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Advanced equipment including drones with radiation sensors, source-seeking robot dogs, and radiation disposal robots were exhibited at the Hu'an-2024 emergency exercise in East China's Shanghai on Tuesday. These advanced devices provide a reliable guarantee for quickly finding out-of-control radioactive sources and avoiding high-dose radiation exposure to emergency responders.

The exercise deployed nearly 200 sets of the latest domestic radiation emergency equipment, including radiation emergency vehicles, drone-based source-seeking system, radiation source disposal robots, radiation source search robot dogs, and decontamination vehicles, according to The Paper.

The use of robot dogs for autonomous source detection and online dose measurement was one of the highlights of this exercise. Wu Mingming, a deputy director of the Health, Safety and Environment Department at State Nuclear Power Plant Service Co Ltd, told The Paper that the robot dogs were equipped with dose monitoring devices by using custom-developed software for autonomous detection. 

Additionally, the dogs' high-definition cameras, combined with AI tools developed for metal pattern recognition, enable autonomous source detection. With the aid of graphical software and remote videos, the final location of the radiation source can be identified through initial dose detection, he said.

Wu highlighted that traditionally, determining the precise location of a radiation source necessitated personnel to come close for measurements, thereby exposing them to radiation risks. Now, the use of robotic dogs to replace human involvement avoids human exposure to radiation, embodying the principle of human safety first.

This exercise focused on safety-related production accidents in chemical companies that could lead to radiation accidents, setting up scenarios where two radiation incidents occurred and were handled simultaneously. 

It mobilized radiation emergency response forces from Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region for a comprehensive, real-world drill. The key aspects tested included accident reporting, emergency activation, site control, radiation monitoring, source detection and storage, decontamination, and public relations response.

The use of "gantry radiation detectors plus washing vehicles" and decontamination agents tested the Shanghai radiation emergency team's capability to deal with open radioactive contamination. 

The exercise also launched the first integrated response mechanism for radiation safety in the Yangtze River Delta, accumulating experience to enchance the joint handling of such emergency scenario for the six provinces and one city in East China.

Units from the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and US military are conducting the Keen Sword 25 exercises from Wednesday to November 1 at various locations across Japan, seeking to hype up the regional situation with China in mind, analysts said on Thursday.

Keen Sword, the largest US-Japan joint exercise this fiscal year, involves 45,000 personnel from JSDF and the US military, with a total of 40 ships and 370 aircraft from the two countries, Japan's Nikkei Asia reported Thursday.

Related countries are conducting intensive military activities around China.

The US and the Philippines launched the Sama Sama 2024 joint drills on October 7. This year's exercise involved almost 1,000 personnel from the two countries as well as Australia, Japan, Canada and France, media reported.

Some of the countries also sent warships to transit the Taiwan Straits using the excuse of "freedom of navigation."

The US and its so-called allies, using the excuse of addressing regional security tensions, frequently stir trouble in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of escalating the situation for their own benefit, Chinese naval expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US wants to use Japan as a pawn to contain China, while Japan willingly subordinates to the US with the aim of expanding its military influence in the Asia-Pacific, facilitated by the US, Zhang said. "Keen Sword is the two countries colluding with but also exploiting each other."

The two sides will for the first time conduct evacuation drills of residents in Japan's southwestern islands, "in an apparent move to ensure the two allies can coordinate quickly and effectively in the event of a conflict around Taiwan island," according to Nikkei Asia.

The so-called evacuation drills hypothesize military actions by China in the Taiwan Straits. This behavior is essentially hyping the "China threat" narrative with unfounded assumptions, which will further exacerbate regional tensions and send a misleading signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, Zhang said.

In addition to the strategic purpose of containing China, the US is also amplifying security tensions in the Asia-Pacific and frequently stirs up trouble with the hope of exploiting the sense of insecurity among related countries, so as to sell arms to countries like Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and others, making a fortune from the tensions, Zhang noted.

China firmly opposes any form of official interactions with China’s Taiwan region by countries that have diplomatic relations with China, including the mutual establishment of representative offices. China has lodged solemn representations with India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday, in response to a question related to an alleged new representative office established by the island of Taiwan in Mumbai, India.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, Mao said.

