The torch, medals and anthem for the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin were officially unveiled on Wednesday.

The height of the torch is 735mm, with a top diameter of 115mm and a grip diameter of 50mm. The theme of the design, "Surging", aims to capture the vibrant and dynamic energy of life in nature. It symbolizes that the 9th Asian Winter Games will be filled with vitality and passion. The overall torch design incorporates international aesthetic features while blending classical and modern Chinese art.

The design takes the form of a blossoming lilac, integrating colors such as China Red, Lilac Purple, and Snow White, symbolizing the sincerity, warmth, openness, and inclusivity of Heilongjiang Province and the characteristics of the host city, Harbin.

The torch features a burner nozzle that combines a lilac floral design with a hollow center, creating a three-dimensional effect. The outer wall of the upper combustion chamber is designed with hollow snowflakes, harmonizing the beauty of order with the overall biomimetic natural aesthetic, blending culture and technology with natural artistry. The outer shell resembles a blossomed lilac, transitioning from transparent ice crystal to Snow White. The inner core transitions from China Red to Lilac Purple. When lit, the torch presents an effect of ice and fire merging, highlighting the radiant energy of winter sports that springs from challenge and passion.
The medals for the Asian Winter Games, titled "Spirit of Speed", was also released on the same day. The front of the medals combines the streamlined shape of a racetrack with the emblem of the 9th Asian Winter Games, capturing the powerful and graceful motion of athletes in action. This design embodies the strength and beauty of competitive sports. The flowing curves of the racetrack incorporate the silhouette of the Harbin Grand Theatre, reflecting the city's unique aesthetic.
The reverse side of the medal features a picturesque landscape of Yabuli, with mountain ranges and forests that mirror the terrain of the Greater and Lesser Khingan ranges, creating a vibrant portrayal of Heilongjiang's rich and bountiful landscape. At the center, the emblem of the Olympic Council of Asia is embedded with a rare Xunke red agate gem from Heilongjiang -- symbolizing the sun shining brightly over the vibrant land. The ribbon clasp at the top of the medal is inspired by the Sun Gate of Sun Island Scenic Area, adding a distinctive local character to the design.

The anthem for the Asian Winter Games is titled "Snow of Harbin", written by lyricist and director Wang Pingjiu and composed by renowned domestic music producer Chang Shilei. The lyrics and melody express the vision of unity, friendship, and a shared commitment to peace and development among the people of Asian countries and regions, working together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 16th BRICS Summit on Wednesday.

Chinese and foreign scientists launched an initiative to call on joint effort to promote the construction of open science infrastructure at a thematic session during the World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF 2024) held from October 22 to 24 in Beijing.

The initiate, titled "Fostering Open Science Infrastructure Collaboration: A Vision for the Sciences Decade," suggest building a global network, implementing open principles, promoting sustainable development, and enhancing mutual trust to deal with the challenges currently existing in the construction scale, political economy, technical standards, legal ethics, and other aspects of shared collaboration in open science infrastructure, according to Huang Jinxia, a professor from the National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, when announcing the recommendations at the thematic session "Open Science Infrastructures: Building a Collaborative Platform for Sciences Decade (INFRASTRUCTURES) " during the WSTDF 2024.

Open science infrastructure is an important means to promote global scientific innovation and collaboration. Through a collaborative platform, the global scientific community can share data, resources, and technologies to jointly address global challenges such as climate change and energy crisis, Yang Wei, Professor from Zhejiang University, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Founding Chair of CAST UN Consultative Committee on Open Science and Global Partnership (CCOS), said at the session.

Open science infrastructure supports researchers in building upon existing work, validating results, and generating new academic insights by promoting the public sharing of research findings. It was acknowledged as one of the key pillars of shared research infrastructure (virtual or physical) by UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UNESCO's Strategic plan for the implementation of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024-2033) (Sciences Decade), this initiative calls on the public, governments and infrastructure facilitators, to collaborate a highly open and high-quality network of open science infrastructure.

