(Source: People’s Daily Online)

Cartoon by Tan Xiguang

At the 48th Group of Seven (G7) summit held in June this year, the U.S. and other G7 countries launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), and announced that G7 countries will aim to mobilize $600 billion by 2027 in global infrastructure investments while the U.S. has set a target to mobilize $200 billion for the PGII over the next five years to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.

The seemingly generous initiative is merely an upgraded version of the so-called Build Back Better World (B3W). At the 47th G7 summit held last year, the U.S. proposed the B3W initiative and pledged to advance a global infrastructure initiative that was different from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, the B3W was not adopted by the U.S. Congress in the end and failed to help rebuild “a better world.”

The PGII initiative launched by the U.S. is just like old wine in a new bottle. It remains to be proven whether the initiative, repackaged on the basis of the failed B3W, will serve as a geopolitical tool created in the name of advancing infrastructure construction or indeed an initiative launched to improve people’s well-being.

What’s certain is that the international community hopes to see practical action and projects that deliver tangible benefits to people rather than empty promises.

(Source:People’s Daily Online)

More than half of the world’s saxophones are produced in Sidangkouzhong village in north China’s Tianjin Municipality. The small village, which has been dubbed China’s “Saxophone Village,” also produces various other Western musical instruments, including trumpets, trombones, and clarinets, with over 80 percent of them being exported to more than 10 foreign countries.

Photo shows musical instruments produced in Sidangkouzhong village. (Xinhua/Liu Weizhen)

From processing musical instrument parts and accessories for large companies to independently developing its own manufacturing techniques, the village has witnessed significant changes in its musical instrument manufacturing industry over the past decades.

Today, nearly 200 million yuan ($29.12 million) worth of musical instruments produced in the village are sold overseas every year to countries that include Germany, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

There are more than 40 musical instrument companies of different sizes based in the village, according to Huang Jinpeng, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sidangkouzhong village branch.

About 8,000 people, including local villagers and migrant workers, work at local musical instrument factories, Huang said, adding that almost every household in the village has family members working at these factories.

Zhang Guomin, an executive of a local musical instrument company, disclosed that sales at his company have nearly doubled over the past decade.

A worker assembles musical instruments in a factory in Sidangkouzhong village. (Xinhua/Liu Weizhen)

“Many professional foreign tuba players have asked to try our products, and every instrument we send is inscribed with our logo, the model number, as well as the words ‘Made in China’,” said Ding Baohua, a sales manager at a musical instrument company in the village.

The burgeoning musical instrument manufacturing industry has not only increased the income of local people, but has made their life more colorful, and with more and more musical instruments being sold overseas, Western music culture has gradually been assimilated into local people’s everyday lives. Many villagers, especially people working at the musical instrument factories, have meanwhile also learned to play Western instruments.

“I’ve worked in the industry for several decades. I haven’t gone to a music school, but I have learned quite a lot over these years since I make musical instruments every day,” said Fu Guangcheng, a production manager at a musical instrument company in the village.

People working in the musical instrument manufacturing industry in the village have all learned basic knowledge and skills about playing the musical instruments they make, Fu added.

(Source:People’s Daily Online)

Chengdu University in the city of Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, recently started to implement an innovative online system to help students who are going to study at the university soon to choose roommates and beds, the WeChat account of China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.

The video grab shows the university’s online pre-enrollment system. (Source: WeChat account of the Information Office of the People’s Government of Chengdu)

After students fill in a questionnaire on the university’s online pre-enrollment system, the university will recommend fellow peers who have the similar hobbies, interests, and living habits to them as their potential roommates.

Students are asked to answer questions including whether they are good at or afraid of socializing, whether they snore in their sleep, and whether they mind someone eating food with a strong smell, such as durian and river snail rice noodles, in their dormitory.

Besides recommending roommates, the system also allows students to select their beds.

The university began the planning for such a system capable of enabling students to choose roommates and select beds with the help of big data analysis in 2020, according to a staff member at the university’s student dormitory management center.

