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Singaporean FM urges Intl cooperation against COVID-19, opposes blame game

(Xinhua)10:28, August 07, 2020

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has cautioned against resorting to blame game amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and called for international cooperation to combat the highly infectious disease.

The biggest challenges facing humanity, including pandemics and climate change, are transnational ones, so dealing with them will require cooperation, multipolar leadership, and multilateral institutions and processes,Balakrishnan told the virtual Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday evening.

Were moving from a unipolar world into a multipolar world and the hope that America somehow will single-handedly carry this world is not realistic, he said, adding that the old canard (that) you are either with us or against us does not work in a multipolar world.

Calling the Chinese governments decision to impose a lockdown on the Chinese city of Wuhan two days before the Chinese New Year a big deal, Balakrishnan said that the move shows that once the Chinese government understood the gravity of the situation, did things most other governments would hesitate to do, and did so decisively and comprehensively.

Chinas willingness to take decisive measures to contain the coronavirus even at great economic cost is worthwhile and should be credited, he said.

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Australia opens first face mask testing facility

(Xinhua)10:32, August 07, 2020

Australias national science agency has opened the countrys first accredited face mask testing facility to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) launched the facility on Thursday, saying it will deliver rapid results on testing for surgical face masks and fast-track the delivery of masks to frontline healthcare workers.

For the first time Australian face mask manufacturers will not have to send masks and materials overseas to be tested, saving time and money.

Its inspiring to see Australian science enabling Australian businesses to supply life-saving surgical face masks to protect our frontline health care workers – yet another way science is tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry Marshall, the chief executive of the CSIRO, said in a media release.

This new facility will give Aussie businesses another solution from science to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.

Science is guiding us through COVID-19, and science will help us grow on the other side. Theres not much Aussie innovation cant solve, whether its finding the right vaccine or creating Australias first National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited face mask testing facility.

The Australian Government in March secured 54 million masks for the National Medical Stockpile, which have steadily been released to state and territory governments for distribution to medical and aged care professionals.

Face masks have been made mandatory outside of the home for all Victorians as the state struggles to contain COVID-19 outbreaks and are strongly recommended in New South Wales.

As of Thursday afternoon there had been a total of 19,862 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in last 24 hours is 483, according to the latest figures from Department of Health.

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Global COVID-19 cases surpass 19 mln — Johns Hopkins University

(Xinhua)10:55, August 07, 2020

Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 19 million on Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

With the global case count reaching 19,007,938, a total of 713,406 people worldwide had died from the disease as of 9:35 p.m. local time (0135 GMT Friday), the CSSE data showed.

The United States has suffered the most from the pandemic, with 4,881,974 cases and 160,090 fatalities, followed by Brazil with 2,912,212 cases and 98,493 deaths, the tally showed.

Countries with more than 400,000 cases also include India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico and Peru, according to the center.

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S.Korea reports 33 more COVID-19 cases, 14,456 in total

(Xinhua)13:53, August 05, 2020

South Korea reported 33 more cases of COVID-19 as of 0:00 a.m. Wednesday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 14,456.

The daily caseload stayed above 30 for two straight days due to small cluster infections and imported cases.

Of the new cases, 18 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,500. The imported cases grew in double figures for 41 straight days since June 26.

One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 302. The total fatality rate stood at 2.09 percent.

A total of 54 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 13,406. The total recovery rate was 92.74 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 1.59 million people, among whom 1,565,241 tested negative for the virus and 18,490 are being checked.

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Disney reports significant quarterly loss due to COVID-19 pandemic

(Xinhua)13:55, August 05, 2020

The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday reported significant quarterly loss in its fiscal third quarter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Disneys overall revenues in the three-month period that ended June 27 fell 42 percent year-over-year to 11.78 billion U.S. dollars. Earnings per share for the quarter showed a loss of 2.61 dollars compared to income of 79 cents in the prior-year quarter, according to a release from the company.

Disney said that the company took a 3.5-billion-dollar hit to its operating income from parks being closed during the quarter, a decrease of 85 percent from a year earlier.

The impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at Parks, Experiences and Products, said the company in the release.

As a result of COVID-19, Disney closed its North American parks and resorts, cruise line business and Disneyland Paris in mid-March, while the companys Asia parks and resorts were closed earlier in the quarter.

Disneys theme parks in China, including Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, had been closed since January amid threat of COVID-19 spread. Shanghai Disneyland welcomed visitors for the first time on May 11 after months of closure, becoming the first Disney park to reopen since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened in late June and was closed again in July.

Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter decreased 55 percent to 1.7 billion dollars. Theatrical distribution in the quarter was negatively impacted by COVID-19 as theaters were generally closed domestically and internationally.

No significant titles were released in the current quarter compared to the release of Avengers: Endgame Aladdin and Dark Phoenix in the prior-year quarter, according to the company.

Media Networks revenues for the quarter decreased 2 percent to 6.6 billion dollars while Direct-to-Consumer and International revenues for the quarter increased 2 percent to 4 billion dollars.

Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, weve continued to build on the incredible success of Disney+ as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses, said Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek in the release.

The global reach of our full portfolio of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds an astounding 100 million paid subscriptions — a significant milestone and a reaffirmation of our DTC strategy, which we view as key to the future growth of our company, he noted.

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A Little Red Flower continues leading Chinese mainland box office

(Xinhua)15:44, January 16, 2021

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese feature film A Little Red Flower on Friday remained the top-grossing title on the Chinese mainland market, raking in 18.94 million yuan (around 2.93 million U.S. dollars) within the day.

The film, telling a heartwarming story of two families battling cancer, had topped the box office chart since its debut on Dec. 31, 2020, generating a total of 1.14 billion yuan, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed Saturday.

The Chinese sci-fi crime movie The Soul grossed about 17.78 million yuan and ranked second on the box office chart on the first day of its rollout.

Coming in third was the crime thriller hit Shock Wave 2, which generated 10.76 million yuan on Friday. Co-starring Andy Lau and Ni Ni, the film has raked in 1.03 billion yuan since its Dec. 24 debut.

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Documentary on Wuhans COVID-19 fight premieres in Beijing

(Xinhua)09:18, January 18, 2021

BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Days and Nights in Wuhan, a documentary reflecting the lives of ordinary people in Wuhan, central Chinas Hubei Province during the COVID-19 epidemic, premiered in Beijing on Saturday.

The documentary is the collective work of 30 cinematographers, and consists of footage filmed on the COVID-19 front line, including the intensive care wards of hospitals. It recounts the touching stories of how people in Wuhan helped each other in the face of the epidemic.

By capturing moments from ordinary peoples lives during the citys unforgettable period, the film lauds the humanitarian spirit of those who contributed to the fight against COVID-19, said Cao Yin, the films presenter.

The film will hit the big screen on Jan. 22.

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Typhoon Hagupit brings heavy downpours to Shanghai, causing waterlogging

(Xinhua)15:42, August 05, 2020

Hagupit, the fourth typhoon of this year, has brought heavy downpours to Shanghai since Tuesday, causing urban waterlogging in some areas and disrupting traffic, according to the municipal flood control department.

The precipitation was concentrated in Jinshan, Fengxian and Songjiang districts of Shanghai, where waterlogging as deep as 120 centimeters appeared.

Hagupit landed on the coastal areas of Yueqing, a county-level city under the administration of the city of Wenzhou, east Chinas Zhejiang Province, Tuesday afternoon, packing winds of 136.8 km per hour near its center.

Hagupit was downgraded to a tropical depression as it was leaving Zhejiang and Shanghai Wednesday. The rainstorms have affected more than 600 flights at the two airports in Shanghai, disrupting 29 train journeys, five ferry lines and two bus lines.

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College major choices turning more interest-driven among Chinese youth

(Xinhua)16:00, August 05, 2020

High school graduates across China have made up their minds during this years college admissions season and their choices of major have once again become a much-discussed topic on social media.

