China's state security agencies have successively cracked thousands of intelligence theft cases involving Taiwan spies and have dismantled a large number of intelligence networks, according to China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).
An article published by the Wechat account of MSS on Tuesday pointed out that in the face of the arrogance of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the state security agencies have taken resolute and forceful actions against "Taiwan independence" forces, constantly consolidating and expanding achievement of anti-secession, countering interference and countering espionage work. They have also taken strict precautions, and harshly cracked down on and sternly punished all intelligence theft, espionage and sabotage activities targeting Chinese mainland.
On June 21, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the ministries of public security, state security, and justice jointly issued a set of guidelines for imposing criminal punishments on diehard "Taiwan independence" secessionists or those conducting or inciting secession.
Also both the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office and China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) added a special column to their official websites which list the names of diehard "Taiwan independence" secessionists in early August.
A total of 10 diehard "Taiwan independence" secessionists including Su Tseng-chang, You Si-kun, Joseph Wu and Hsiao Bi-khim were listed in the column.
State security agencies have launched a series of special operations, cracked thousands cases of intelligence theft involving Taiwan spies, dismantling a large number of espionage networks established in the mainland, the MSS article revealed.
State security agencies have comprehensively strengthened work to punish and deter "Taiwan independence" forces in accordance with the law.
The state security bureau in Wenzhou city, East China's Zhejiang Province, summoned Yang Chih-yuan, a suspect from Taiwan, for investigation over his alleged involvement in "Taiwan independence" secessionist activities and of suspicion of endangering national security in 2022.
The arrest and investigation of Yang have set a judicial precedence for holding "Taiwan independence" secessionists accountable for suspicion of secession, dealing a heavy blow to those who pursue "Taiwan independence."
In addition, state security agencies have resolutely fought against the activities of "relying on external forces to seek independence" and using the Taiwan question to contain China, disrupting "Taiwan independence" secessionists' attempts to collude with external forces and counter the intervention of external countries in Taiwan question, the MSS article said.
The likelihood of conflicts spilling over in the Middle East continues to rise as Hezbollah said on Sunday it had launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at Israel with Iran reportedly expected to attack Israel as early as Monday. A potential direct confrontation between Iran and Israel has emerged as the most significant manifestation of the spillover effects of the Palestine-Israel conflict, yet given Iran's domestic and international situation, an all-out war with Israel seems unlikely, said experts.
Three US and Israeli officials told US media Axios that they expect Iran to attack Israel as early as Monday. Iranian and Hezbollah officials have vowed to retaliate for the assassinations of Hezbollah's top military commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Experts expect any Iranian retaliation could potentially be larger in scope than the one in April as it could also involve Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said Sunday it had launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at northern Israel in response to Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Al Manar TV.
A potential direct confrontation between Iran and Israel has emerged as a pivotal manifestation of the spillover effects of the longstanding Palestine-Israel conflict in the region, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
Liu said that there is a risk of the conflict spreading beyond the borders of Israel and Palestine, potentially leading to a larger war in the Middle East.
Several countries, including the US and UK, urged their citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial transportation options are still available, amid fears that conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate, media reported.
Although the assassination of Haniyeh on Iran's soil is a blatant provocation to Tehran and will trigger Iran's fierce fightback, given Iran's current domestic and international situation, it's unlikely that an all-out war will break out between Iran and Israel, Liu said.
The US is boosting its forces in the Middle East in preparation for a possible Iranian attack against Israel and sending more warships and fighter jets to the region, the Pentagon said on Friday, according to Axios.
Wang Jin, an associate professor at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies of Northwest University, told the Global Times that the US military deployment is adding fuel to the fire.
"What should be done now is mediation and coordination, especially persuading Israel not to take such extreme actions. The US should do more than just send troops, it should engage deeply and fulfill its obligations in the Middle East," Wang told Global Times.
An intelligent over 10,000-ton heavy-haul train, led by two 12-axle locomotives, traveled from Northwest China's Shaanxi Province to North China's Hebei Province on Saturday, marking the first large-scale application of intelligent driving technology on China's heavy-haul raillines.
