Looking at Xinjiang, and the unique cultural traditions of its various ethnic groups - such as Kazakh throat singing on the grasslands, the Kirgiz eagle hunting customs on the Pamir Plateau, and the Xinjiang songs sung at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains - one can see these diverse ethnic cultures are equally cherished and deeply rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization.
GT reporters again travelled to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this first installment of a series of articles, GT tells character stories based on ethnic cultural inheritance in Xinjiang, which powerfully refute the false information made up by some anti-China forces claiming that "Xinjiang adopts an assimilation policy towards ethnic minorities in an attempt to systematically eliminate Uygur culture."
"Sing it again, follow me..." Under the guidance of their teacher, a group of young students sing in unison with their faces showing seriousness and joy. They are students at Class IV in the ninth grade at the Middle School of Hezwey town in Wuqia county, and they are singing one of the three major epic poems of China's ethnic minorities - Manas.
"How much has the earth changed, with valleys drying up and turning into wastelands, wastelands transforming into lakes, and lakes evolving into fertile fields... Everything is constantly changing, yet the stories of our ancestors have been passed down to this day." The students have deep and powerful voices, along with a passionate demeanor.
Children in Wuqia county in the southwestern part of Xinjiang have grown up almost always accompanied by the song of Manas.
Manas is the legendary hero of the Kirgiz ethnic group, and the epic poem Manas is named after him. It tells his story and the story of seven generations of descendants leading the Kirgiz people to defend their homeland and pursue a happy life. This epic poem, which spans 230,000 lines, can be called the "encyclopedia" of the Kirgiz ethnic group.
Yumtal Yetku, a 15-year-old Kirgiz boy, is one of the inheritors of the poem, studying under the tutorage of Janur Turgaby, a representative inheritor of the Manas intangible cultural heritage project at the autonomous regional level.
When he was 3 years old, influenced by his mother, Yumtal developed an interest in reciting the epic poem. Through years of practice, he honed his skill in reciting it, becoming a well-known "little Manas Qi" (young reciter of Manas) in the local area.
"Although we Manas Qis have an excellent memory, the teacher never lets us hold the text for rote memorization. Instead, he interprets it for us first, and we then recite and sing it after really understanding it," Yumtal told the Global Times. "If we do not understand the hero's emotions, how can we handle the movement and expression of singing, let alone making innovative expressions in our own language?"
When talking about Manas, Yumtal always has a smile on his face. It is not difficult to see that learning Manas brings him joy and a sense of accomplishment. The ability to sing more than 1,000 lines of Manas has allowed Yumtal to surpass his peers. Yumtal said that now he can memorize the content of some eight chapters and sing continuously for half an hour.
In addition to learning from Janur during summer and winter vacations, he also has the opportunity to practice at school. The school has established a club for students interested in Manas, and under the guidance of music teacher Tohtkul Kurbanali, more than 40 club members have the opportunity to learn the poem twice a week. Yumtal has become their tutor.
Zhang Yifan, a 15-year-old Han girl, is also a member of the club. When learning the lyrics of Manas, she writes down the pronunciation in pinyin and often asks her classmates for help. For these children who are about to face the high school entrance examination, singing together is also a great way to relieve stress.
In the local area, people can be seen singing and performing Manas everywhere. The inheritance and protection of the poem is not limited to this school club.
In 2006, Manas was included in the first list of national intangible cultural heritage, and in 2009, it was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In recent years, with the joint efforts of experts and scholars from various ethnic groups, the research and protection of Manas has achieved remarkable results, such as training of artists, organizing competitions and academic seminars, and publishing and translating the epic poem into multiple languages.
In 2009, the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture established the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection (Manas Protection and Research) Center, and has continuously held the Manas international cultural tourism festival and singing competition. At the same time, cultural inheritance training classes have been held in cultural centers, schools, and township comprehensive cultural stations, establishing a team of inheritors that combine the old, middle-aged, and young.
Yumtal told the Global Times that his favorite part of Manas is when the hero turns defeat into victory in a battle. Yumtal admires Manas' courage and determination. Now, this young inheritor of the epic poem also has the same courage. He has participated in the Manas international cultural tourism festival, and often performs with his predecessors on the stage, honing his skills.
At 3:50 pm on Wednesday, an inclined shaft runaway incident occurred at the Kunyuan Coal Mine in the city of Jixi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, killing 12 people and injuring 13 others. All the injured have been transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, according to media reports.
