Search and rescue efforts are drawing to a close in the aftermath of the devastating 6.2-magnitude Jishishan earthquake. The focus is now shifting to the treatment of the injured, resettlement, and debris removal across earthquake-stricken areas, emergency management authorities in Northwest China's Gansu Province said at Thursday morning's press briefing.

Phased progress has been achieved in earthquake relief work, a local official said at the briefing. The death toll caused by the devastating earthquake that rattled Northwest China Monday night had reached 137 as of Thursday - 115 in Gansu Province and 22 in Qinghai Province.

As of 6 am on Thursday, the housing authorities have organized engineering and technical experts to complete the preliminary inspection and assessment of kindergartens, schools, and hospitals in Jishishan county. The emergency assessment of all houses in 19 villages in two towns, which were the most severely affected, has been completed. Water and gas supplies in the county have been restored to normal, while heating has basically restored. The damaged pipe network is being repaired to restore normal heating in the county as soon as possible, according to an official at the press briefing.

Various regions across China, including North China's Tianjin, South China's Guangdong Province, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, East China's Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang provinces have provided disaster relief funds and extended assistance in terms of medical care, emergency rescue operations, and essential supplies, according to the briefing.

Meanwhile, some regions have organized professional rescue, aviation rescue, and emergency communication support teams to provide assistance to the earthquake-stricken areas in personnel search and rescue, geological disaster inspection, aviation emergency rescue, and medical care services.

Under the guidance of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China, Gansu provincial housing and urban-rural authorities established an earthquake relief command headquarters, and initiated a Level II emergency earthquake response. The ministry has dispatched personnel to the affected areas to provide guidance for disaster relief, according to the local officials.

More than 500 specialists and technicians have been dispatched to the affected area to survey the damage to residential and facilities, conducting emergency assessments of building structures, and carrying out urgent repairs.

Meanwhile, local hospitals have received a total of 784 injured people, and the health authorities are currently conducting psychological counseling for those impacted by the disaster. In addition to all county and village medical institutions operating normally, 19 more medical treatment points and a mobile hospital have been established to meet the medical needs of the people in the disaster-stricken areas.

Chinese digital art pioneer ULTILAND has released a new art project aimed at spreading the beauty of Chinese art in Hong Kong SAR. The autumn collection features contributions from 12 artists with diverse artistic backgrounds, including creators of Chinese contemporary abstract art, new media art pioneers, and cutting-edge artists working with mixed materials. Three key themes emerge from their autumn creations: warmth, connection, and eternity.

According to the founder of ULTILAND, art and technology have the power to connect people from different backgrounds.

In addition to the release of new artworks, ULTILAND also bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds in the name of art, transcending the boundary between WEB2 and WEB3 through innovative narratives and creating new value mappings.

Looking ahead to future plans, ULTILAND intends to establish a main island and themed islands. These themed islands will be overseen by artists and collectors, serving as hubs for art subjects, art creations, and more.

The COP28 Presidency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) launched a joint report today on the sidelines of the Pre-COP event in Abu Dhabi, titled “Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5°C".

The report provides actionable policy recommendations for governments and the private sector on how to increase global renewable energy capacity to at least 11,000 GW while also doubling annual average energy efficiency improvements in the target period. This falls under the COP28 Presidency’s Action Agenda objective of fast-tracking a just and orderly energy transition to keep 1.5°C within reach.

The report was launched on the sidelines of Pre-COP, a meeting held in Abu Dhabi a month ahead of COP28 for countries to lay the groundwork for negotiations at the global climate summit. The report aims to help guide parties on the key enablers required to meet the energy targets.

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, said in the report, “Tripling the deployment of renewable power generation and doubling energy efficiency are amongst the most important levers to cut greenhouse gas emissions. I am now calling on everyone to come together, commit to common targets, and take comprehensive domestic and international action, as outlined in this report, to make our ambitions a reality.”