With the online registration of freshmen starting on Aug. 23, the system was officially launched, the staff member said, adding that the system recommends three roommates to each student and that the recommendations are made according to an order of precedence as follows: classmates, students studying the same major, and students in the same faculty.

Nevertheless, the roommates recommended by the system are merely a suggestion, students can decide whether they want to follow the suggestion according to their own situation, said Wang Caiyan, an executive at the university’s student dormitory management center.

By Mohamed Saad Kamel

China, as usual, supports and assists the countries of the world in all aspects of development and without interfering in politics or internal affairs, and Sudan for decades has enjoyed an excellent relationship with China, which has implemented dozens of development projects in Sudan.

The Ministry of Transport in Port Sudan building in the Red Sea state celebrated the arrival of 17 new locomotives for the Railway Authority, out of a total of 34 from China.

Today, the port witnessed a huge celebration in which the Red Sea State, the Sudan Railways Authority, the security and police services, and the seaports participated.

Addressing the celebration, the Minister of Transport, Hisham Muhammad Abu Dhaid, said that the arrival of the new locomotives is the result of continuous work with great efforts made by the Ministry of Transport, noting that the locomotives were manufactured with modern international specifications that contribute to the development of the transport wheel and restore the railway authority to its path, in addition to being an impetus to contribute.

In economic development, especially since Sudan, with its strategic location, is considered a trade corridor and allows transportation to regional and international countries. The minister supported the government’s interest, represented by the Ministry of Finance, for its support and financing of this great project.

The Secretary General of the Red Sea Government, the Wali in charge of the Ministry of Transport, represented by the Sudan Railways, praised the arrival of the new locomotives, which is an event that the Sudanese citizen has been waiting for for a long time, which helps in the transportation process and facilitates incoming and outgoing movement. He welcomed the visit of the central delegation and its participation in the celebration from inside the port of Port Sudan.

The Director General of the Sudan Railways Authority, Engineer Walid Ahmed Mahmoud, announced the arrival of 27 railway cars at the end of this year, a load of 40 dinars, with modern and international specifications, and he said, “Today we celebrate the arrival of the batch.” The first is 17 locomotives out of a total of 34, and the rest will arrive in the coming months.

He indicated that the locomotives project was among the projects to support tug-of-war, which became a real dream and reality. During the celebration, the locomotives were unloaded from the ship that crossed from China and will be transferred to the city of Atbara for examination and operation. At the end of the ceremony, all those who contributed to the arrival of these locomotives were honored.

(Mohamed Saad Kamel is the editor-in-chief of Sudanese media outlet Brown Land News. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Times Online.)

by Muhammad Zamir Assadi

China, the 2nd largest economy of the world and initiator of the historical plan of international development ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ has come forward to help the war-ravaged Afghanistan by extending China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs in America has stated that since invading Afghanistan in 2001, the United States has spent $2.313 trillion on the war, which includes operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Note that this total does not include funds that the United States government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans of this war, nor does it include future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war. This $2.313 trillion spent on Afghanistan is a portion of the total estimated cost of the post-9/11 wars.

The longest American war fought in Afghanistan has killed thousands of Afghan citizens and damaged the fabric of the society.

The responsibility of destruction of Afghan society and halting its development process leads to the US.

By withdrawing from Afghanistan with its allies, the United States also did everything bad with the war-torn country by seizing Afghan’s assets of $7 billion frozen in the United States.

Following the US act, Afghanistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse. Inflation is soaring, and millions of Afghans are on the brink of starvation looking forward towards the international community.

The major responsibility of the development of Afghanistan and Afghan people lies on the United States and its allies who have destroyed the country in the last years during the war period by using every kind of lethal and destructive weapon.

In this time of crisis for Afghanistan, China has stepped forward to help the war-torn country by discussing the idea for the extension of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan.