Currently, rescue efforts are underway, and an investigation team has been formed to probe the cause of the accident, reports said.
According to Tianyancha, an online data base of companies, the Jixi Kunyuan Coal Industry Co Ltd was established in April 2010 and its business scope mainly includes coal mining and washing.
Yet it is worth noting that the Kunyuan Coal Mine has received multiple notifications of administrative penalties imposed by the Jixi City Coal Production Safety Administration Bureau for violations of relevant laws and regulations.
An official from Jixi City Emergency Management Bureau told Jiemian.com that the tragedy occurred underground.
When answering the query why the incident was reported one day after it occurred, the official said that rescuers were in the process of responding to the situation on Wednesday and had learned of 13 injuries. The number of fatalities was only confirmed on Thursday, hence the recent update.
An inclined shaft runaway accident refers to an incident where a mine cart loses control and falls along the inclined shaft during the lifting or lowering of vehicles. In such accidents, the out-of-control vehicles pose a threat mine workers. Additionally, if the mine's air contains flammable gases or materials, the collision or damage to electrical equipment caused by the runaway cart could potentially spark an explosion, endangering life safety of the workers.
On May 8, 2016, the Kunyuan Coal Mine experienced a collision accident involving coal cars, resulting in one fatality and a direct economic loss of 702,000 yuan ($98,252).
According to the official website of the Jixi government, in October 2023, the Hengshan district, where the colliery locates, emphasized coal mine safety production for coal mining enterprises, focusing on "risk prevention and safety assurance."
It also stressed the importance of strengthening major risk assessment, adhering to the regulatory and supervisory work mechanism of "analyzing and judging, regular consultations, timely warnings, and ensuring implementation" for major risk control in coal mines. The government aims to promptly issue warning information, supervise and guide coal mines in implementing preventive measures and prevent the occurrence of major incidents.
The ice hockey competitions at the National Winter Games, though rarely held in the summer, concluded in early August in Hulun Buir, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as the spotlight surprisingly fell on teams from southern China.
Debutants Guangdong Province, whose women's ice hockey lineup included several players affiliated with international teams such as national team captain Yu Baiwei, claimed their maiden national championship title as they won the seven-team competition.
"It allows more people to witness the charm of ice and snow in the summer. It's our first experience participating in such an event during [the summer] season," Yu told the Global Times. "I hope more people will watch our games, fall in love with ice hockey and even engage in the sport."
Yu, who joined Shenzhen-based club Shenzhen Red Star in South China's Guangdong Province in 2017, said Guangdong has been very supportive in developing winter sports, though the province is known for its warm climate.
"Guangdong has provided strong support for ice and snow sports, and these efforts have shown results in recent years," Yu said. "I believe winning the National Winter Games will inspire more cities in southern China to develop ice and snow sports."
In the men's tournament, debutants Chongqing Municipality rounded off their maiden National Winter Games foray with a fourth-place finish in a nine-team race.
"They have demonstrated tenacity as the team even without winning a medal for Chongqing," said Zhang Ge, deputy director of the Chongqing Winter Sports Administration. "The emergence of several outstanding young players is the greatest positive from our participation in this event."
Zhang mentioned that the team still requires more competitions to gain match fitness, saying, "We believe that with an increase in tournament participation, the team will see greater improvement."
Olympic legacy
For many people from northern China, ice sports like skating are familiar, with locals having participated in them since childhood. Artificial ice technology spread in China thanks to Beijing winning the 2022 Winter Olympic bid, and has helped introduce children and teenagers winter sports in southern China.
The aforementioned two teams are just examples of ice hockey's spread in southern China, as teams representing Sichuan and Anhui provinces, as well as Shanghai Municipality, areas in southern China where ice and snow is rarely seen, also qualified for the National Winter Games.
The southwestern province of Sichuan founded its ice hockey team in 2019, as the province aims to establish a squad that might widen the talent pool of the national team, said Duan Yuchuan, chief of Sichuan's winter sports authority.
"Our short-term goal when establishing the team in 2019 was to participate in the National Winter Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. This goal has since been achieved," Duan told the Global Times.
"The mid-term goal is to win medals at national multi-sport events, contributing more talent to the national teams. Now we have seen several talent being summoned to the national team training camp," Duan said, before noting that their long-term goal is to have Sichuan-born athletes win gold medals for China at the Winter Olympics in the future.
"Athletes from Sichuan often possess advantages in flexibility, skill, endurance, and performance. These strengths can be fully harnessed in specialized development across segments such as ice and snow sports skills," he added.
