Day: August 4, 2019

(Xinhua)08:54, July 09, 2019

LONDON, July 8 (Xinhua) — UK Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said on Monday that the country should leave the European Union on Oct. 31 without any further delay, stressing that both sides should work for a Brexit with a deal.

It is important that the UK leaves (EU) on October 31, and that will be in the interests of the UK and EU, Barclay said at a briefing with foreign reporters at the Foreign Press Association headquarters in London.

Then there will be the certainty that businesses need, who can get investment under way and the UK can move forward onto the positive future relationship based on shared values with the EU rather than focusing on unwinding the past relationship, he said.

We dont want a no-deal outcome but it is important we prepare for it, he said, stressing that it is not only Theresa Mays priority but also the priority of (UK prime minister candidates) Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to secure a deal.

He rejected the idea of a second referendum on Brexit, saying it sometimes is misunderstood. The danger of a second referendum is you have a further year of uncertainty and it would be divisive but would not necessarily decisive, Barclay said.

The UKs departure from the EU has been postponed from the original March 29, 2019 deadline to Oct. 31, more than three years after the British people voted in a referendum to leave the bloc.

Having failed to deliver a Brexit deal through the UK Parliament to bring Britain out of the EU, Theresa May resigned as Conservative Party leader on June 7, but will remain as caretaker prime minister until her successor is chosen.

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are vying for the Conservative Party leadership. The winner will automatically move into 10 Downing Street as prime minister.

(Peoples Daily Online)10:17, July 09, 2019

The control room in theChipwi Nge hydropower station (Peoples Daily/Sun Guangyong)

Thanks to the hydropower station built by a Chinese enterprise, Myitkyina, the capital city of Kachin State in northern Myanmar, is provided with a constant electricity supply.

In 2013, Chinas State Power Investment Corporation (CSPIC), the contractor, delivered the hydropower station to the local client.

The Chipwi Nge hydropower station, with a total installed capacity of 99 megawatts, can generate 599 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. By the end of 2018, the hydropower station had supplied 783 million kWh of electricity to cities in Kachin.

The hydropower station also provides jobs for local people. 51 of its total 69 employees are from the local community. The CSPIC has held various training courses for local employees in order to help them master advanced technologies.

Currently, only 44 percent of Myanmar people have access to electricity and many places are frequently stricken by power failures in summer. However, the demand for electricity grows at an annual rate of 19 percent.

Even though the government has increased power supply by 12 percent per year, it still is not able to satisfy the soaring demand due to inefficient generation and poor transmission.

To solve this issue, the local government has launched a three-year plan, under which it will develop electricity infrastructure under the guidance of the Chinese company.

(Xinhua)10:46, July 09, 2019

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday that his country will continue to pile up economic pressure on Iran and defend U.S. interests as Tehran went one step further to endanger the 2015 nuclear deal.

Let me be clear: Iran should not confuse American restraint with a lack of American resolve, Pence told audience at an annual summit of a pro-Israel Christian organization in Washington.

We hope for the best, but the United States of America and our military are prepared to protect our interests and protect our personnel and our citizens in the region, he added.

Pences remarks came hours after Tehran announced that Iran has raised the concentration of its enriched uranium to 4.5 percent, crossing the limit of 3.67 percent set by the landmark nuclear pact.

In his speech, the U.S. vice president also vowed that his country will continue to bring pressure on Irans economy, which he claimed had already been reeling under heavy U.S. sanctions.

Pences tough stance was echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, both Iran hawks, who spoke later on the same event.

Weve implemented the strongest pressure campaign in history against the Iranian regime, and we are not done, Pompeo noted.

A year after the U.S. unilateral exit from the nuclear deal, Iran withdrew from part of the nuclear deal on May 8 and threatened more actions in case its interests under the pact cannot be guaranteed.

Iran said earlier that the Europeans have failed to take practical steps to ensure Irans economic interests under the deal.

Around a week ago, Iran announced that its low-grade enriched uranium stockpile had exceeded 300 kg, its first breach of limits set in the accord.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes Irans action to cross the nuclear deal limit would neither help preserve the plan nor secure economic benefits for the Iranian people, his deputy spokesman said Monday.

(Xinhua)16:03, July 09, 2019

PEORIA, the United States, July 8 (Xinhua) — Brendt Christensen, who was found guilty by a U.S. jury of kidnapping and killing Chinese visiting scholar Zhang Yingying in 2017, appeared Monday at a federal courthouse in Peoria, Illinois, for his sentence.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. Department of Justice attorney James Nelson gave the opening statement for the prosecution, starting with the last line from Zhangs diary: Life is too short to be ordinary.

She had no way of knowing how short her life would be, Nelson said. The only way you know Yingying Zhang is her death.

Describing Zhangs life, he said: Yingying was far more than just an international scholar. She was a devoted and loving daughter … She was the hope of her family.

Nelson said the family is still in deep sorrow, mentioning that her father has difficulty looking at photos of her.