The idea to extend the flagship programme of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was discussed during a meeting between China’s special envoy on Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood at the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

In the context of regional connectivity, both sides exchanged views on extension of CPEC to Afghanistan to promote economic development and prosperity.

Afghanistan at this stage of time is in a dire need of financial assistance from the international community for developing the better life standard of locals who have faced the wrath of the US-led war in the last years.

One of the reports by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) states that focusing on infrastructure development will help bring about long-term growth in Afghanistan and address persistent issues affecting the country’s economic prospects, apart from security, including poor connectivity, poor access to limited energy supply and low agricultural productivity.

Better infrastructure can strengthen economic growth, enlist improved mobility to energize commerce and agriculture and boost government revenues available for development spending.

China, as a major country pursuing the development patterns for all in the region, holds very clear, coherent and exclusive development policies for all including Afghanistan that is passing through the critical times of its history.

Initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) envisions trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.

Over the past 10 years or so, the BRI has followed the guiding principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

CPEC being a flagship project of the BRI that has gained marvelous achievements in various sectors has huge opportunities of development to Afghanistan.

China with its global agenda of development for the fulfilment of the development needs of various countries maintains an independent policy which reflects China’s priorities even for Afghanistan.

The idea of extension of CPEC towards Afghanistan shows the initiative has gained the desired results and with its productive development it is ready to extend its scope of work beyond the borders.

The landlocked Afghanistan in a very first may avail and connect itself with international destinations for the exposure of its trade.

The move also shows that China is well aware of the development needs of its neighbouring countries as the destroyers of Afghanistan do not belong to Asia and they will not come back for the contribution of the development process in Afghanistan.

So the expansion of CPEC based in mutual consultation for the development of Afghanistan will be a key of growth in the region as well that is hit with economic hardships in the wake of war on terror.

The needs of Afghanistan in the sectors of infrastructural development, vocational training, education, health and others may be fulfilled under CPEC that has attracted billions of dollars from China in Pakistan and many more billions of dollars are yet to be invested.

The development of Afghanistan will be the development of the region that needs integration for the extended economic activities for the betterment of locals.

(Muhammad Zamir Assadi is a journalist of Pakistani media outlet Independent News Pakistan.The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Times Online)

(Source: People’s Daily Online)

Cartoon by Ma Hongliang

Since the founding of the United States, there has been fewer than 20 years when the nation was not at war. The obsession that Americans have with war is in the genes of their country.

By rallying its allies to launch the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War, as well as engaging in the Syrian War, the US has created a humanitarian disaster in the Middle East and surrounding regions during the past several decades.

The US has acted as a bully in the Middle East and intends to maintain its hegemony in the region by fair or foul means. For the US, the international law can be violated, the United Nations (UN) can be ignored and the right to life enjoyed by people living in the region can be trampled on.

The “Costs of War” project of Brown University in the US said that more than 174,000 people died in the war in Afghanistan, of whom more than 47,000 were civilians.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, the nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan forced 2.6 million Afghans to flee abroad and displaced 3.5 million others.

Syria had a population of over 22 million before a series of wars and conflicts broke out inside the country in 2011. According to statistics by the UN Refugee Agency, by July 2022, the number of registered Syrian refugees exceeded 5.6 million.

Data released by the UN revealed that US military interventions claimed at least 350,000 lives in Syria, displaced more than 12 million people, and left 14 million civilians in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

According to available records, between 2016 and 2019, 3,833 civilians in Syria were directly killed in bombings by the US-led coalition and half of them were women and children.

Those wars, fought in the name of “democracy,” “freedom” and “human rights,” have brought death and blood to people in the Middle East. The crimes the US has committed in the Middle East have torn off the fig leaf of American-style human rights.

By Fortune Abang

It is quite emotional to intentionally put on the shirt of my late father “Dr OshegaAbang” and relive his morals like the inscription “BúdàoChángchéngfēihǎohàn” engraved on Badaling or Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China to mean “Not to reach Great Wall, not a good man,” culled from Mao Zedong’s Chinese poem.