Mao emphasized that the one-China principle is a serious political commitment made by India and forms the political foundation of China-India relations.

China urges India to strictly adhere to its commitments, handle Taiwan-related questions cautiously, refrain from engaging in any form of official interactions with the Taiwan region, avoid any interference in the improvement progress of China-India relations, said Mao.

Police in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province have seized 3.5 tons of paleontological fossils stolen by a gang, with a total of 78 bags, according to China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday.

At the end of March, local police received a report of a group of people stealing paleontological fossils at night. 

After surveilling the site for more than 10 days, officers found two men transferring the excavated fossils using a suspicious vehicle.

Police then arrested one of the suspects, surnamed Huang, in the early morning, and discovered 78 bags of fossils hidden in a kiln behind Huang’s bedroom. 

Following identification and verification, the collection of fossils was identified as vertebrate fossils which are under the state protection list with significant scientific research value. Following Huang’s arrest, the remaining three suspects surrendered, according to the report.

In August, the court, in its initial verdict, convicted the four defendants of fossil theft, sentencing them to prison terms ranging from four years and six months to two years and 10 months, and imposed fines on them.

The public is urged to promptly report to the relevant authorities if they encounter any activities involving the resale of paleontological fossils, according to the report.

Some netizens on Chinese social media platforms were shocked by the number of fossils stolen by the gang.

The Indian media's zero-sum mentality and their suspicion of China's normal military exchanges with South Asian countries have been exposed, Chinese experts said, as several India media adopted a wary tone in their coverage of a Chinese naval fleet's visit to Bangladesh. 

Chinese naval training ship Qi Jiguang (Hull 83) and amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan (Hull 999) arrived at Bangladesh's southeastern Chattogram seaport Saturday, kicking off a three-day visit. 

According to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, during the visit, the fleet will organize bilateral meetings with the Bangladesh side and hold open days and receptions on deck, and will conduct professional exchanges and other activities with local people, aiming to strengthen exchanges, cooperation and mutual trust with the Bangladeshi navy.

Yao Wen, Ambassador of China to Bangladesh, welcomed the training fleet at the port on Saturday, according to the Chinese embassy. 

This visit marks the first occasion in four years since a Chinese naval fleet last visited Bangladesh, and it is the first foreign naval fleet to visit since the establishment of the Bangladeshi interim government. The visit holds significant importance for deepening the China-Bangladesh friendship and cooperation, said the embassy.

Indian media outlet The Hindu linked the Chinese fleet's visit to Bangladesh with the construction at the Chattogram Seaport, and alleged the facility had earlier attracted attention as it has the potential to host submarines and warships.

"The visit highlights the complex geopolitical landscape in South Asia, with Bangladesh balancing its relationships with both China and India. While the interim government's foreign policy direction remains to be fully defined, this visit suggests a continuation of the close ties between China and Bangladesh," said Defence.in, an online portal on the Indian defense and aerospace sectors.

Indian media speculation and the wary attitude toward normal military exchanges between China and Bangladesh reveal a zero-sum mentality in how India views China's cooperation with other South Asian countries, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday. Qian noted that this mentality stems from India's entrenched belief in treating other South Asian nations as its own backyard.

Qian said that India has been keeping a close watch on Bangladesh's policy toward China after the interim government took over, and the visit of the training fleet signals that Dhaka's pragmatic cooperation with China in not only military areas, but also in various fields will remain unchanged, as the two countries share profound ties of collaboration and both bear goodwill in pushing forward ties. 

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, met with Luong Cuong, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and permanent member of the CPV Central Committee Secretariat, in Beijing on Friday.

Chinese securities firms are gearing up for Tuesday's stock market opening, as domestic investors are lining up to open new stock accounts following a stock rally driven by policy stimulus measures days before the weeklong National Day holidays.

A staff member of a Guangzhou-based securities firm in South China's Guangdong Province told the Global Times on Monday that some employees of the company's wealth management, brokerage business and IT departments were on duty during the Golden Week, which ran from October 1 to October 7 (Monday), to facilitate new stock account openings and to ensure the normal operation of the technological systems.