Yingying had a beautiful voice and loved to sing, but on June 9, 2017, that beautiful voice fell silent, Nelson said.

Calling for death penalty, Nelson said it was not an ordinary crime. It was cold, calculated, cruel and months in the making.

Christensens attorney Julie Brain gave the opening for the defense, saying Christensen will die in prison, alone, with strangers.

She described Christensen as someone who struggled his whole life with mental health issues — night terrors, walking in his sleep, debilitating migraines.

Brain said Christensen sought mental health treatment, but didnt get the help he needed.

While she said the crime is his fault, this is not a case that deserves the death penalty.

Brain asked jurors to make a moral decision, to keep an open mind, and to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of release.

Following the opening statements from both sides, the prosecutors summoned three Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) language specialists and Hou Xiaolin, Zhangs boyfriend to testify.

During Hous testimony, the prosecutors played video recordings of four roommates and friends in China talking about Zhang in their eyes.

Diligent, filial, smiling, independent, motivated, optimistic, and helpful are the common words they used to describe her. Some just couldnt help crying during the talk.

Christensen gazed at the screen when the videos were played, emotionless.

In the next two weeks, dozens of witnesses will testify, including Zhangs father and brother, before the 12-person jury decides between death penalty or life imprisonment.

Zhangs mother has been approved to testify via a video given the emotionally difficulty of being present in court.

Early Monday morning, Judge James Shadid refused the motion of excluding the video testimony of Zhangs friends and roommates raised by the defense.

Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for public affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), attended the sentencing trial on Monday.

We are so sad, she told Xinhua in an interview. As a parent myself … I cant imagine going through a loss like this in such a horrible, senseless, terrible way.

Its partly our efforts to ensure that we have a very welcoming community and that we let Chinese students know that were delighted and very proud to have them as part of our community, Kaler said.

Kaler hopes Zhangs family receives justice.

Zhang Yingying, a 26-year-old Chinese scholar, went missing on June 9, 2017, after getting into a black Saturn Astra about five blocks away from where she got off a bus on her way to an apartment complex to sign a lease.

Christensen was arrested on June 30, 2017, after being caught on tape pointing out people he described as ideal victims during a vigil in Zhangs honor.

(Xinhua)07:30, July 08, 2019

TOKYO, July 6 (Xinhua) — When I wrote the letter, I didnt expect to receive a reply from President Xi Jinping. I was surprised and honored, said Daichi Nakashima with excitement.

The 27-year-old Japanese man said he had received the reply from Xi before the Chinese leader attended the Group of 20 summit in Osaka. When my friend told me on WeChat, I was shocked! Nakashima said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Nakashima had several times been a winner in the Panda Cup Japan Youth Essay Contest. Founded in 2014, the competition is co-sponsored by Peoples China magazine, the Chinese embassy in Japan and the Japan Science Society, aiming to help Japanese youths have a more comprehensive, objective and rational understanding of China.

Nakashima began learning Chinese in college and has participated in several short-term exchange programs in China.

When talking about his original intention of writing a letter to Xi, Nakashima said, I wanted to convey the warmth and friendship of the Chinese people I felt during my visit to China and the importance of mutual understanding and exchanges between Japanese and Chinese youths.

Xi, in his reply, said he was glad to see that Nakashima has been studying the Chinese language and literature for a long time and, by participating in essay contests and exchange activities in China, has learned more about China and strengthened his bonds with Chinese friends.

Its the best affirmation and recognition of my persistence for so many years. Im very touched, Nakashima said.

Born in 1992, Nakashima first learned about China through classics like Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Outlaws of the Marsh, but it was a two-week trip to Tianjin in 2011 that gave him a glimpse of a vibrant China.

After that, he visited Beijing, Sichuan, Guangdong and other places. Last year, he went to Fudan University in Shanghai and studied for half a year.

Nakashima found that Chinese youth are very familiar with Japanese anime, music and so on, while Japanese youngsters do not know much about China. Their impression of China is restricted to Chinese tourists, not knowing about Chinese movies and popular music, he said.

Nakashima said he believes that the friendship between the two peoples needs more bilateral youth exchanges, as President Xi said in the letter.

Noting that China and Japan are close neighbors separated by only a narrow strip of water, Xi said the friendship between the two countries is rooted in the people, and that the future of the friendship between the two peoples is in the hands of the young people.

Xi said he hopes that the youth of China and Japan will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, enhance mutual understanding, develop long-lasting friendships, and contribute to creating an even brighter future for bilateral relations.

Xi also encouraged Nakashima to continue to promote the China-Japan friendship. Nakashima said this is an encouragement, a mission and also motivation for him to move forward.

Nakashima graduated with a masters degree in April and has begun to work in a publishing house. He has been determined to introduce excellent works such as Chinese picture books and science fiction to Japan, so that Japanese teenagers can feel the affinity between the two countries.

I have met many friendly Chinese people and made many friends that are very important to me. In the future, I will continue to make efforts to help Japanese and Chinese youth deepen mutual understanding, he said.