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera added, “Our mission is as clear as it is urgent: We need concerted action to triple renewable power capacity by 2030. This includes urgently addressing deeply entrenched systemic barriers across infrastructure, policy and institutional capacities stemming from the fossil-fuel era. IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook, which provides the analytical foundation of this report, warns that the energy transition is dangerously off-track, demanding immediate, radical collective action. This report outlines actions governments must prioritise to fast-track the global energy transition and keep 1.5°C alive.”

Bruce Douglas, Global Renewables Alliance CEO, said, “Tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency is the most impactful commitment policymakers can make to combating climate change. These steps will deliver cleaner electricity systems, open up access to affordable energy and deliver clean green jobs for millions of people. The rapid upscaling of renewable energy will require policymakers to work hand-in-hand with industry and civil society to urgently implement the enabling actions in this report - infrastructure and system operation; policy and regulation; and supply chains, skills, and capacities. Critically, these areas must be reinforced by low-cost financing and international collaboration. Working together to secure a liveable future for all.”

The report, which draws extensively on the analysis presented in IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023: 1.5°C pathway, divides the key enablers into five sections, covering:

- Infrastructure and system operation: power grids, energy storage, end-use electrification, sector coupling and infrastructure planning, demand-side management.

- Policy and regulation: improving energy efficiency, market incentives and fiscal policy, power market design and regulation, streamlining permitting, reducing negative impacts, maximising social and environmental benefits.

- Supply chain, skills, and capacities: building resilient supply chains, education, training, and capacity-building.

- Scaling-up public and private finance.

- Enhancing international collaboration.

The collaboration between the COP28 Presidency, IRENA, and the GRA reflects the growing global consensus on achieving these targets. Ahead of COP28, the Presidency and the European Commission are calling for countries to support the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge, with Champion countries already committed to supporting these global targets.

An unprecedented anti-corruption storm is currently sweeping through the field of medicine in China.

Over the last three weeks, intensive inspections have been launched in medical institutions nationwide, with tip-offs from the public and industry-related personnel increasing on social media platforms, and numerous reports of fallen officials have emerged one after another… So far, at least 20 provincial disciplinary authorities have spoken out against corruption present in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, while at least 176 hospital heads have been probed - more than double the number in 2022 - during the "most vigorous" crackdown ever seen in the healthcare industry.

Initiated by the National Health Commission (NHC), along with nine other departments, in late July, the systematic anti-corruption campaign has impressed many with its top-down rapidity, fierce momentum, and strong determination.

Why is the current anti-corruption campaign in the medical industry necessary and urgent? What are the deep-rooted problems that are a cause of distress for the public? From the bribery of pharmaceutical companies to the unaffordability of treatment for ordinary patients, how were medical costs gradually inflated? What are the blind spots within the industry and hidden means through which ill-gotten gains are laundered in this profitable industry chain?

Industry insiders, clinicians, and medical representatives reached by the Global Times pointed out that medical corruption in China has led to the exploitation of the healthcare system, ultimately causing harm to ordinary people and damaging the reputation of the national healthcare service delivery. In order to address the issue of difficulties in accessing medical services amid an aging society, large-scale anti-corruption efforts and systematic reforms are deemed necessary.

Meanwhile, many grassroots doctors and experts stressed that the actions of a corrupt few do not represent the vast majority of diligent and dedicated frontline healthcare professionals. The achievements of China's healthcare reforms in recent years cannot be erased or negated by a few cases of corruption.
Shock and awe

China's top anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, or the CCDI, published an article on July 28, targeting opaque collaborations, bribery of officials in public hospitals, and the misuse of prescriptions for personal profit among other illegal practices.

The NHC held a press conference on Tuesday, reiterated six key areas of focus for rectification during this campaign, which include crackdown on medical institutions engaging in "kickback sales" of drugs and devices, as well as the improper use of medical insurance funds, stressing that the pharmaceutical field is the "main battleground" for safeguarding the health of the people.

Compared with previous efforts, the current round of anti-graft campaigns involves the participation of more governmental agencies, which is more far-reaching and affecting more high-powered individuals in the medical sector, pharmaceutical firms, and relevant associations, Xu Yucai, a veteran in medical reform, told the Global Times.