The poetic line sometimes translated to mean: “He who doesn’t reach the Great Wall is no hero”, reflects parental teachings that: “To get to sustainable goals in life, people must overcome difficulties.”

In the same vein, time is a test of greatness that has proven merits of an action are judged by later generations. The hurdle of climbing the Great Wall is as a good beginning that is half done, yet it cannot be known how great such an act is at the time, but it will be known later.

In the words of David McCullough Jnr. an English teacher at Wellesley High School and the author of You Are Not Special, “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” This evolves the level of happiness often derived not just at the top of the mountains, but in how to climb it.

Corroborating this, Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand Mountaineer, Explorer and Philanthropist said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

Such was the immeasurable joy and fun shared among 90 Journalists from 67 countries across Africa, Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific under auspices of the China Africa Press Centre (CAPC) Programme 2022, who participated in climbing the Great Wall. The programme which is hosted by the China Public Diplomatic Association (CPDA) began in June and is expected to end in November.

In line with McCullough’s and Hillary’s thought, the Great Wall of China, an extensive bulwark erected in ancient Chinese provinces has proven to be one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken and the total length of all sections of the Great Wall of China ever built adds up to about 21,196 kilometers (13,171 miles), including overlapping sections that were rebuilt.

According to Chinese President Xi Jinping , meandering on mountain ridges across north China, the Great Wall, one of the world’s great wonders, symbolizes the spirit of the Chinese people.

The thought by the President shows great importance China attaches to its preservation of the Great Wall as a unique symbol of Chinese civilization.

The wall constructed during the Ming dynasty in a well-preserved section is about 8,850 kilometers (5,499 miles) long east to west, from Mount Hu near Dandong, southeastern Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass west of Jiuquan, northwestern Gansu province.

The Walls built from as early as the 7th century BC with selective stretches later joined together by Qin Shi Huang in 220-206 BC, the first emperor of China, equally proved to be series of fortification across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China, as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe.

The Great Wall consists of many parallel attachments to each other built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia, not only served as a military defense system, but also carries a contribution to China’s profound literary culture, through the sayings, proverbs, and idioms associated with it.

Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall include border controls that allow the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration.

More so, the Great Wall spanning 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi) in total is enhanced by the construction of watchtowers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and paths that serve as a transportation corridor.

The Great Wall, currently built through the use of bricks, was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood in many areas of the wall, as well as with tiles, lime, and stone.

It is unequivocal to state that communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility. Wooden gates could be used as a trap against those going through. Barracks, stables, and armories were built near the wall’s inner surface.

The Great Wall, however, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 and the defensive system of the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.

As the saying goes, if you want to know where the Great Wall is, it lies at the bottom of people’s hearts. This truly implies that if people make concerted efforts and their wills unite like the Great Wall, they will overcome all troubles together.

(Fortune Abang is a journalist of of News Agency of Nigeria. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Times Online)

By Mohammed Saad

Media disinformation is known as: deliberately and pre-conceived dissemination and dissemination of false information and ideas, and in another definition: creating a wrong opinion, but convincing enough, with the aim of making the opponent fall into an error while he is thinking correctly.

The release of fake news today requires a smartphone, an Internet connection, an account in social networks, and the application of the words of Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Political Propaganda under Hitler, who said: “Lie and then lie until others believe.”

And the difference between false information and false news is that in false information there is a part of the truth with part of the lie. In which amplification and excitement are used, this information is not in the form of news but is in the form of general information about people’s lives, science, weather, and others.

False news is often completely fabricated and is manufactured by individuals and sometimes media organizations for specific purposes. There is news made out of nothing, there are facts that have been a little distorted and made into lies, and these are very dangerous and more believable, and they are more widely spread.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world has witnessed the largest American-European media mobilization, and this invasion would not have occurred without America and NATO provoking Russia and Ukraine’s incitement against it. Under the slogan “The media – to confront the Russian invasion of an independent state.” It is known that the large lobbies that dominate many of the power institutions are the ones who control the most important media in the world and push them to the fore in international crises.