Sichuan's hopes of being summoned to the national team are firmly pinned to Sichuan's women's goalie Wei Xueqin. Wei, now 22, made it to the national team training camp for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics but had to skip the quadrennial tournament due to a squad limit.
Despite not making it to the national team, Wei continues to relentlessly strive for greatness.
National team captain Yu, 35, said witnessing many young ice hockey players at the National Games assures her that the sport has a brighter future.
"I have seen emerging forces in ice hockey like the Sichuan team, represented by athletes crossing disciplines and fields. While they might lack some technical skills and experience, I can feel their youthful enthusiasm when competing against them," Yu told the Global Times.
"As long as they keep pushing forward and maintain the momentum, there's significant potential for the future development of women's ice hockey in China."
The competition for younger ice hockey players will be held in February 2024, when Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region hosts the full-scale National Winter Games. It is considered an event in which China's ice hockey younger squad depth will be tested before the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Preparing for championship
As Shenzhen, a metropolis in South China's Guangdong Province, will host the Division I Group A women's ice hockey world championship tournament from August 20 to 26, China has a chance to further expand ice hockey's influence in the country.
Team China will host Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Austria, and the Netherlands in the tournament, all aiming for gold and a chance for advancement in the sport's international ranking.
Yu also underlines that actualizing quality performances is also vital to boost the sport's popularity.
"It's not just about achieving results, but also about playing the game well," Yu said.
"Showing the younger generations what kind of teamwork and technical moves can be displayed in ice hockey is vital for the sport. I hope we can deliver better performances and become an example for young players to learn from."
Chinese figure skater Liu Xinyu decides to withdraw from the Cup of China ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating due to a Mycoplasma pneumonia (MP) infection.
He posted a statement Saturday on Chinese media platform Sina Weibo, saying "I'm so sorry for pulling out of the 2023 Cup of China. I haven't fully recovered from the infection and I will come back to China next week for further examination and treatment. I hope to see you guys soon at the race."
Liu alleged that while he was infected by the MP for two weeks at the Skate Canada International, he continued to train while he took his medication. "But I didn't recover physically from the competition, it was probably more intense for my heart, and after the competition I had symptoms of heart pain, and I was struggling to breathe, and my morning pulse was around 120," he said.
"Although I don't want to pull out of the competition and I have been trying to train every day, my heart can't take the intensity of the practice. So, I decided to withdraw from until my health had improved," said the statement.
After hearing his statement, numerous netizens expressed their concern and wished him a quick recovery.
"The body is the most important thing. We'll wait for you to recover. See you at the next one and rest well," one user said on Weibo.
"No worries. Take care," read one comment on Weibo.
His skating partner, Wang Shiyue, also took to Weibo "It is a pity to have to pull out of this competition. I hope Liu will be on the mend soon and I hope to see you all very soon."
Liu Xinyu with his partner Wang Shiyue, is the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion, 2018 CS Asian Open champion, 2015 Toruń Cup champion, and four-time Chinese national champions (2015, 2018, 2019, 2020). They competed in the final segment at four World Championships.
The official account of 2023 Cup of China ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating published the statement later on Weibo about the ice dancing pair Liu Xinyu and Wang Shiyue pulled out of the competition due to health reasons. They will be replaced by another Chinese pair, Shi Shang and Wu Nan.
The Cup of China ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating will be held at the Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which runs from November 10 to 12. It will captivate more than 60 athletes from 10 countries and regions and they will participate in four disciplines: men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance, the organizing committee said.
People's enthusiasm of purchasing tickets ran high. The pairs package for free skating is the most popular. This year tickets cost from 120 yuan ($16.44) to 880 yuan ($129), pre-sale tickets went on sale on August 28, an organizer at the press conference for the 2023 Cup of China said.
A special campaign to control the dengue virus was launched in Pakistan as health workers in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have been engaged in fumigating to remove mosquitoes from public spaces.
At least 155 new cases of mosquito-borne dengue fever have been reported from the South Asian country's eastern Punjab province during the last 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday.
All issues related to replacing foreign instruments for Russia's Spektr-UV space telescope, which is similar to NASA's Hubble, have been successfully resolved, and it will be launched into orbit in 2029, the director of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Mikhail Sachkov, said on Tuesday.
"There are no technological or organizational problems in the scientific equipment package of Spektr-UV. All issues related to import substitution and independence have been resolved," Sachkov said during a conference at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
The Russian space telescope will be launched into orbit by the end of 2029, the scientist added.
