throughout the district, as the system can map out the most optimal rescue route in record time.
The system utilizes visualization, integrated analysis of big data, and other technologies to understand the distribution and anomalies of approximately 3,000 water facilities and sensors across the entire Haidian area, and can provide real-time monitoring of the status of water channels, gates, and dams, and respond to warnings and forecasts speedily, the Beijing News reported.
Moreover, technologies such as the "Sky Eye" telescope, radar maps, and satellite cloud images have also played a significant role in this round of rainstorm warning. Since the start of the current round of rainfall on July 29, the "Sky Eye" smart system installed in some streets has remained vigilant. High-definition cameras installed on flood prevention emergency vehicles and rescue team helmets can monitor precipitation in real time, greatly improving the efficiency of flood responses.
"Early assessment, early warning, and early deployment" are the most significant forms of progress that the Global Times witnessed amid the slate of heavy rain that hit Beijing.
While visiting and reporting in waterlogged Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, in July 2021, Global Times reporters found that the consensus among the public was they received warning notifications "too late." While other areas in Henan Province had already been hit by heavy downpours, Zhengzhou city government did not decisively put measures in place to stop gatherings, suspend classes, and require the closure of businesses, wasting critical time in flood prevention and missing a key rescue window.
The official investigation report on the severe rainstorm disaster in Zhengzhou which caused at least 398 deaths and missing, exposed serious misconducts in the city's response deployment, including inadequate warning, significant delays in emergency responses, and a lack of unified command at critical moments. These issues led to the highest disaster-related casualties seen in recent years, particularly with regard to the subway system and tunnel, which should not have occurred.
This time in Beijing, Global Times reporters found residents in the capital city received multiple flood prevention reminders via text from relevant departments before the heavy rain actually fell down. Beijing successively issued red rainstorm warnings, yellow lightning warnings, and blue wind warnings, reminding citizens to refrain from outdoor activities. Many organizations immediately issued directives for their employees to work from home.
News sources reported that in preparation, the Beijing Drainage Group initiated a top-level flood early-warning protocol, requiring all pump station personnel to be on duty. At the same time, a re-inspection and re-treatment of drainage facilities in key areas such as 155 depressed bridges and 249 subway stations, as well as a re-inspection of water pumps, backup power sources, flood control emergency equipment, and various monitoring systems in 87 rainwater pump stations across the city were conducted.
Power system companies also deployed emergency teams in advance. The State Grid Corporation of China (Beijing), for example, had 22 rescue teams with 510 personnel on standby, ready to transport power generation vehicles, small generators, lighting vehicles, and other flood control emergency supplies and equipment to be stationed in areas with strong rainfall forecasted by meteorological bodies.
Beijing's main cultural and tourism venues issued temporary closure notices soon after the Beijing city government temporarily asked to shut down access to all scenic spots on July 30.
All mountainous and water-related scenic spots and rural homestays in the heavily affected area of Fangshan district were temporarily closed and have stopped receiving visitors since then. All 17 tourist attractions in Huairou district were closed, and all homestays and folk accommodations were temporarily suspended to minimize risk.
Amid the heavy downpour sweeping through many parts of China, local authorities have stepped up efforts to counter flooding and power cuts. After days of search and evacuation efforts, disinfection work has begun in residential and commercial areas in the city over this weekend.
Throughout three major rainstorms, nonstop rescue missions have been executed with countless heartwarming stories. In the last decade, what has changed is our continuously honed ability to respond to floods, while what remains unchanged is the resilience exemplified by every individual, an essence of the Chinese civilization.
We believe that in the future, we will face floods and other natural disasters with even greater composure and unite together to withstand the tests they bring.