Regardless of the rejection of all the peoples of the world and every sane person of war wherever it is, the Western media, since the crisis between Russia and Ukraine and then the outbreak of the war, has become inflamed, and its method of work has been drawn up to brainwash and spread lies and misinformation to spread terror under the title “Putin-Russian” threatens world peace and challenges international law. Also the pretext of protecting Western democracy and defending human rights principles.

Thousands of journalists and various media outlets all over the world, as well as delegates of 135 member states of the United Nations, most of which are countries that do not hesitate against American militarism, made its soldiers burn their lands. When and however you want, in support of the US-European position seeking to liberate innocent Ukraine from the grip of Putin/Russia.

Ignoring the bad history that the peoples and nationalities of Russia have suffered throughout bitter eras at the hands of those who break covenants and invent lies, they talk a lot about peace, independence, international law, democracy, human rights, and justice, while their military and economic tools are terrifying, threatening, roaming and roaming in three-quarters of the world, starving, killing, and looting while despising nations and peoples who have brought them no harm.

It is noticeable that the media platforms revealed what was hidden, “the racism of the democratic state” towards ancient countries, civilizations, and cultures. People, societies, and nationalities that have sons living in this geographical, cultural, and societal environment, whose civilizations many do not know, have been subjected, since the outbreak of the war, to discrimination and racist harassment, to discrimination and racist harassment, false accusations against great countries such as China, which the West and America plot against. They take advantage of their media power to offend China and its people and seek to sabotage its economy, even though China is one of the countries that is known for not interfering in any internal and political affairs of other countries. Its allies are from blatant interference and colonialism, and history bears witness to this.

The laughable thing is that a good number of organizations, parties, journalists, writers, and academics at home and abroad have erupted their premise for demagogic theorizing about the concept of “invasion and an independent state” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now Sudan is on the list of supporters of Russia in its war against Ukraine. This is a simple and unbelievable matter, especially because of the economic and political crises that Sudan is going through.

Born in Sudan in 1978, El-Baqer studied in Sudan, then in Britain, where she obtained a BA in Philosophy from the London School of Economics. Affiliate of the British Channel Four, in 2010, she joined CNN independently, in February of the year 2011, she officially joined CNN, with the rank of the international correspondent.

Although Nima Elbagir did not announce the identity of her husband, which newspapers and celebrity websites do not know about, he is a high-ranking English diplomat who was Chargé d’Affairs at the English Embassy in Iraq, and the current head of the Stabilization Unit in the British Foreign Office, Mr. Mark Bryson Richardson, a Cambridge University graduate, studied Theology and Comparative Religions Speaks Arabic. Nima Elbagir said in an interview that her husband is a Muslim, without revealing his identity.

And Neamat Al-Baqer made several reports from international conflict arenas for Reuters, Channel 4, CNN, but what raised Nima Elbagir’s star is her reports about rapes in Darfur, which she claimed that the Janjaweed militia or group are carrying out against farmers, and her allegations were reinforced by the testimonies of a girl who was raped and a nurse from a hospital that received the rape cases, which the people of Sudan considered propaganda for media consumption, as what the organizations and the international community and bar activists did in Europe and America who sell their homeland at any price from lying and marketing rumors for material and political gain became known to the whole world.

After that, Nima Al-Baqir met with the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Hemedti, by making a meeting with him on the basis that she would publish the whole truth, but for the sake of media gain and excitement, she withheld many of Hemeti’s testimonies and turned the work to condemn the Rapid Support Forces and transfer them through her report to unorganized militias, which is not true. Of course, the Rapid Support Forces were created in accordance with the law of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and they are regular forces affiliated with the Sudanese government. She actually gained the fame she dreamed of after publishing the report and was marketed to the world who wanted to hear false information about Sudan and Darfur, and the result was that a citizen suffered in Darfur, and the citizen of Sudan are more and more than the economic embargo that burdens the Sudanese.