The launch was previously expected to be carried out by the end of 2028. Japanese and Spanish scientific equipment was also expected to be used. However, in December 2022, the project's chief designer, Sergey Shostak, said that the participation of Japan and Spain in developing Spektr-UV remained an open question. Therefore, the Russian scientists had to work out how to replace these instruments with domestic ones.
In terms of its characteristics, Spektr-UV is similar to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and could be deorbited in the mid-2030s.
Spektr-UV will study galaxies, new stars and extrasolar planets, as well as processes in the atmospheres of planets, comets and other bodies in the solar system. It will also search for signs of life on already discovered extrasolar planets.
This year's 41st Beijing Marathon was held on October 29, and Greece, the cradle of the Marathon run, took part in the Beijing Marathon for the first time.
Greek Ambassador to China, Eugenios Kalpyris, was among the seven dignitaries who gave the signal for the start of the race at 7:30 am, at the Tiananmen Square.
Later, after the finish of the race, the Greek Embassy awarded medals from the Athens Authentic Marathon to the volunteers, the medical services, the referees and the official pacer teams for their contribution to upholding the "Marathon Spirit."
"It is a pleasure to be here today, for the Beijing Marathon. I am deeply impressed with the athletic spirit and the massive participation of such a big number of runners in today's Beijing Marathon. Congratulations!
The high regard the Chinese people have for the Athens Authentic Marathon is truly overwhelming. In the last 20 years sports has been a strong connecting link between Greece and China and we are looking forward to more cooperation in such big events in the future," said the ambassador. Earlier, the Greek Embassy had participated with a booth in the Beijing Marathon Expo from October 26 to 28, showcasing the Athens Authentic Marathon and the official medals for the 42,195 km run.
Apart from the 15 elite athletes that were invited, over 130,000 runners signed up for the race and about 30,000 were selected after a lucky draw, the organizing committee said.
The 2023 Global Esports Conference was held on July 28 in Shanghai focusing on opportunities and challenges in the development of the global esports industry. Abdulla Alnoaimi, commercial counselor of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in China made an address at the event. Relevant government officials, companies, business people, and gaming enthusiasts were also in attendance at the conference.
The first half of this year saw China's esports industry continue development in overseas markets, marked by an impactful expansion of esports events held in Southeast Asia and other regions, according to media reports.
Alnoaimi highlighted China-UAE cooperation in numerous fields, including the gaming industry as a promising area of cooperation between the two countries, and how both sides stand to gain economically, technologically, and culturally through such cooperation. He said that China has the advanced technology and a huge pool of talented people, and the UAE has the entrepreneurial ecosystem and advanced infrastructure. Both sides should give full play to such strengths to expand areas of cooperation and enrich such exchanges, which will promote economic growth, enhance cultural understanding, and create opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue, resulting in a brighter future for the global esports industry.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the initiative of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013, it was framed as a broad vision to expand regional cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries. By visiting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in July, Global Times reporters followed Xi's footsteps and visions to find out how BRI projects have enhanced regional connectivity, deepened trade and economic relations, promoted political trust and expanded people-to-people exchanges among member countries.
Just like Xi's vision for "a global community of shared future," like-minded countries in Southeast Asia - united by geography and bonded by mutual interests - are coming together to form a more cohesive bloc.
At a time when the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, the international community has strong expectations for China's voice, role and wisdom.
One ordinary morning 10 years ago, young Indonesian girl Grace Jessica casually flipped through the newspaper and came across news about visiting
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his speech at the Indonesian parliament. She knew little about international relations, but her intuition told her that Xi's visit could bring some "valuable benefits to both countries."
Time proved the young Indonesian's intuition true.
One decade later, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) has helped Jessica realize her dream of participating in the development and innovation of her motherland. The railway has been a brand-new Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) "calling card" as Indonesia can now boast that it has the first fully operational high-speed railway line in Southeast Asia.
In 2019, Jessica, as a fresh graduate, took a job as an assistant director at the Tegalluar station of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR. It has become a point of pride for her family to see her participate in such an important national infrastructure project.
"Every time when I think back, I feel like my dream started from the moment when Xi delivered a speech at the Indonesia parliament in 2013," she told the Global Times during an interview in Bandung, Indonesia, in July.
On October 3, 2013, President Xi became the first foreign head of state to address the Indonesian House of Representatives upon invitation. Then speaker of the house of representatives Marzuki Alie extended his welcome and vowed to push forward the relations between the two countries to a new high.
