The group appears in the latest episode of the China Daily series Youth Power, titled "Your Year, Your Word".?[Photo provided to China Daily]Students and others describe their lives in China, hopes for year aheadYoung people from China and several other countries have been looking back at the past year and ahead to what awaits them in 2023.To describe their lives in China over the past 12 months and their visions for the future, they each chose three words.The group, members of Generation Z, appeared in the latest episode of the China Daily series Youth Power, titled "Your Year, Your Word", which was broadcast online on Dec 30.Generation Z refers to those born in the late 1990s or early 2000s, who are perceived as being familiar with the use of digital technology, the internet and social media from an extremely young age.Matthew Kelly, who is from Ireland and studying Chinese language and Chinese culture at the Confucius Institute in Dublin, chose the word "rewarding" to sum up his life last year.Three months ago, Kelly had the opportunity to travel to China for the first time through a scholarship program for study at Peking University, one of the country's top universities."It's been such an amazing experience. I think the biggest reward for me has been the connections I've made in China, and the friends that I've made through learning Mandarin," he said.For Han Shuyuan, a Tsinghua University student attending a visiting undergraduate program at Harvard University in Boston, United States, "adventure" was the best word to describe her experiences over the past year.She said visiting Harvard is adventurous because it is the first time she has studied overseas with other students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, each of them holding different views of the world."This is not only an adventure to learn more from the professors during lectures and seminars, but also an adventure to learn more about the outside world," Han said.Gap yearGabriella Madombwe from South Africa chose "explore", "choice" and "self-trust" to describe the past 12 months, as she had just graduated from high school and taken a gap year to decide what she wanted to do with her life.She took new courses, including one on cybersecurity, and was given choices such as whether to pursue a nursing degree or learn practical skills like those used by a locksmith or a welder. In the process of studying Chinese, Madombwe also regained trust in herself."I'm now more confident, as I know myself better and what I like and dislike. I feel my future has many possibilities, and that I'm in a much better place than when I started the gap year," she said.For a keyword to describe China, Joshua Brown, who comes from the US and works for a funding company, chose "dynamic", in a reference to China's pandemic control policies.Last year was the third year since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a huge impact on life around the world, and during which China has responded to the ever-changing situation regarding the disease by updating its policies accordingly.Jennifer Holstein, a journalist from the US working in Beijing, agreed. "In 2022, China learned that the Omicron variant is less deadly and is relatively mild compared with earlier variants of COVID-19. It makes sense now to ease the restrictions," she said.Enoch Wong, who comes from Hong Kong and works for CGTN, said the word "believe" best depicted China during the past year.Wong cited several examples, including China's successful space missions, the launch of a number of national parks, and the nation's contribution to the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November. She also referred to Beijing becoming the world's first "dual Olympic City" when it hosted the Winter Olympics in February, in addition to staging the 2008 Summer Olympics.Wong attributed all these factors to the firm belief among China's 1.4 billion population to stay together for a shared future."I think it's a belief from the past that has made us who we are today, and a belief that will shape what we become in the future," Wong said.Nation prospersAlexandre Guery, who comes from France and has just graduated from Nankai University in Tianjin, chose "transition" and "prosperity" to best describe China. He said that even though the nation is experiencing a period of change, it made significant achievements in the past year and will continue to flourish in the next 12 months."Everyone knows that China was the first civilization. Last year, the nation remained prosperous, and life went on. People are working hard and the country is doing well," he said.Jood Sharaf, a student from Bulgaria studying at Tsinghua University, recently arrived in China for the first time. She chose the word "shocking" — not to describe China, but to refer to the way in which it is shockingly different from the impression that she and her friends back home used to have of the country.She also said it was shocking for her to realize how deeply they had been influenced by the Western way of understanding China."Everything that we've done so far in terms of politics and theories has been based on a Western perspective and a Western way of seeing and viewing the world and interacting with each other. I think that what we have right now here (in China) can offer a different perspective, a different way of developing and moving forward," Sharaf said.Asked to choose a word to describe their hopes for 2023, the group came up with a variety of choices.Raz Galor from Israel, who launched Why China, a video show depicting foreigners' lives in China, said "embrace" best summed up his experiences last year and his hopes for 2023. In the past year, he has seen many changes in his life and those of people close to him. However, instead of feeling upset and resentful, he chose to embrace these changes, and plans to continue doing so in the coming year."I hope to help shape the changes that I see in the world. I see myself as an active participant, but I also try to change things for the better. No matter where we're from, no matter what we do, if we are sympathetic and empathetic to others, we're going to live in a better world," Galor said.Sarah Khattab from Egypt, who is studying at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, opted for "peaceful" as her word for 2023, because last year there was too much chaos, including wars, in different parts of the world. Holstein also opted for the same word."You can't fight hate with hate. You have to fight hate with love. I really hope that in this chaotic world, everybody can find a modicum of peace and happiness," Holstein said.Tang Kaiming, a student from China at Shanghai International Studies University, said "connection" best summed up last year and her hopes for 2023.In the past year, Tang decided she wanted to help connect China and the rest of the world. She started to improve her language skills by taking part in as many English speech competitions as possible. Tang also learned more about China's diplomatic approaches, including the Belt and Road Initiative, so that she can introduce them to people from other countries."As a student majoring in Spanish, I want to be the bridge that connects China and Spain, their peoples and their cultures," she said.
General secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the second plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Beijing, capital of China, Jan 9, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]Anti-graft fight serious and complex, general secretary tells top watchdogXi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed on Monday the need to further exercise full and rigorous governance over the Party and vowed zero tolerance for corruption.Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing the second plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which opened in Beijing on Monday.Stressing that the situation in the battle against corruption remains serious and complex, Xi said that resolute efforts must be made to investigate and deal with corruption that involves both political and economic elements, and to resolutely prevent leading officials from acting on behalf of any interest groups or powerful groups.He called for preventing collusion between officials and businesspeople and guarding against infiltration by capital into the political field in order to prevent such wrongdoings from undermining the political ecosystem or economic development. Laws and regulations to punish bribery should be further improved, he added.Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made continuous efforts to improve Party conduct, uphold integrity and combat corruption with unprecedented courage and resolve.As a result of high-profile anti-corruption campaigns, some 81,000 people have voluntarily surrendered to disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies over the past five years, Xinhua News Agency reported.Addressing the 20th CPC National Congress in October, Xi said, "As the largest Marxist governing party in the world, we must always stay ?and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large party like ours faces, so as to maintain the people's support and consolidate our position as the long-term governing party."Within just over a month after the closing of the 20th CPC National Congress, more than 10 officials who were suspected of severe violations of discipline and laws had turned themselves in.At Monday's meeting, Xi emphasized that exercising full and rigorous self-governance over the Party is a long-term, strategic issue that matters to the Party's long-term ruling of the country, the nation's long-lasting stability and the people's well-being.He urged continuous efforts to achieve the strategic goal that officials do not dare, are not able and have no desire to become corrupt.Strong political supervision must be conducted to ensure that the decisions and policies unveiled at the 20th CPC National Congress are faithfully implemented, he added.Xi also called for continuous efforts to implement the "eight-point decision on improving conduct", which was first made public in December 2012 and targets formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance and seeks to rein in privilege-seeking attitudes and behavior.In order to improve Party conduct, Xi said consistent and sustained efforts should be made to identify problems specific to certain areas, sectors and periods of time, and to go to great lengths to tackle prevalent and recurrent problems.Tackling formalism and bureaucratism should be given greater prominence as a significant task in improving Party conduct, he added.Xi underscored the importance of tightening Party discipline and urged Party officials to stick to the Party Constitution.While stressing the Party's unified leadership over anti-corruption work, Xi also urged disciplinary inspection and supervision departments to assume their responsibilities and effectively fulfill their duties in the tough and protracted battle against corruption.Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang attended the meeting.Li Xi, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the CCDI, presided over the meeting. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：697
[Photo/VCG]China urged the United States on Monday to share its epidemic information and data with the World Health Organization and the international community in a timely, open and transparent manner as XBB.1.5, a new Omicron sub-variant, is quickly becoming the dominant strain in the US."The US should take concrete and effective measures to stem the further spread of the epidemic," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing on Monday.His remarks came as XBB.1.5 is displacing other variants such as BQ.1.1 and now accounts for more than 40 percent of COVID-19 infections across the US.The open-access data from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data shows that almost all variants of the novel coronavirus and sub-variants have spread widely in the US since the start of the pandemic, making it one of the countries with the most COVID-19 strains, Wang said.In another development, Wang called on countries to uphold scientific principles and jointly ensure people's safe and smooth travel after Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg discouraged nonessential trips to China.While appealing for countries to contribute to international solidarity against the epidemic and the recovery of the world economy, Wang made it clear that China is well-prepared in terms of adjusting and optimizing its COVID-19 prevention and control measures, and the overall epidemic situation in the country is improving.With the significant weakening of the pathogenicity and virulence of the Omicron mutant strain, and China's medical treatment, virus detection and vaccination capabilities steadily on the rise, the nation has taken the initiative to refine its COVID-19 response measures, Wang said.Some Chinese provinces and cities have passed the peak of COVID-19 with production and life speeding up to return to normal, he added.On information sharing, Wang said that China has always adopted an open and transparent attitude and given timely notification to the international community, including on mutation monitoring of the virus and its infected populations.According to Wang, in the past three years, China has carried out over 60 technical exchanges with the WHO, four of which were conducted in the latest month alone.The country will continue to share viral genetic data on recent COVID-19 infections within its borders via the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data, he added. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：1091