After that, Nima’s visits to Sudan were repeated to spread lies and rumors through weak press reports that do not have reliable sources but relied only on arousing collective passion, which is unprofessional and unprofessional in the press. Which you write to bring emotion and excitement.

In pursuit of excitement and journalistic gain, Nima Elbagir was among the CNN crew who was present in Libya during the events of the revolution, specifically, she was staying at the Rixos Hotel, she was covering and monitoring the news of the bombing as well!

While she was at the hotel, Naama Al-Baqer conducted a telephone interview with Mrs. Safiya Farkash, about the incident of the killing of her son, Saif Al-Arab, by a missile that bombed their house in the Gharghour area. She is certain that the person who conducted the telephone interview is Mrs. Safiya Farkash, thus intending to question the personality with whom she conducted the interview, which affects the credibility of this personality among the recipients.

The Sudanese journalist Nima Elbagir also claims that she entered the slave markets in Libya while she was disguised as a Sudanese woman looking for a relative, and this is something that could never happen. But it seems that the journalist came with one of them and he provided her with security and said that she claimed that she was looking for a relative.

The strange thing about the video report broadcast by the channel is that the auction that appeared at the beginning of the visual report was between 5 and 30 seconds (the report can be searched) & shows the migrants smiling while they are being sold in the auction as slaves, and one of them was peeking into the hidden camera.

Today, Nima Elbagir was not satisfied with her history full of lies, so she came again to Sudan to disturb the atmosphere for the benefit of the institutions she works with and at the right time to raise problems in Sudan once again to report for CNN, a report that is considered a decline in the professional standing of CNN, as it is an investigative report that lacks the most basic elements The investigative effort that searches for the source of the correct information and refutes the details of the wrong information.

There are also funny things, for example, there was talk about an amount of 13.4 billion dollars per year, which is the value of the real production of gold in Sudan. The funny thing here is that this amount is equivalent to three thousand and Two hundred and fifty tons of gold.

Knowing that the global annual production of gold is in the range of eighty-three tons, even though Sudan has not yet entered the list of the top five in gold production!! This is the stupidity of minds with no critical thought, and in fact, it shows the stupidity of those behind this report.

The difference between the 83 tons mentioned by Finance and the 323 tons that came in the report is very large, even though this last number was calculated wrongly, because 323 tons are not equal to 13.4, but are equal to One billion three hundred million…

The report was supposed to explain the alleged path of smuggling gold from its sites and follow it step by step and document it until its entry in support of Russia in the Ukraine war, but it came out as baseless chatter and a naive media bang to indicate that Sudan’s gold caused the stability of the Russian Ruble and helped prevent the Ruble from collapsing during the Russians’ war with Ukraine and NATO.

This steadfastness caused Putin’s stability on the issue of Nord Stream, and the aggravation of the European economic crisis, which of course is something that no sane person can believe.

Mubarak Ardol, head of the Sudanese Agricultural Mineral Resources Technical Company for the Ministry of Minerals, described the investigation of Nima Elbagir, on CNN, as poor and weak.

In today’s publication, Ardol said that the investigation is inaccurate in some parts, and its numbers are inflated, rather imaginary, and I consider it to come within the framework of attempts to involve Sudan in what is going on between Russia and the West, and added, “These will not work, and in the report, they did not succeed in trapping it well.”

Nima Elbagir is a vivid example of the idea that the media, with its various types and fields, are the most important arenas in which the intelligence services in the world move, especially those of the arrogant countries that are served by their clients from the local media and otherwise in pursuit of material, political and personal gain.

There is no difference between agents and mercenaries, as they do not have faith or a homeland…

(Mohammed Saad is a journalist of of Sudanese media outlet Brown Land News. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Times Online)

By Sengthong Phasavath

China is showing us an example of successful fight against Covid-19. The country has recorded fewer deaths and infections as compared to its sizable population with its daily infections currently standing at around 100.