In August 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution Sciences Decade. This resolution offers a distinctive opportunity for humankind to advance and leverage science in the pursuit of sustainable development and cultivate a new science culture - to engage everyone to advance science further and equally benefit from it.

As this year marks the first year of the resolution, the abovementioned thematic session was held to gather Chinese and foreign scientists to engage in in-depth dialogue focusing on open science infrastructure to promote global scientific collaboration, address major challenges, and advance sustainable development.

Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Office for East Asia Shahbaz Khan stressed in his speech at the session that open science is not only a key driving force for achieving global peace and sustainable development, but also an effective way to help scientists worldwide address global issues through the sharing of infrastructure, data, and knowledge.

Open science infrastructure is highly aligned with the United Nations SDGs, particularly in tackling major challenges such as climate change and food security, where open science has unique advantages, he noted.

Khan stressed the importance of international communication and cooperative platform like the WSTDF to promote the Sciences Decade. He said the key is to share knowledge with developing countries in the Global South to help them seek sustainable development, eliminate poverty and secure food safety.

"How can we promote such knowledge to where it is needed? For example, for countries in need from Africa, developing countries, which are the Belt and Road Initiative partners like Pakistan and Afghanistan, this forum can help bring the benefits of science and technology to them for better livelihoods," Khan told the Global Times.

Echoing Khan, Yang said that sustainable development is the goal. Most of the UN's SDGs focused on developing countries in the Global South. The level of sustainable development in these countries are relatively lagging behind.

"There are many reasons for this, including lack of openness in scientific and educational knowledge, lack of food as well as diseases and lagging education systems. We hope to help these countries achieve SDGs through technology and other means. This is why we are dedicated to promoting open science," Yang told the Global Times.

Participants to the session also noted that open science infrastructure is crucial and urgent for promoting research innovation and global collaboration. They stressed the necessity to develop inclusive strategies tailored to the needs of different countries and institutions, ensuring the long-term operation of infrastructure through support from government, business, and philanthropic funding. To maintain the effectiveness of this infrastructure, it is essential to strengthen research ethics and integrity, ensuring the responsible use of open data, they said.

Xi visits Gu Wenchang memorial hall

US President Joe Biden announced a $425 million security assistance package for Ukraine on Wednesday as he prepared to travel to Germany to strengthen the confidence of US allies in Europe. Chinese analysts said the aid won't bring any significant change to end the conflict but will only prolong the war.

The main reason Biden is adding more aid to Ukraine is to comfort US allies that the US policy toward Ukraine will be sustainable no matter who sits in the White House, experts noted.

According to the White House release on Wednesday, Biden spoke by telephone to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine about the security package, which includes additional air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles, and critical munitions to "meet Ukraine's urgent needs."

The package comes as Biden is set to travel to Germany on Thursday for a brief trip that is likely to be his last visit to Europe as commander in chief. The US president will use the opportunity to "remind the world of the importance of alliances" just three weeks before the US presidential election. Biden will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany before returning to the US on Friday, the New York Times reported.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that "many Americans believe that the US has failed to avoid this war in Europe and spend taxpayers' money to support an endless war with almost no hope of victory." 

At the same time, Biden also sees the aid toward Ukraine as a key "legacy" of his administration, so he has strong intention to safeguard and reinforce this policy, and more importantly, to convince US allies to keep following the US to support Ukraine, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Therefore, just like US allies, Biden is also concerned about a possible U-turn upon his "legacy," so he is trying his best to add support to Ukraine and emphasize the importance of victory at the very last moment of his term, Lü said.

Military experts said the current situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict won't be affected significantly by any conventional weapons, so the US aid can only prolong the conflict, but it's not enough to bring a victory for Ukraine, so it seems that the US doesn't want the war to end any time soon.