In a recent interview with the Global Times, Marzuki recalled that Xi's address was "very significant not only for Indonesia-China relations, but also for international cooperation." He said he believed the BRI was "the most ambitious foreign and economic policy of the Chinese government at the time."
"In his speech, President Xi highlighted the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as a path of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusivity, mutual learning and mutual benefit. I believe it is essential for the [Indonesian] government to respond to Xi's offer, which, in the next term when President Joko Widodo led it, envisioned Indonesia becoming a 'world maritime axis,'" Marzuki said.
Marzuki highlighted that since the initiative's introduction in 2013, Indonesia's cooperation with China under the BRI has undergone significant development in a variety of disciplines such as infrastructure, trade, investment, tourism and maritime partnerships.
Li Zhuohui, the 85-year-old chief editor of Sin Po, a Peranakan Chinese-language newspaper founded in Indonesia, can still clearly remember the enthusiastic applauses that erupted during Xi's speech at the parliament on the day.
In the view of Li, who listened to the speech at the parliament, the BRI, the concept of a global community of shared future, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative are contemporary versions of Datong, or "a world of great harmony," a philosophy that the Chinese people have carried forward for thousands of years.
The vision of "a world of great harmony" was inherited and reflected in Xi's speeches at the G20 in Indonesia and APEC in Thailand in November 2022, when Xi outlined a blueprint for global development with the principles of being "more inclusive," "beneficial to all" and "more resilient."
During Xi's visit to Indonesia in 2022, Xi and Widodo inspected via video link the inauguration of the trial operation of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR. It marked a milestone achievement for the Jakarta-Bandung HSR and was a remarkable embodiment of the China-Indonesia community of shared future, capable of significantly driving the integration of Indonesia's regional economy.
As the first high-speed railway in the history of Indonesia, also the first in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta-Bandung HSR was a dream that many local Indonesians like Jessica could not have dared to hope for just 10 years ago.
Footsteps kick off trade
In 2023, in the context of a global slowdown and the risk of increasing fragmentation of globalization, Asia is anticipated to accelerate its pace of overall economic growth, and will continue to advance regional production, trade, investment and financial integration and cohesion, and seize the "Asian moment" for global economic governance.
Such positive hopes shed a light on what Xi claimed at the APEC CEO Summit in Indonesia on October 7, 2013 that "China cannot develop without the Asia-Pacific and the Asia-Pacific cannot prosper without China."
What Xi said in 2013 has been confirmed over the following decade, as the core development concepts of some Southeast Asian countries are blending with China's.
In January 2023, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled a new policy direction for his country called the "Madani Way," the Malay acronym for "Sustainability, Care & Compassion, Respect, Innovation, Prosperity, and Trust," which seeks to address the country's inequalities in terms of ethnicity, religion, regions and other issues.
"The concept of the 'Madani Way' resonates with Xi's idea of 'a global community of shared future.' Both aim to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development that benefits all people, regardless of race, class, or belief," Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, Malaysia's former ambassador to China from 1998 to 2005, said in an interview with the Global Times in Malaysia.
Under the guidance of President Xi's development philosophy centered on the people, China actively participates in projects such as the East Coast Rail Link and the Kuantan Industrial Park in Malaysia, helping Malaysia achieve a more equitable and balanced development.
This strategic cooperation undoubtedly promotes mutual benefit between Malaysia and China, Majid noted.
In 2014, Xi called for the two countries to build industrial parks in China's Qinzhou and Malaysia's Kuantan as flagship projects for China-Malaysia cooperation and models for China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) cooperation.
And as of April 2023, the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park has signed 12 projects with an agreed investment of 46 billion yuan ($6.3 billion).
In July, when a team of Global Times reporters visited the Kuantan Industrial Park and Kuantan Port, they witnessed readily the vitality behind the trade of goods. The cranes stood tall, the containers were neatly arranged, and newly arrived materials such as iron ore and coke were stacked in an orderly manner. With the joint efforts of China and Malaysia, the Kuantan Port with a history of more than 40 years was ushering in a new phase of vitality.
The booming trade seems to echo Xi's appeal at the G20 Summit in Indonesia in 2022 that "No one should engage in beggar-thy-neighbor practices, building 'a small yard with high fences'."
Heightened exchanges boost closer ties
For many young people in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, each and every one of Xi's visits is an important window for them to understand China's culture and development philosophy, and a chance to further eliminate misunderstandings.