Beijing, the city of over 20 million people, has recorded one-digit infections since the beginning of this month. In addition, 92.1% of people in China have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, meanwhile 89.7 are reportedly given all recommended doses. This has proved that China fight against Covid-19 has enjoyed sound cooperation from people in the country.

Once anti-Covid-19 prevention and control measures have been announced by the government according to the guidance of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, all sectors, general public members, businesses give cooperation to fulfill them.

To achieve China’s “dynamic zero Covid-19 policy”, everyone entering China is required to take a 14-day quarantine during which they will be tested for Covid-19 every two or three days. Covid testing is also given every two-three days even after the quarantine is over.

The Chinese government has developed a smart phone app “Health Kit” which users can use to register for nucleic acid test without completing a paper form. The app can be also used for showing test results and vaccination records.

Before entrance is granted for shops, business places, public or private offices, a doorman will ask clients to scan Health Kit QR code which can reveal their latest Covid test results. If the results have been negative for not later than three days, you will be granted an access.

Some places require the negative results issued not later than two days. Without these negative results entrance will be denied.

In communities, Covid test booths have been installed for anyone who wants to have a Covid test. Usually, there are two to four holes on the walls of these transparent booths. The holes are for health workers to put their hands through to collect samples from test seekers.

What you need to bring when going to a Covid test booth is just a smart phone. Use your smart phone to scan a QR code shown at the beginning of the queue. The codewill lead you to completing easy-step registration. Once the registration is completed, your QR code will pop up. Show your QR code to health workers, then get your sample collected and it’s all done.

You can check your test results via Health Kit app within 24 hours.

Imagine that we have all technologies and facilities like China, but some sectors or individuals refuse to provide their cooperation, controlling and preventing the Covid-19 pandemic would be hard to achieve.

Our Party and government have made efforts in ensuring at least 80% of Lao population are given all recommended doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this year to ensure we have stronger immunity to the corona virus disease.

The majority of people and authorities have actively participated in fulfilling such a vaccination target. As of Jul 23, more than 5.86 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19. The number represents 80% of population in the country. This includes 5.19 million given all recommended doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, representing 70.8% of the population.

According to the World Health Organisation, most Covid-vaccinated people will develop stronger immunity and be unlikely to be severely ill, hospitalized or die from Covid-19 for at least six months.

Unfortunately, some people and groups of people have a misunderstanding about Covid-19 vaccination, are misled by unscientific information spread by unofficial and unreliable sources which aims to prevent people from getting vaccinated thus derailing our efforts to reach a 80%-Covid vaccine coverage as set by the Party and government.

All Lao people and relevant authorities are required to take part in fulfilling the Covid-19 vaccination goal and fighting misinformation about the Covid vaccine, stop believing or sharing fake news, information from unverified or untrustworthy sources and, in contrast, disseminate scientific information that is beneficial to the Covid vaccination and observe preventive measures such as wearing face masks, washing hands with soap and alcohol hand gels to ensure our country brings Covid-19under control, and don’t forget that “No one is safe until everyone is safe”.

(Sengthong Phasavath is a journalist of Khaosan Pathet Lao. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Times Online)

(Source: People’s Daily Online)

In 2021, the northward migration of a herd of wild Asian elephants in southwest China’s Yunnan Province garnered worldwide attention. The efforts the local government and the local people had made to take care of and protect the animals along their migration route demonstrated China’s resolve to protect the animals and the achievements the country has made in this area.

Photo taken in June 2022 shows a family of wild Asian elephants seen at the Wild Elephant Valley inside the Xishuangbanna national nature reserve, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of the management and protection bureau of the Xishuangbanna national nature reserve)

Over the past nearly 40 years, the number of wild Asian elephants in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, which is the only habitat for the species in China, increased from about 150 to about 360. Meanwhile, the relationship between the Asian wild elephants and human beings has changed profoundly.

Zhao Jinqing, a 58-year-old forest ranger, once participated in the task of rescuing two injured wild elephants. In 1998, an injured female elephant ventured outside the protection area in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, and was later spotted in a rice field in Nanping village, Mengla county, Xishuangbanna.