Lü said that much of US aid to Ukraine is, in nature, the business that transformed the money of taxpayers into the wallet of the military industrial complex in the name of supporting Ukraine, so no one should expect that a few more millions can bring any big change to the combat situation.

'Victory plan'

Zelensky told lawmakers Wednesday that Ukraine's Western partners are "increasing pressure to negotiate with Russia," but he hinted such talks would be unfavorable to Kiev as he unveiled what he called his "victory plan" for the war, the AP reported.

Zelensky presented his "victory plan" to the Ukrainian parliament Wednesday, where he outlined Ukraine's strategy in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The five-point plan covers geopolitical, military, economic, and security goals, calls for Ukraine's NATO membership in the near future, and includes a proposal to lift current restrictions hindering Ukraine from using long-range Western weapons on targets inside Russia, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

"If we start moving according to this victory plan now, it may be possible to end the war no later than next year," Zelensky told the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament. He is set to present the five-point plan to the European Council on Thursday, according to the AP.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the new proposal is likely just the same American plan to fight until the last Ukrainian, which Zelensky has now disguised as a "peace plan," according to the Xinhua report.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that the Ukrainian president is using his plan to push NATO toward a direct conflict with Russia, TASS reported.

The NATO chief, Mark Rutte, gave a muted response to Zelensky's plans, saying he and allies "take note" of it. "The plan has many aspects and many political and military issues we really need to hammer out with the Ukrainians to understand what is behind it, to see what we can do, what we cannot do," Rutte said, the Guardian reported.

This shows that the US and its NATO allies are using Ukraine to undermine Russia and hopefully Ukrainians can see through that, said Li.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday said that China is ready to work with Laos to build a community with a shared future with high standards, high quality, and high level and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Li made the remarks in Vientiane when meeting with Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president.

Conveying the cordial greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, to Thongloun, Li congratulated Laos on successfully hosting the series of leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation.

China and Laos are socialist comrades and brothers, Li said, noting that over the past 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the relations between the two parties and two countries have withstood the test of changes in the international landscape and shown new vitality.

General Secretary Xi and General Secretary Thongloun have maintained close strategic communication with each other to lead the construction of the China-Laos community with a shared future in the new era, said the premier.

China has always placed the development of relations with Laos in a special and important position in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is ready to work with Laos to follow the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, deepen political mutual trust and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, Li said.

He noted that China firmly supports Laos in pursuing a socialist path in line with its national conditions and stands ready to continue firmly supporting each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.

Li called on both sides to speed up the implementation of the new action plan for building a China-Laos community with a shared future and to continue promoting the strategic alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the planned transformation of Laos from a land-locked to a land-linked country.

China and Laos should enhance practical cooperation in trade, investment, production capacity, electricity, minerals and other fields, Li said, calling on both sides to further tap potentials, give full play to the driving-effect of the China-Laos Railway, and push for more visible results in all-round cooperation.

Li also said China is ready to expand people-to-people exchanges and cooperation with Laos in culture, tourism and education to enhance mutual understanding and friendship and lay a more solid public foundation for deepening bilateral cooperation.

Thongloun asked Li to convey his sincere greetings to Xi. He congratulated the success of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, as well as the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Hailing China's historic development achievements and its rising international influence under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Thongloun said the Lao party, government and people have always regarded China as an inseparable good neighbor, good friend, good comrade and good partner.

Thongloun said the Lao side resolutely adheres to the one-China principle, firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests on issues concerning Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and firmly supports the three global initiatives.

Laos is ready to further strengthen high-level exchanges with China, reinforce the alignment of Laos' national development strategy with the BRI, advance cooperation in key areas such as the Laos-China Railway, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and push the construction of the Laos-China community with a shared future to a higher level to better benefit the two peoples, Thongloun said.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) announced on Monday that its formations 2901, 1305, 1303 and 2102 conducted law enforcement patrols in the waters surrounding Taiwan island. Liu Dejun, spokesperson of the CCG, said that it is a concrete action to lawfully enforce control over Taiwan island in accordance with the one-China principle.