Zhong Fangrong, a high school graduate in central Chinas Hunan Province, applied to Peking University and chose archaeology as her major after she scored 676 out of 750 in the national college entrance examination, also known as the gaokao.

Opinions online are split over the young village girls choice. Some expressed admiration and support for her, while some commented that it was a pity that she wasted the high score choosing an unpopular major.

Zhong was not alone in choosing a college major based on personal interest and aspiration rather than the promise of a lucrative career in the future.

This year, a total of 10.71 million Chinese students took the gaokao, which was delayed by one month to early July due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Colleges across the country offered admission policy consultation services online for college candidates and their parents following the release of scores.

Inquiries by students at the enrollment and employment department at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics have shown that high schoolers are keeping up with current events and are likely to make far-sighted decisions in terms of their college major choice, said Xu Song, head of the department.

According to a 2019 survey by Beijing Normal University, a number of college majors that used to be unpopular, such as history, museology, Chinese language and literature and psychology, have in recent years become the most popular majors among high school graduates born in the 2000s.

Growing up in an era of information explosion, students of this generation are more independent and willing to try new things as they have greater access to various information. They place greater emphasis on their personal interests and self-realization when deciding on a major, said Yue Long, professor of education at Shanghai Normal University.

I love sports and I have been watching all kinds of sporting events. Im considering becoming a journalist or a self-media operator, said Sun Jiayue, a college candidate in Beijing, who decided almost three years ago to study sports journalism at college.

For candidate Han Guangqi, pursuing nursing is the right choice as she believes nurses are in high demand in society. This year is very special, she said. The epidemic made me realize how important medicine is.

In a bid to boost the dynamic development of academic disciplines at colleges, the Ministry of Education has rolled out policies to support emerging disciplines and curb the excessive expansion of once-popular majors with falling job prospects.

Colleges have been encouraged to set up new disciplines such as emergency management and elderly care management, and develop majors including preventive medicine and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation.

The ministry also advocated in a document on undergraduate education released in October 2019 that colleges give students greater autonomy in learning and increase minor subject offerings to cultivate interdisciplinary experts.

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People’s efforts in NW China’s Shaanxi province transform major desert into oasis

(Peoples Daily Online)16:50, August 05, 2020

Thanks to generations of efforts in taming desertification, people in Yulin, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, have turned the Mu Us Desert, one of the four major deserts in the country, into an oasis.

Photo taken on August 16, 2019 shows a wetland park in Jingbian county, Yulin, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. (Photo by Tao Ming/Xinhua)

As of today, the forest coverage rate of the city has increased from 0.9 percent in 1949 to 34.8 percent. Meanwhile, 93.2 percent of the desertified land in Yulin is now under control, extending the green part of Shaanxi 400 kilometers northward.

Planting trees is the key to the ecological miracle in the city. In 1974, 54 young girls with an average age of 18 in Yulin responded to the country’s call for afforestation and formed a desertification control company.

Xi Yongcui, now 64 years old, is one of the first-generation members of the company, who spent eight years on the team pursing the mission of the group. After getting married at the age of 26, her husband became a tractor driver for the company. Now Xi Cai’e, the couple’s post-90s grandniece, is the current commander of the desertification control company.

Over the past 46 years, militiawomen of the company removed more than 800 dunes, built 30 windbreak and sand fixation forest belts and 35 kilometers of water channels, turning about 961.7 hectares of the sandy land into green land.

Because of people like these militiawomen, about 573,333 hectares of the desert sand in Yulin has been transformed. In November 2019, Yulin received an award with the title of a state-level forest city by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The miracle is also attributable to science and technology. In 2002, Zhang Yinglong, an executive of a foreign company in Beijing at the time, returned to his hometown Shenmu, the northernmost city in Yulin, to obtain 28,533 hectares of sandy land in the Mu Us Desert by contract.

Relying on the role of science and technology from the very outset, he has become a sand control expert under the influence of Shao Mingan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Zhang has also worked together with the CAS’s Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and foreign research institutes for afforestation of the land he had contracted.

After years of hard work, Zhang has restored the sandy land, turning it into forests, meadows, and fertile land.