Rough estimates show that at least 30 "deans," "directors," and "Party chiefs" in the medical system have been investigated across various levels in hospitals over the last three weeks, and about half of them have retired. More violators are being pressured to voluntarily surrender.

A number of regions, including Beijing, Inner Mongolia, and Sichuan, have made reporting hotlines available to the public. A wave of complaints has since been received from several places and some of the country's well-known hospitals.

Insiders told the Global Times that guidelines on discipline in hospitals have intensified, as relevant inspections of key heads of department are increasing.

Amid the campaign, a slew of cancellations of medical conferences and events sponsored by pharmaceutical companies have been witnessed, which is evidence of a deterrence effect.

"Currently, the [domestic medical representatives] industry is basically in a vigilant state," a medical representative told the Global Times on condition of anonymity. "Both domestic and foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies are generally freezing their contacts with hospital and officials, and some have migrated their businesses online exclusively or are more discreet, as many in the industry are now cautious and apprehensive."

The medical representative noted that workshops and training programs in the medical sector have been largely canceled as these platforms have been found to have become a convert channel for bribery and kickbacks.

Chain of medical corruption

High medical spending has long been one of "three burdens" - along with housing and education - for Chinese citizens. In an aging society, the cost burden of managing chronic conditions plagues many senior citizens, and is a source of public complaint.

Back in the 1990s, as medical services moved toward market compliance, the government reduced investment and hospitals began to sell drugs at a mark-up to make up for shortfalls in public funding. At the same time, competition intensified among pharmaceutical companies, while corruption spaces grew gradually.

The culture of kickbacks or bribery among hospital officials and pharmaceutical enterprises across many regions in China has been a long-standing open secret.

Medical corruption may occur in the entire process, from listing, bidding, procurement, to usage and payment. Every stage involves relevant departments, hospital management personnel, clinicians, and pharmacists, Xu said.

In this chain, medical representatives are those who "thread the needle," and the senior hospital officials are the key figures who can determine the clinical usage and the quantity purchase of products from the bid winner, according to Xu.

The expert said that some kickbacks are hard to investigate as they could be disguised as sponsorship or invitations to medical conferences.

Xu, also the former deputy head of the health commission in Shanyang county, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, told the Global Times that in recent years, as previous anti-corruption moves have sealed off the traditional benefit delivery pipeline between pharmaceutical companies and medical personnel, some poorly scrutinized medical associations have turned to "academic activities" as a disguise to transfer the benefits. Bribes are thus laundered through so-called training or consultancy fees.

A doctor from a certain top-tier hospital once disclosed to the media that some academic conferences typically offer ordinary doctors a fee of 1,200 yuan ($165) per hour for lectures, 1,800 yuan for experts, and 3,000 yuan for top-level experts.

Additionally, the procurement of large medical equipment is another hotbed of corruption. In case of illegality disclosed in recent years, inappropriate high-priced medical equipments are commonly seen. In May, China's anti-corruption body exposed a hospital chief in Southwest China's Yunnan Province for receiving 16 million yuan in bribes for buying a medical accelerator worth 15 million yuan.

A practitioner surnamed Tao from the Shanghai disease control and prevention system told the Global Times that the selection of self-funded vaccines has also become a means of making money in some grassroots disease control centers.

"County-level disease control centers are allowed to select vaccines from different manufacturers on the provincial whitelist. Currently, this process lacks standard rules, and the head of the county center holds the principle decision-making power in that regard," said Tao.
Intense move for retoring confidence

To address this issue, the Chinese government has implemented several measures to crack down on corruption in the medical industry. One such initiative was the establishment of the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) in 2018, which oversees the country's healthcare system and is responsible for regulating medical expenses and combating fraud.

Xu recalled that obvious efforts have been made in medical reform since the establishment of the NHSA. The centralized pharmaceutical procurement system launched in China in 2018, for example, has reduced the prices of certain drugs, by pooling the demands of member cities and granting contracts to manufacturers with the lowest bids. These policies have played a great role in eliminating kickbacks and price manipulation.

Additionally, the government has encouraged the use of electronic payment systems to reduce cash transactions, which were often used to facilitate bribery, Xu said.