The people-to-people friendship between China and Southeast Asian countries has been further enhanced after each visit by the Chinese leader, as tourism, scholars and student exchanges and art exchanges have continued to intensify over the past decade.
On December 24, 2011, as China's vice president at that time, Xi visited the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and stressed that China and Thailand are close neighbors with a history of more than 1,000 years of friendly contact.
It is the common aspiration of the Chinese and Thai people that "China and Thailand are kith and kin" and their common desire to carry on the friendship from generation to generation, Xi said.
Xi pointed out that cultural exchanges are the important link to enhance the mutual understanding among people. He hoped that the Confucius Institutes at Chulalongkorn and other Thai universities make full use of the role of Confucius Institute as the platform of comprehensive cultural exchanges to make new contributions to increasing the understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Thai people, promoting the equal cooperation and mutual benefit between China and Thailand and advancing learning among human civilization, the Xinhua News Agency reported in 2011.
In July, the Global Times visited the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University. It was clear that Xi's earnest request had been fulfilled amid the "Chinese fever" of young Thai people.
As the first country in the world to incorporate Chinese into its national education system, Thailand currently has more than 2,000 primary and secondary schools offering Chinese courses and more than 1 million students learning Chinese in schools, accounting for about 60 percent of the total number of students learning Chinese in schools in Southeast Asia, ranking it first in the world.
The Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University, established in 2007, promotes understanding of Chinese languages and Chinese culture in Thai society through various activities such as Chinese language teaching, Chinese culture research and local teacher training.
Han Shenglong, the Chinese head of the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University, told the Global Times that in Thailand Chinese has gradually replaced Japanese as the second largest foreign language after English.
Currently, there are 17 Confucius Institutes in Thailand. At its peak, there were over 2,000 Chinese teachers and volunteers teaching Chinese in Thailand. In fact, the Thai government has increasingly realized the importance of promoting Chinese education, according to Han.
In recent years, with the deepening integration of China's and Thailand's economic strategies, educational exchanges between the two countries have entered a new phase.
Han said that Chinese language teaching in Thailand has become more practical nowadays, aiming to cultivate Chinese language talents who can work in industries such as high-speed rail, logistics, tourism, and e-commerce.
Majid told the Global Times that more opportunities for exchanges are expected to allow more individuals, especially youngsters, to witness an objective and authentic China in order to eliminate misunderstandings.
The Malaysia-China Friendship Association chaired by Majid has also translated some of President Xi's speeches into the Malay language, and it intends to work on a production of a special film about the Silk Road in Northwest China. The veteran Malaysian diplomat expects the cultural exchanges amid the strong political and diplomatic foundation between the two sides will be heightened.
It was reported recently that the US Department of Justice arrested two Chinese residents in New York on suspicion of setting up a "secret police station" in Manhattan for the Chinese government to suppress so-called "dissidents." According to the indictment, they were arrested for operating an "Overseas Police Service Station," which is, in fact, just a volunteer service platform for overseas Chinese in Manhattan, New York.
The news caught the attention of overseas Chinese groups. Many overseas Chinese who have sought help from such volunteer service platforms expressed their incomprehension and indignation, and called for justice to be served for such volunteer service platforms on the internet. However, the volunteer service platforms, named "Overseas Police Service Stations," are shuttering their doors due to the vicious defamation, causing great inconveniences for overseas Chinese nationals.
Analysts pointed out that the US, which calls itself the "beacon of human rights," is once again ignoring the fact and conflating issues, leading many to suspect that such actions have a nefarious purpose behind them.
Through an in-depth investigation, Global Times reporters found out that Safeguard Defenders, an organization funded by an ex-con with a criminal record and engaged in aggressive anti-China defamation, is behind this conspiracy as part of its efforts to smear and attack China. Some Western politicians and media outlets have deliberately spread a false report by the Safeguard Defenders on the so-called "secret police station" as a means to attack China.
People familiar with the matter told the Global Times that the functions of the Chinese police force in China are different from those in the West, and the Safeguard Defenders' bad faith actions to deliberately encourage misguided public opinion will be despised by the international community.
What is the "Overseas Police Service Station"? Who are the conspirators? What are their dark purposes? In this piece, Global Times reporters will unravel these mysteries and shed a light on the vicious plot of the organization.
Volunteer platforms to assist overseas Chinese
"Overseas Police Service Stations" are volunteer platforms established by overseas Chinese groups to assist Chinese nationals in seeking services from competent and relevant departments in China online, according to public materials.