On the same day, the Fujian Coast Guard said that it organized a formation of vessels to conduct comprehensive law enforcement patrols in the waters near the islands of Dongyin and Matsu. The patrols conducted by the Fujian Coast Guard focused on exercises such as verification and identification, boarding inspections, and control and expulsion operations. These activities were aimed at assessing rapid response and emergency handling capabilities, according to the CCG.

An expert told the Global Times on condition of anonymity on Monday that the CCG conducted multi-unit, multi-formation, and multi-subject drills around the island of Taiwan, focusing on strengthening the control network around the island.

Along with the blockade of key ports and areas around the island by the PLA Eastern Theater Command, the involvement of the maritime law enforcement forces will aid in inspecting and controlling atypical military targets, effectively preventing "Taiwan independence" separatists from evading sanctions under the guise of civilian purposes, the expert noted.

The message and diagram released by the CCG indicated that its formations have navigated waters near Taiwan, effectively surrounding the island. Unlike the specific latitude and longitude details provided in the operational maps of the Fujian coast guard, the CCG diagram lacks precise coordinates, instead, it uses arrows to give a general indication of the routes. This suggests that the law enforcement actions did not follow a fixed cruise line but covered a large area around the island, the expert said.

This indicates that the CCG, as a maritime law enforcement force, will intensify and increase the frequency of its activities around Taiwan, implementing comprehensive control in accordance with national laws. This will further restrict the operational space of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, promote the peaceful reunification of the motherland, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, noted the expert.

According to the CCG diagram released on Monday, in the eastern direction of the island, the CCG deployed one of its largest vessels, the 2901 vessel. According to the expert, this is the ship's first participation in a mission related to the island of Taiwan.

The ship has a displacement of over 10,000 tons, can reach a speed of as high as 25 knots, and is equipped with a 76mm rapid-fire gun. Whether in terms of collision resistance, endurance, self-supply, or comprehensive law enforcement capabilities at sea, the ship can effectively prevent "Taiwan independence" separatists from fleeing, and can carry out control tasks in the eastern waters near the island for extended periods, serving as a comprehensive platform at sea, according to the expert.

The expert also said the entry of the CCG into the waters surrounding Matsu island holds significant importance. Through this action, the CCG is able to strengthen control over the outer region of the Taiwan island that is close to the mainland. In the future, regular law enforcement patrols may occur around Matsu island, said the expert.

The drills are also intended to prevent "Taiwan independence" separatists from fleeing via maritime routes when the PLA enforces comprehensive control over the island, as well as to stop individuals posing as civilians from secretly infiltrating the island by sea, the expert said.

On Monday, the PLA Eastern Theater Command dispatched its troops of army, navy, air force and rocket force to conduct joint military drills code-named Joint Sword-2024B in the Taiwan Straits and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan island.

The drill serves as a stern warning to the separatist acts of"Taiwan Independence" forces, Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement released early Monday morning.

Nuclear industry digitalization is advancing at full speed and has come to fruition again! On October 8, local time, the World Economic Forum announced on its official website the latest list of "Lighthouse Factory" enterprises. Among these, Sanmen Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Power Company (CNNP, stock code: 601985), stood out from thousands of candidate factories worldwide, becoming the first selected enterprise both in both the global nuclear power industry, and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to receive this honor.

The title of "Lighthouse Factory" is awarded to the world's top performers in "Industry 4.0 technology application" and "digital manufacturing," regarded as leaders of the fourth industrial revolution through rigorous evaluation. It represents the pinnacle of high technology, strong innovation capability, high productivity, good economic benefits, and green and low-carbon development, reflecting the highest level of intelligent manufacturing and digital technology. Lighthouse factories are characterized by a high degree of automation, data-driven decision-making, and rapid adoption of emerging technologies to optimize production processes, reduce costs, and improve output quality. The successful award of "Lighthouse Factory" means that Sanmen Nuclear Power has integrated the cutting-edge technologies of the fourth industrial revolution to R&D, production, management, and service.