At that time, there were no elephant specialists or veterinarians residing in the locality. Zhao administered anti-inflammatory drugs for the elephant himself and fed it corn. Gradually, the elephant was able to recognize Zhao’s voice.

However, the elephant unfortunately died two months later given the severity of its injuries. In the animal’s last moments, Zhao found that the elephant was in tears and he believed that it was trying to say goodbye to him in its own way. To memorialize this touching story between Zhao and the elephant, scientific researchers produced a specimen of the elephant.

The specimen was meant to make people think about how they might do more to provide science-based and effective assistance to better protect wild Asian elephants.

In 2002, the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center was established in Xishuangbanna. In 2007, Zhao rescued another injured elephant, but this one was provided with professional medical treatment until it fully recovered. The elephant, which was given the nickname of “Ping Ping,” is currently under protection at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center.

Over the past few years, staff members at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna have carried out over 20 rescue operations, during which they released some elephants that were not severely injured back into the wild, as well as providing shelter for some elephants that were deemed unfit to be released given a greater risk for exposure to safety risks upon being release into the wild.

Situated in the peripheral area of the Mengyangzi Protection Zone in Xishuangbanna, Xiangyanjing village has been frequently visited by wild Asian elephants, especially in view of the fact that the number of wild Asian elephants has continued to expand in recent years. This has in turn impacted the life of local villagers.

Photo shows a section of a fence installed in the backyard of Feng Yingping, a local villager living in Xiangyanjing village, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (People’s Daily Online/Zeng Zhihui)

In 2014, residents from Xiangyanjing village were relocated to a new village site. In 2017, a fence was also built around the village to safeguard the villagers. “When the fence was just completed, some elephants had tried to enter the village through the fence, and after they failed several times, they left in the end,” said Feng Yingping, a local villager from Xiangyanjing village.

Apart from the fence, infrared cameras were also installed at crossroads and in areas where elephants would frequently visit. The cameras can intelligently identify elephants, and transmit relevant data to a monitoring and pre-warning platform, with information about nearby elephants being able to reach local villagers in only about 10 seconds through various channels, such as mobile apps, WeChat, text messages, and the village’s radio station, helping avoid any possible clashes between local residents and the elephants.

“Thanks to these protective measures, nowadays we dare to even look at the elephants directly in the eye with the fence in the middle as a protective barrier,” said Feng.

Under the guidance of the local government, some local villagers have found jobs in the Wild Elephant Valley, and some are now running agritainment businesses. The per capita net income of villagers living in Xiangyanjing village is much higher than that of their peers in other villages located in Dadugang township, Jinghong city. Xiangyanjing village has therefore been dubbed “China’s first village where human beings and wild elephants live in harmony with each other.”

Photo shows a monitoring tower, which has been set up to observe the activities of wild elephants. (People’s Daily Online/Zeng Zhihui)

An adult elephant consumes about 150 kilograms of food each day, and a herd of elephants can eat up all the crops that a farmer grows. To reduce losses caused to local villagers by the elephants, the local government of Jinghong city, Xishuangbanna, created a wild animal accident public liability insurance plan to help make up for any losses caused by the elephants.

Jose Ahimsa Campos Arceiz, a Spanish professor at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, spoke highly of China’s efforts in handling the elephants.

“China has done a very meaningful job in protecting wild elephants. The root cause of elephant-human conflicts is that human beings and elephants share similarities in ecology, which means there is competition between the two for land, food and water. Promoting coexistence between human beings and elephants is an important step China has to take in order to properly protect wild Asian elephants, and efforts are required to reduce the impacts of ecological competition on both human beings and elephants. This is a challenge for China’s efforts in wildlife protection. However, the country has continued walking in the right direction,” he said.

A herd of elephants is seen in Jiangcheng county, Pu’er city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo courtesy of the media convergence center of Jiangcheng county)