For example, many overseas Chinese who have worked abroad for many years need to return to China to undergo physical examinations to extend their driving licenses. However, due to prohibitive costs, as well as being time- and energy-consuming to return to China, they often turn to local overseas Chinese groups, hoping for alternative assistance from relevant departments in China.
At the request of overseas Chinese, some enthusiastic overseas Chinese groups and chambers of commerce voluntarily founded such mutual-aid platforms.
Why then would such voluntary service centers be labeled "police service stations"? In China, the formal name of the police force is the "People's Police," whose mission is to serve the people. Therefore, different from their counterparts in many other countries, the Chinese police are also tasked with fulfilling many diverse administrative functions such as approving and issuing household registration documents, the issuance of driving license, as well as traditional law enforcement.
The term "Overseas Police Service Station" alludes to the voluntary service stations' active role in bridging the gap between overseas Chinese in need of services and Chinese police-designated service delivery such as the extension of driving licenses.
Mr Lu, an overseas Chinese national who has been conducting business in a foreign country for over 10 years, has much to say about these volunteer service platforms established by overseas Chinese groups.
In September 2021, Lu was in a dilemma, as he could return to China to undergo a physical examination needed to renew his expiring driving license due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. A packed business schedule, coupled with the exorbitant cost and time demands of a round trip to and from China, was also prohibitive factors. So he had to turn to the Overseas Chinese Association.
The person in charge of the Overseas Chinese Association told him of the decision to establish a service platform to help bridge communication and service delivery between overseas Chinese and relevant Chinese governmental departments. This, he was informed, had been necessitated by the large number of overseas Chinese in a similar predicament as him.
"The service platforms provide services free of charge, and the service personnel there are all volunteers. You can apply for a physical examination online through the volunteer service platform," Lu explained.
With the assistance of the service platform, Lu successfully completed the physical examination to help renew his driving license in time.
Lu's experience became increasingly common among overseas Chinese, especially since the end of 2019 and a surging COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in reduced international flights, closed borders, and restricted mobility. For ordinary overseas Chinese, it is both time- and energy-consuming to apply for a physical examination needed to renew their driving licenses in China, hence the need for such volunteer platforms.
According to statistics, more than 60 million Chinese nationals are living in almost 200 countries and regions around the world, who actively contribute to their host countries' societies and economies.
Such service platforms have met the practical needs of overseas Chinese, winning extensive praise from overseas Chinese communities worldwide. It is obvious that such stations and similar platforms are volunteer organizations willingly formed by overseas Chinese with the help of local Chinese groups, intended to provide overseas Chinese in need with advise and practical assistance, a source close to the matter told the Global Times.
Like most countries, the relevant departments of the Chinese government not only handle certificate applications and consultations on site, but also receive application documents remotely. After living and working abroad for extended periods of time, some overseas Chinese are not familiar with online application or submission processes related to their requests in China, as well as not familiar with domestic requirements or procedures, thus face difficulties in handling such submissions unassisted.
The service stations provide voluntary consultation and assistance, not only solving the urgent needs of local Chinese, but also helping domestic administrative departments serve overseas compatriots. Overseas Chinese are enthusiastic about providing voluntary services to assist their compatriots in the service stations; they are neither paid nor employed by any Chinese authorities, the source said.
The service stations do not have any right to offer any administrative services. Such mutual-aid volunteer platforms formed by overseas Chinese by no means violate international or domestic laws, or infringe on the sovereignty of the host country, the source stressed.
Mei Jianming, a professor from the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law and former deputy dean of the anti-terrorism department at the People's Public Security University of China, told the Global Times that "serving the people wholeheartedly" is the purpose of China's public security organs. To realize this purpose, the public security organs in China assume two major functions - law enforcement and social service.
In China, there is a saying that "if you have difficulties, you can go to the police." When ordinary people encounter various problems in their lived, such as not being able to open doors, or needing help to carry gas tanks, they will immediately think of turning to the police for help, which is very different from Western society, Mei said.
The "Overseas Police Service Stations" are actually set up to meet the needs of Chinese expatriates. Because it is different from the Western police system, it is objectively not easily understood by the local people, and subjectively is easy for some people with ulterior motives to fabricate rumors regarding their purpose, he noted.