The programs have successfully reduced medical costs for patients and have, so far, helped save about 300 billion yuan in medical insurance costs and patient expenditure, the Xinhua News Agency reported in July 2022.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has strengthened its enforcement actions against corrupt practices in the medical field. Numerous high-profile cases have been investigated and prosecuted, leading to the arrest and punishment of doctors, hospital administrators, and pharmaceutical company executives involved in bribery and embezzlement.

With deepened medical and healthcare system reform, China's public healthcare system withstood the tests of the H7N9 bird flu, the Middle East respiratory syndrome, and COVID-19, as well as natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods over the last decade.

The era when pharmaceutical representatives freely prowled outpatient clinics and hospital wards is long gone. Instead, signs warning that "Pharmaceutical representatives are prohibited from entering" are now posted throughout healthcare facilities.

"Over the last decade, China hasn't remitted in its anti-corruption efforts, but corruption remains increasingly pervasive and hidden. This is why a fundamental system rebuilding and resolute crackdown are imperative as medical corruption undermines the credibility of the healthcare system and erodes social trust," Xu said.

However, while the shocking and heart-wrenching phenomenon of corruption in medical industry has aroused the indignation and condemnation of the Chinese people, a growing sentiment among the public, which is stigmatizing the entire healthcare industry and fostering a collective resentment toward medical professionals, has gone viral on the internet.

Observers and medical practitioners clarified that the recent highly publicized crackdowns do not imply widespread corruption within the healthcare system.

They stressed that corrupt individuals within the healthcare system are still a minority, and many conscientious and judicious healthcare workers also detest various forms of medical corruption.

A front-line doctor in East China's Shandong Province told the Global Times on Sunday that the vast majority of grassroots doctors are far from corrupt, as most of them, especially young doctors, always follow the principle of curing disease and saving lives first.

Clinical doctors from top-tier hospitals in China are sharing their schedules on social media, with some claiming that they work 12 hours a day and have to work overtime voluntarily at weekends, resulting in a total work duration of 80-100 hours per week.

Some clinicians are also facing pressure from research. "For those unfortunate projects that did not receive research funding, doctors have to bear the expenses of animal experiments, reagents, consumables, and labor costs. Many people even pay out of their own salaries to support research projects," said Dr. Chen Yu, an attending physician at a large top-tier hospital in Shanghai, as cited by financial media outlet Yicai.

"To fundamentally solve the problem, other supporting measures are still needed, such as raising the prices of medical services, so that medical staff and medical institutions can receive reasonable remuneration and see their true value reflected," Cai Jiangnan, an economics scholar, also executive chairman of the CHIP Academy, told the Global Times.

Cai also suggested establishing a fair system of pharmaceutical production and distribution, and improving China's ability to conduct research and manufacture innovate drugs.

Medical anti-corruption may cause "growing pains" in the short term, but it will bring long-term wellbeing and win the hearts of the people, Cai said.

At the end of 2019, I accompanied an American and German media delegation to the offices of Chinese tech giant Huawei. Although it was only for one day, this brief encounter gave me a deeper understanding of this company.

In May of the following year, when Washington imposed a severe embargo to cut off the supply of high-end chips to Huawei, the Americans had actually done something stupid. In doing so, they were pushing the Chinese company to develop its own chips more quickly.

How did Huawei get to where it is today? During that visit, American and German media colleagues didn't seem to care about that question. Instead, they repeated queries about Huawei's relationship with the Chinese government and what level of technology the company had reached. After Huawei's mobile phones broke through the limitations of 5G chip technology, I've been thinking: If Washington could start to understand this Chinese tech giant from a spiritual level rather than just speculating on Huawei's technology and relationship with the government, perhaps it wouldn't have made that decision to embargo the company.

However, the Americans will not view this Chinese company in this way because what they despise most in their bones is the spirit of the Chinese people.

Washington has never considered giving China's rise and the development of made-in-China equal status. They feel threatened by the competition and believe that China is still copying or following US technology. As long as the containment of critical technologies is in place, the US believes it can stay ahead of the competition. This traditional view about the Chinese is full of ideological bias and causes Washington to underestimate Huawei's capabilities. So much so that some US experts were anxious and even shocked to learn that the Chinese company's new mobile phones used homegrown chips.