The CNNC leaders have attached great importance to digital transformation over the years, as a key strategy to improve core competitiveness and build a world-leading nuclear industry corporation, thus contributing to China's position as a global leader in nuclear energy. This vision is being pursued by closely following the application of advanced digital technologies, recruiting and maintaining digital professionals, and exploring innovative digital transformation models. Under the overall coordination of the CNNC, CNNP aims to create a "fully perceptive and intelligently operated" digital nuclear power plant, establish a business, data and industrial chain covering the whole life cycle of nuclear power and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the digital nuclear power industry ecosystem. By concentrating on the design of core business scenarios, end-to-end integration of key processes, and the strategic coordination of cross-domain data, CNNP seeks to continuously optimize production, operation, and management models, ensuring both operational excellence and superior management practices in the global nuclear power industry.

Located in Sanmen county, Zhejiang Province, the Sanmen Nuclear Power project plans to build six third-generation nuclear power units with a capacity of 1 million kW. Phase I of unit 1 and 2 has been completed for commercial operation, Phase II of unit 3 and 4 is under construction, and Phase III of unit 5 and 6 is under preparation. After the completion of all 6 units, the total installed capacity will be over 7 million kW, and the annual power generation capacity can reach up to 60 billion kWh, equivalent to an annual emission reduction of 45 million tons of carbon dioxide. The Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant is an important force to assist the local Zhejiang Province in building a demonstrative province of clean energy, and guarantee national energy security and the achievement of carbon neutrality.

Scientific and technological innovation is an inevitable choice for Sanmen Nuclear Power Company to cultivate high quality development. Relying on the construction, operation and maintenance of the world's first third-generation nuclear power unit, the company has taken CNNP's top-level planning of digital transformation as a guide and committed to scientific and technological innovation to optimize various business processes through digitalization, improving production efficiency and management effectiveness. In order to promote the overall development of digital intelligence in the nuclear power plants, various methods have been applied, including data driven decision-making to achieve accurate management and operation, introduction of advanced technology and application of advanced digital solutions to build a smart power plant, the creation of a solid foundation for cyber security, the cultivation of digital culture, and industry innovation. Meanwhile, pursuing the goals of "intelligent engineering, intelligent operation, intelligent maintenance, intelligent equipment, intelligent management and intelligent plant," the company will lead the establishment of digital intelligence through new technologies such as big data, intelligent robots and virtual reality. This will also ensure the high safety, reliability and economic performance of the power plant as well as a continuous optimization of such indicators as capacity factor, overhaul duration, overall labor productivity and cost per unit of electricity. In turn, this will promote the overall development of the domestic nuclear power industry.

Looking to the future, Sanmen Nuclear Power Company remains committed to its responsibilities and missions, carrying forward the spirit of the nuclear industry, while fostering high quality development. The company will actively expand the application of digitalization in nuclear power design, manufacturing, construction, operation and other scenarios, vigorously push forward the research and development of key core technologies, and establish and improve a modern governance system suited to the demands of digitalization transformation, to further empowering the industry. The company will make every effort to build a nuclear power base integrating two different kinds of third-generation units and turning the plant into a "Charming Nuclear Power, Energetic Sanmen" site, facilitating the implementation of nuclear energy's "three-step" strategy, and making greater contributions to the construction of Chinese modernization.

Tourists experience smart sightseeing boats at Tianjin Water Park on October 7, 2024. The first fleet of 15 smart boats has been put into use at the park, equipped with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, 5G networking, intelligent driving and other cutting-edge technologies. Photo: VCG

Wu Bangguo, former chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, died of illness at the age of 84 in Beijing at 4:36 a.m. Tuesday, an official statement said.