"During the weeklong holidays, reservations to open new stock accounts surged by about 150 percent month-on-month, mostly from the post-1980s and post-1990s generations," the Securities Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a manager with Shanghai-based Sinolink Securities Co.

Due to a recent surge in securities account openings driven by market trends, the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation opened its account platform and identity verification system on Sunday, one day earlier than scheduled, to manage the high volume of account reviews, according to media reports.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges conducted tests on their platforms on Monday to ensure a smoother trading experience, as the combined turnover of the two bourses surged to 2.6 trillion yuan ($270.45 billion) on September 30, the last trading day before the seven-day National Day holidays.

While the A-share market was closed during the National Day holidays, shares trading in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region gained momentum.

On Monday, the Hong Kong stock market extended its three-week rally, with the Hang Seng Index closing up by 1.6 percent.

"Given the strong stock market performance in Hong Kong, the upward momentum may continue and the A-share market will likely open higher on the first trading day after the National Day holidays," Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times.

Recently, the country's central bank, top securities regulator and financial regulator announced monetary stimulus measures as well as property market support and capital market strengthening measures, to foster China's high-quality economic development.

"The strength and timing of this round of policy rollouts exceeded the expectations of both domestic and global investors," Yang said.

UBS has announced an upward revision of the year-end target price for the MSCI China Index -- an index that captures large and mid cap representation across China's stock market -- to $70, reflecting improvements in policy coordination, US rate cuts and progress in corporate governance reforms, according to a note UBS sent to the Global Times on September 30.

Thirteen years since the China-Europe Railway Express (CRE), a crucial link in international logistics, began operations in Duisburg, the German city's profile as a key hub on the railway has been steadily rising.

During a recent visit by Xinhua reporters, bustling terminals, ports, and warehouses in Duisburg highlighted the city's growing vitality. The CRE has significantly impacted the local business community.

At one of Duisburg's central logistics centers, AUKLogis GmbH, a German subsidiary of the Chinese logistics company Western Post, provides storage and customs clearance services for clients using CRE services. The company has witnessed a shift in local traders' perceptions of the service, from initial skepticism to recognition, resulting in long-term partnerships.

"Our clients often highlight the railway's speed and reliability, which are unmatched by other freight methods," said Fan Yuliang, warehouse manager of AUKLogis GmbH. As the routes expand and improve, trust in the service has continued to grow.

Daniele Materazzo, an operator in the outbound group for China-Europe Railway Express at AUKLogis, told Xinhua that he now receives better pay and feels a sense of stability working with the company. "Despite our language and cultural differences, we support each other as a team. I feel completely at home here," he said.

Markus Bangen, CEO of Duisburger Hafen AG (Duisport), noted that the railway is strengthening ties between Europe and China, opening up a new international transport market that benefits both economies. Duisburg's profile is steadily growing as a key stop on the railway, attracting investment, creating job opportunities, and driving growth in the logistics sector, he added.

In August, a direct route from Chongqing to Duisburg, traversing the Caspian Sea, was put into operation. The route provides a new option for transportation along the so-called Middle Corridor, a trade link between China and Europe that passes through several central Asian and southern Caucasian countries.

Bangen said that since the participants facilitating the Middle Corridor are familiar with CRE operations, the experience gained over the past decade will significantly accelerate the corridor's development.

While enabling faster and more cost-effective delivery of goods from China to Europe, CRE has also opened new trade pathways for European manufacturers and traders aiming to enter the Chinese market, Chinese Consul General in Dusseldorf Du Chunguo told Xinhua. "This exchange has significantly improved consumer welfare and created jobs along the route."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Sunday exchanged congratulatory messages over the 75th anniversary of the China-DPRK diplomatic ties.

In his message, Xi stressed that he highly values the development of China-DPRK relations, and China is willing to work with the DPRK to take the 75th anniversary as an opportunity to strengthen strategic communication and coordination, deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation, and continue to write new chapters for China-DPRK traditional friendship.