I remember during that visit, Huawei Chairman Liang Hua, after briefly introducing his company's development, suggested foreign journalists read about the 32-year long history of the company. Fortunately, I was given a book on Huawei's history, and learned about the company's development process and the struggles of many Huawei employees worldwide.

It was revealed that in 2009, when Huawei had more than 100,000 employees, about 1,400 of them were flying somewhere every day. A middle manager from Huawei said that whenever there are plane crashes or disappearances, he prays that no employees from his company were involved. 

Any Chinese individual who visits Huawei's offices will likely feel a strong sense of spirituality through the company's products and technologies. Behind Huawei's widely talked about "wolf culture" lies not a barbaric struggle but a set of modern enterprise payment systems closely linked with the norms of a market economy. The company, which has thrived in China's economic system, has a business model that fully harnesses the spirit of entrepreneurship and the pursuit of wealth, characteristics often associated with the Chinese people.

Chairman Mao Zedong wrote in a poem that nothing is impossible if you have a willing heart. While the Americans may be able to restrict the supply of chips, they cannot suppress the determination of Huawei employees and the Chinese people's spirit to fight for a happier life. Spirit is certainly not everything, but without it, nothing is possible. Made-in-China has come so far that it is inseparable from the traditional spirit of struggle that the Chinese people have, and this spirit is closely related to the concepts of the Chinese people's treatment of work, family and children's education.

Reform and opening-up have provided abundant opportunities for the Chinese people to pursue their dream of poverty alleviation and enrichment. This has also been their source of motivation to pursue wealth, which has been nurtured by the history of Chinese culture and the survival and development of the Chinese people. Any assessment or prediction of China's economy divorced from this point is bound to be misinterpreted and misjudged. By the same token, as long as China's future reform and opening-up revolves around how to continue to unleash this vitality, it will undoubtedly be able to walk out of a new path of modernization.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton never agree on much. But there is one topic they are in curious agreement over: the dropping of charges for the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and his return to Australia.   

The indictment comprises 18 charges, 17 concocted (there is no other word) from the brew that is the US Espionage Act of 1917, risks earning Assange a prison sentence as long as 175 years.

In an effort to convince Washington to drop its ongoing legal proceedings against Assange, who currently awaits extradition to the US in London's Belmarsh Prison, a delegation of Australian politicians has been mobilized.  

The delegation of Australian parliamentarians heading to Washington on September 20 is unusually eclectic. From the outside, they seem a glorious rambling tumble of the country's views. They are doing so as part of what they see as an educating mission ahead of Albanese's October visit to the US capital. 

The delegates are promising slightly different approaches with a similar theme. Senator David Shoebridge wishes to make the case that Assange was an inspiring truth teller about US war crimes. His accompanying college, former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, however, wishes to focus on essentials: Assange committed no alleged offence as a US national. 

In Shoebridge's words, the delegates will also remind US lawmakers "that one of their closest allies sees the treatment of Julian Assange as a key indicator on the health of the bilateral relationship."

Australia is an excellent friend of the US and it's not unreasonable to request to ask the US to cease this extradition attempt on Mr Assange, said independent MP Monique Ryan earlier September. The WikiLeaks founder was "a journalist; he should not be prosecuted for crimes against journalism."

What should be expected when the delegation commences its round of information sessions?  For one, there is nothing to say that those in Congress, the State Department, and the Department of Justice will not give their own serving of teaching to the delegation. The narrative of Assange in Freedom Land is of a kindergarten rosy-simplicity: he soiled US national security by revealing secrets; he endangered confidential sources; he propagandised for open government, a Svengali hoping to seduce the intelligence community into the cause of open government. 

The fact that this visit is taking place ahead of the Albanese visit can be seen in a few ways.  A generous reading is that the prime minister will arrive to an audience aware about the concerns of Australian voters, the vox populi conveyed through representatives across the political spectrum.  