Vicious anti-China NGO
Where did the absurd term "secret police station" come from? A quick internet search reveals that the term comes from a report released by the NGO "Safeguard Defenders," in September 2022. The report falsely claimed that these service stations are "secret police stations" and engage in the deliberate misinterpretation of public reports on Chinese media as so-called proof.
Soon after the report was released, a few of countries began to attack and defame these service platforms, and even launched investigations, sought prosecution, and engaged in other law enforcement activities against relevant overseas Chinese leaders.
A source familiar with the infamous Safeguard Defenders pointed out to the Global Times that it is an organization funded by an ex-con with an extensive criminal record and is engaged in aggressive anti-China defamation campaigns, releasing untrustworthy reports to spread rumors about China in an attempt to slander the country.
According to online information, Safeguard Defenders is a notorious anti-China organization headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and has long been engaged in anti-China activities in the name of NGO work.
Its leader, Peter Jesper Dahlin, had long been engaged in activities meant to compromise China's national security since 2009, and was investigated and deported by the Chinese law enforcement authority in 2016 for endangering Chinese national security. However, Dahlin has since remained impenitent and stepped up his efforts after being deported, the source said.
After founding the Safeguard Defenders in Europe in 2016, Dahlin wantonly attacked and defamed China's judicial systems and law enforcement activities, and released so-called investigation reports that distort and slander judicial enforcement activities in China on multiple occasions with a view to take revenge on China.
Experts have pointed out the inaccuracies and blatant lies in all its reports on China's judicial systems.
If these "Overseas Police Service Stations" were "secret police stations" as indicated in the so-called report by the Safeguard Defenders or labeled by certain media outlets and western politicians, then China's extensive media coverage of them would be counterintuitive. The Safeguard Defenders has also claimed that these service stations have been established in 53 countries since 2016, widely publicizing this information. Such claims beg the question why such "secret police stations" would go unnoticed by host governments over the last seven years despite being publicized.
According to the Safeguard Defenders' so-called report, the repatriation of Chinese overseas fugitives to China is also aided by these "Overseas Police Service Stations" rather than by bilateral and multilateral law enforcement cooperation between China and other countries, implying disproportionately great power and influence allegedly possessed and wielded by mere volunteers.
Mei told the Global Times that some foreign NGOs often have their own positions and preferences. The motivations and position of the Safeguard Defenders are not objective, and the credibility of the so-called report issued by the organization is doubtful.
He pointed out that the Safeguard Defenders may be aware of the differences between the police system in China and those in Western countries, but deliberately use the lack of public awareness to amplify malicious disinformation that leads the misguided public opinion.
Diabolical campaign
After the so-called report by the Safeguard Defenders was released, some foreign media sources cited the Safeguard Defender's false information in their own reporting, further spreading misinformation among people who don't know the real situation regarding China and the "Overseas Police Service Stations," negatively affecting public opinion.
Some bad faith actors in the media have directly cited false information and stirred up trouble to increase content consumption through increased circulation or improved audience ratings. A few such media sources, without conducting due diligence or verification, have linked the "Overseas Police Service Stations" to the international law enforcement cooperation conducted by China according to bilateral agreements and international conventions with overseas service stations, and spread rumored that the Chinese police force is engaged in fugitive hunting or other law enforcement activities through these stations.
In an interview with ANSA, famous Italian sinologist Daniel Buligado Colonia strongly refuted the existence of so-called "secret police stations" and noted that individuals working at the "Overseas Police Service Stations" were not police. The sinologist further added that "the Chinese government would not be reckless enough to allow flagrant violations of other countries' sovereignty."
Overseas Chinese in many countries also support such volunteer service platforms through various channels, and hope that host governments will fully consider the practical difficulties of overseas Chinese in returning to China. They called for an end to speculations around the volunteer service platforms.
Li Wei, an expert on national security at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that for the so-called anti-China political purpose, some officials and politicians in the US and other countries blindly accepted the contents of the report, without conducting investigations or verifying the information contained therein. They actively aligned themselves with the report in order to gain political capital.
Li said that in this era of globalization, the exchanges and cooperation between people of different countries in education, tourism, trade, and other fields are getting closer and closer, and overseas Chinese nationals need more and more services from their own governmental departments.
The "Overseas Police Service Stations" are keen to provide voluntary services for local overseas Chinese nationals. It is reasonable and legal and should have become a model for overseas Chinese groups in various countries. However, the so-called report which is full of inconsistencies has triggered malicious speculation and political manipulation. The dark motives behind the report should raise people's awareness and be a cause for concern, he warned.