Fifty years ago, not only the archaeological community but also ordinary people were stunned by the excavation of the Mawangdui Han Tombs. Among the findings was a remarkable discovery known as China's "Sleeping Beauty" (Lady Xin Zhui), an over 2,100-year-old lady who looks nearly as good as she did when she was buried after her death at the age of about 50, during China's Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25). The world has marveled at the mystery behind her body, as well as the numerous precious treasures unearthed from the tombs, including textiles, bamboo and silk manuscripts.

In this Mawangdui trilogy, the Global Times Culture Desk explores how digital technologies have brought the public closer to the heritage and how the "Mawangdui IP" was revived by the creative industries. This is the third installment.
Although there are many sites in China that can embody the country's Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) history, Mawangdui is the most exceptional one mainly due to its mysterious finds like the 2,100-year-old mummified aristocrat that is known as Lady Xin Zhui.

Three excavations on the site were carried out from 1972 to 1974. At that time, such excavations brought a research craze to the academic field worldwide. Thanks to new means such as the digital technology, such a scholarly craze in the past 50 years has been extended to the public, especially among the young people.

Decoding mystery

Lady Xin Zhui's silk garments are Mawangdui Han Tombs' stellar artifacts. Due to their brittle and fragile nature, many original pieces are now only stored as archives at the Hunan Museum in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province. To connect the heritage with people, making replication for public display was a crucial task. The task engages both technological tools and the ingenuity of textile experts like Yang Jiyuan.

Yang, a restorer of ancient silk textile in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, has replicated seven Lady Xin Zhui's garments since 2016. She told the Global Times that the printed and painted floss silk-padded gauze robe was one of the most challenging tasks.

Through examination using a microscope and creating 3D modeling of the original "printed and painted gauze robe," Yang revealed to the Global Times that the piece's air-like fabric actually consists of seven sheerest silk layers, and the thickness of each one of them is like "one-third of the tissue's thickness."

Matching such almost disappearing silk textiles together was not the most challenging task. Yang told the Global Times that the "painting" process was even harder since the colors should keep looking "not too vibrant and new."

She said the gauze needs to be "1:1 the same to the original one" that has more than 2,000 years of history. Thanks to advanced technologies that can decode the ingredients and composition of ancient fabrics, Yang discovered that Lady Xin Zhui's garment was painted in natural mineral dye and was covered with an extra "glue-like substance" to make it look understated while in a good shape. She said that she was only one of the heritage protectors in China, who has "felt the responsibility to show the public a legacy's authentic aesthetics and story."

"Technological tools are our assistants. They ensure the history we deliver to the public is correct," Xiang Benshan, a restorer of underwater ceramic relics, told the Global Times.

Cross-field collaborations

Other than the research sector, technological innovations are now diversely applied on shows that relate to the Mawangdui Han Tombs.

Currently, a blockbuster show called The Art of Life: Multimedia Exhibition of Mawangdui Han Culture is ongoing at the Hunan Museum. The immersive digital project, a collaboration between the Hunan Museum, Digital Library of China, and the Harvard FAS CAMLab, presents a new model for showcasing the Mawangdui Han Tombs through multimedia installations.

The show includes three thematic sections such as "Time and Space." They highlight the artistic grandeur and spiritual reflections of ancient Chinese, giving insight into their concepts of life, death and afterlife.

Lü Chenchen, associate director of Harvard FAS CAMLab, told the Global Times that the future of Mawangdui-themed exhibitions lies in global academic collaboration and the integration of advanced technologies such as VR tools and interactive animations.

"By partnering internationally, institutions can leverage cultural IPs like the Mawangdui Han Tombs and digital tools to broaden access to historical knowledge from different perspectives and different disciplines," Lü told the Global Times.

If the research lab and the museum are where the Mawangdui IP provides intellectual inspirations to people, then the site's cross-field collaborations with the cultural and creative industries have made the heritage a joy of people's everyday lives.

The Hunan Museum recently collaborated with a food brand to launch a "Mawangdui spicy strip," one of the favorite snacks by young people that is also known as La Tiao.

At the museum's "digital Han lifestyle experiencing center," symbols of relics like the round lacquer plate and Lady Xin Zhui's garments have been printed on products like scarves, fans and cakes.