A less charitable interpretation is that Albanese is short of options and short of influence in the corridors of Washington. An ally so servile, so compliant, and so accommodating - one need only sees the AUKUS agreement and its designation of Australia as a forward US military base to monitor and target China - is an ally whose opinions can be ignored. 

The latter view is hard to ignore given the almost snorting dismissal of Australian concerns for Assange at the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations held between the two countries toward the end of July. These were the words of Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong: "[W]e have made clear our view that Mr Assange's case has dragged for too long, and our desire it be brought to a conclusion, and we've said that publicly and you would anticipate that that reflects also the positive we articulate in private."  

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proved less than receptive. Assange had been "charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country. The actions that he has alleged to have committed risked very serious harm to our national security, to the benefit of our adversaries, and put named sources at grave risk - grave risk - of physical harm, and grave risk of detention."

A recent, dressed-up rumor disseminated by the US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy is that a plea deal is in the offing. Former British diplomat Craig Murray has dismissed its credibility. His reasoning is sound enough. US undertakings in this regard are manifold and shallow; they mean little in the context of international law and practice. Sadly, where Albanese is concerned, there is a sense that these efforts are all ultimately conditioned by a process that is out of his, and Australia's hands. Impotent, an ally all too willing to give and all too reluctant to demand, Australia remains the most valuable of abused friend.

A recent mall shooting in downtown Bangkok leaving two dead was particularly shocking. Mass shootings are relatively rare in Thailand despite the Southeast Asian Kingdom's high rate of private firearms ownership. 

However, this is the third American-style mass shooting in recent years.

The suspect, a 14-year-old boy, was put into custody wearing a hat with a prominent American flag on it. Media reports claim the boy suffered from mental illness and was supposed to be taking prescribed medication. It also became known that he indulged in a growing obsession with violence, particularly on unrestricted social media platforms. Before the shooting, he had posted videos of himself training with a firearm at a firing range.

It is a pattern that has already become all too familiar in the US. Now it appears a segment of Thai society is being infected by this same brand of senseless violence. 

All signs point to a mentally ill youth whose condition was compounded by what he consumed and posted on social media, along with the American-style games and media he appears to have been absorbed by. However, much of the Thai media and Thai government seem to be reflexively focusing on "gun control" and increased security at public places - treating the symptoms rather than the source of the violence. 

For those who have lived in Thailand over the last two decades, they must have seen a lot of changes. Many of these changes have been very positive. Some of these changes are negative, and are clearly imported from abroad. 

Western-style fast food has bloated the waistlines of Thais in ways unrecognizable, compared with just 10 years ago. The youth are increasingly covered in Western-style tattoos and have adopted a distinctively Western, highly self-centered perspective relative to Thailand's traditions of hierarchy, respect for one's elders, community, family and one's personal sacrifice for the collective good.  

In many ways, these changes are shaping certain segments of the population in a way that looks more American than Thai, and these changes come with many of the chronic problems that undermine social stability in the US. 

One of America's biggest problems is its toxic culture of dehumanization and violence. It is something that is purveyed through not only the media -- through games, movies and TV series -- but also through acts of very real violence, including mass shootings, carried out across the US at alarmingly frequent intervals. 

Beyond this, America's toxic culture of dehumanization and violence is expressed through US foreign policy. The US maintains hundreds of military bases abroad including in nations it illegally occupies, and has waged wars of aggression against nations from North Africa to Central Asia and everywhere in between. 

The American public and those who consume US media are told that America holds primacy over the world and that American interests come first, even at the expense of other nations. This foreign policy expressed at the highest levels of American society filters down to the culture of violence that plagues American streets where perpetrators do not see or consider the humanity of their victims, just like Washington does worldwide.

Looking at Americans today, we see just what being more "Western" means and the consequences it has on the nations being transformed in this way. 

It is no surprise then that Thailand's youth find themselves increasingly falling into a similar culture of dehumanization and violence, influenced and inspired by modern American "culture" and "values." 

While the Thai government should look into stricter gun controls to ensure firearms are not sold to the mentally ill and/or to minors, someone infected with these particular American exports will remain a danger to themselves and others with or without access to firearms. Collectively, a population infected by this culture, or lack thereof, risks destabilizing in many of the ways we now see Western nations unraveling.  

For Thailand as a nation, its economic success is built on agricultural and industrial exports as well as tourism particularly from the rest of Asia. Social harmony is part of what has always made Thailand an attractive destination for tourists and a partner for regional neighbors. Allowing Thai society to be slowly infected by these American exports of dehumanization and violence, is to forfeit some of Thailand's best attributes.

Thailand cannot solve a growing trend toward American-style dehumanization and violence through "gun control" and increased security alone. It can only solve this and other social sicknesses by first recognizing them, then protecting themselves against them, and encourage social harmony as well as elements that prom

The CR400BF-GZ train, the smartest and most frost-resistant Fuxing bullet train model, was deployed in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Monday. It's the coldest and highest region the model has been used in so far. The Fuxing bullet train has a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The trains will be operating for the first time during the ongoing 40-day chunyun or the Spring Festival travel rush on routes in China's northernmost alpine region, China Media Group reported.

Compared with other Fuxing models, the CR400BF-GZ has the highest speed level. It is more resistant to low temperature and snow and can operate under an extreme cold environment of -40 C.

The advanced technology represents a major breakthrough for China's high-speed railway technology. The nation's independently developed model can meet the operational demand under various temperature conditions.

The designated system and parts used for constructing the model have all been specifically equipped with low temperature-resistant design, while ensuring smooth ventilation and effectively preventing snow and ice from entering the equipment compartment through the filter.

The train is also more intelligent with advanced technology implemented in targeted fields such as safety monitoring, aiming to further elevate the service quality.

Two sets of the trains will undergo a series of test run, and start operating on lines in Heilongjiang.

The world's first hydrogen-energy urban train with independent intellectual property rights officially rolled off the assembly line in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Wednesday. The train adopted the key core technology of the Fuxing bullet train, with a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

In half a month, two economic powerhouse provinces in East China relaxed their household registration limits, leaving many wondering what the lifting of rule which once restricted migration between rural areas and cities signals for the country? 

Household registration, known as hukou in Chinese, was formed in 1958. It serves to categorize citizens as either rural residents or non-rural residents.

For a long period, almost all large cities have set strict household registration thresholds, the more economically developed, the higher the bar for registering a local hukou. Obtaining a Beijing and Shanghai hukou could be very difficult as the top cities tend to restrict population growth from becoming overcrowded.

Jiangsu Province recently drafted regulations aiming to relax limits for registering a hukou, allowing residents from rural areas to register themselves in cities, except Nanjing and Suzhou.

Earlier, except provincial capital of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province also announced to ease restrictions.

A VOA report interpreted the policy shift aimed at propping up China's housing market.

Ma Li, former director of China Population and Development Research Center, told the Global Times that the driving force behind allowing new arrivals to become permanent residents in urban areas is aimed at expanding the available urban talent pool to boost local economic development. 

Propping up the housing market is not an explicit goal set by officials, but could be one of those benefits of scrapping household registration limits, Ma noted.

Niu Fengrui, a researcher from Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times that linking the current economic situation to hukou policy reform is too short-sighted, because the essence of lifting household registration curbs is aimed at closing the gap between rural and urban regions and accelerating the urbanization of rural populations, allowing citizens to enjoy equal basic public services, which serves the overall goal of achieving the country's modernization for the wellbeing of all Chinese people. 

Optimizing population distribution

The reform of allowing rural hukou holders to register in urban cities is not a new concept. In 2014, the third meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform proposed to facilitate 100 million rural migrants and other residents to resettle into urban areas by 2020.

Previously, Guizhou, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Hainan, Guangxi and other jurisdictions have also proposed full opening-up of household registration. At least 18 provinces in China have relaxed restrictions on household registration to date, according to media reports.

However, the policy shift may be less attractive to current residents in rural areas as obtaining a urban hukou leads to a possibility of losing their rural land contracting rights and their rights to use residential land. In well-developed provinces including Zhejiang, the shortened gap between rural and urban regions' living standards means any move to further relax restrictions only delivers marginal benefits, Ma noted. 

But, rural hukou holders who now work and live in urban areas will certainly embrace the change which allows them to move their permanent place of residence to larger cities. It will grant them the equal access with urban citizens to employment, social security, family planning and other social services, Ma said. 

Zhejiang Province said it will increase quotas for public schools and improve capacity for children of residence permit holders to receive education. 

Cai Fang, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, calculated that the number of migrant workers who live in urban areas but do not hold an urban hukou is likely between 130 million and 170 million. 

But Ma also noted if rural hukou holders convert their registration to an urban area but still are allowed to hold their rural land contracting rights, an urban hukou would become very attractive because of access to better education and employment in cities. "Cities are on the process of optimizing the relevant measures." 

For provincial capital cities including Hangzhou, first-tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou where public resources are already stretched, however, the opening up of the household registration policy is unlikely in the short term, experts said. 

According to a recent announcement by China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on further relaxing household registration, a points-based household registration system for mega cities with a permanent urban population of over 5 million will also be optimized, encouraging local governments to lift restrictions on annual quotas for local household registration.

"The removal of the household registration system has been discussed for many years in China, I personally believe that the economic and social conditions to scrap the policy are already in place, but the traditional mindset of hukou has slowed down the process of household registration reform." 

The lifting of hukou restrictions will lead to the concentration of populations in urban areas and the decline of rural populations, several demographers noted. 

Following major reform and opening-up, China's urbanization level has increased rapidly, rising from 17.92 percent in 1978 to 64.72 percent in 2021, with the country's urban population reaching 914.25 million, the Guangzhou Daily reported citing Xiao Jincheng, former director of Institute of Land Development and Regional Economy affiliated with the NDRC.

In other words, every year, more than 10 million people move from rural areas to urban areas, find jobs and live in cities. It is believed that China's urbanization level will exceed 70 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. In the next decade, more than 100 million people will migrate from rural areas to cities and towns, Xiao said.

In the future, as more rural hukou holders move to cities, the country's rural areas are expected to be revitalized as technology-empowered agriculture will nurture professional farmers and ensure talent remains in the farming economy, Ma told the Global Times. "Like those towns in Europe, each town has its own characteristics and own way of development."

Achieving the country's modernization is the process of re-optimizing the layout of China's population, Niu concluded.

Normal is the new strange for the world’s largest cave salamanders.

Biologists are thinking deep thoughts about why some of Europe’s olm salamanders living in darkness have (gasp!) skin coloring and eyes with lenses.

Most salamanders, of course, have skin pigments and grow adult eyes like other vertebrates. But after eons of cave life, olms (Proteus anguinus) have become mostly pinkish-white beasts, about 30 centimeters head to tail, that spend long lifetimes (maybe 70 years) slinking in cold, subterranean water.
Living at 11 to 12° Celsius, olms don’t mature sexually until about age 11 for males and 14 for females. Even then, they never really grow up, staying in water like giant larvae and keeping such youthful features as neck fluff gills into old age. “They look a little creepy, especially if you look at the skull,” says Stanley Sessions of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Their blunt heads have no real upper jaw, and their adult eyes start to form but then regress to nubbins buried under skin.
These salamanders live frugally. They can go more than a year without eating. (Lilijana Bizjak Mali of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia says a lab-dwelling olm survived even after more than 10 years without food.) Females take six-to-12-year breaks between laying eggs, which “develop extraordinarily slowly,” Sessions says. Recently laid olm eggs in Slovenia’s Postojna Cave took about seven weeks to start forming a nervous system; a common spotted salamander takes about one.

Among extreme cave-lifers, the oddballs are the more normal-looking salamanders (for now, called subspecies parkelj), with dark skin and better-developed eyes. For decades, biologists treated these curios as remnants of the most ancient olms that haven’t shed all their daylight ways. But rather than putting the dark salamanders at the base of the genealogical tree of olms, a genetic analysis places them higher among more recent, pale lineages.

“This forces you to consider that the black one probably evolved from white ancestors by reversing cave adaptations,” Sessions says. In evolution, “weirder things have happened.”