Two 12-axle locomotives led a 10,000-ton, 1,400-meter-long smart freight train with 108 carriages along the Shenmu-Shuozhou Railway from Shaanxi to Hebei. This signifies the large-scale implementation of intelligent driving technology for the Baoshen Railway Group's freight locomotives.
To achieve the large-scale application of the intelligent driving technology, Baoshen Railway Group in collaboration with other institutes, has overcome the challenges related to geography, routes, climate, and long gradients, setting multiple national firsts.
The technology now covers electric locomotives from 8-axle to 24-axle models, marking the first time all configurations are available. Previously, pulling a 10,000-ton train required three 8-axle locomotives and six crew members. With intelligent driving technology, only two 12-axle locomotives and two crew members are required now, or just one 24-axle locomotive with a single crew member, greatly improving efficiency and reducing pressue of the railway labor force.
More axles mean greater capacity and stronger traction, allowing fewer locomotives to haul more cargo, helping boost efficiency and reducing labor intensity, experts said.
"The implementation of intelligent driving technology has improved control precision and less labor-intensive," said a representative from a branch of Baoshen Railway Group, as quoted in a CCTV report on Saturday.
The technology first includes rain and snow specific mode which integrates weather information into the train's operating system, allowing intelligent driving control and stable operation in adverse weather conditions.
Additionally, automatic switching with BeiDou Navigation Satellite System's high-precision positioning and obstacle detection, long-distance autonomous obstacle detection and inspection on mainline sections, and panoramic monitoring with remote driving capabilities are all being applied for the first time for the heavy-haul railway system.
"China's railway development follows a dual approach for passenger and freight transport. While passenger transport technology leads globally, freight transport has lagged but is now catching up," Sun Zhang, a railway expert at Shanghai Tongji University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"Our focus on intelligent heavy-haul transport aims to boost load capacity, improve service quality like shock absorption, and ensure safety. Enhancing freight efficiency helps us catch up with developed countries and supports the national dual carbon strategy, " said Sun.
The Shenmu-Shuozhou Railway, operated by the Baoshen Railway Group, is a national Class-I double track electrified heavy-haul railway crossing the country's plateaus. It is a crucial coal transport route from western to eastern China, travsering challenging conditions including a minimum turning radius of 400 meters and a maximum slope of 12 permil, placing a high technological burden on the rail operator.
From 2019 to 2023, the number of intelligent heavy-haul trains has reached 30, safely operating a total of 2.08 million kilometers and completing 9,508 trips, carrying 41.07 million tons of coal, according to a Xinhua report on Saturday.
The intelligent heavy-haul driving system have received SIL2 international safety certification, reflecting China's capacity in mastering core technologies in high-end manufacturing, while further enhnacing the competitiveness of China's railway transport, according to Xinhua.
A woman was reported to have hidden her pet in a backpack to bypass security checks and gain entry into the Shenshuping giant panda base of Wolong National Nature Reserve in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to a statement released by the base on Monday.
The individual, surnamed Zhu, was aware that pets are not allowed at the park, yet she concealed her pet in a backpack to bypass security checks while staff were screening other visitors.
After being informed of the situation, Zhu was taken out of the park in the first instance, and the base staff immediately called local police. Due to Zhu's violation of the park's regulations and the potential risk posed to the giant pandas, she has been permanently banned from re-entering the Shenshuping base.
The employee in charge of the screening process has also been dismissed.
The base on Monday also reported several visitors spitting in the panda's activity area, resulting in a lifetime ban from re-entering the Shenshuping Base.
The base reminded visitors to maintain civility, comply with the requirements for visiting the park, strictly prohibit the carrying of pets, flammable and explosive, poisonous and harmful substances into the park, do not feed, do not throw objects, do not smoke, and jointly protect and conserve giant pandas.
US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla is recalling more than 1.68 million cars in China starting from Tuesday to fix a software problem so as to reduce risks of collisions, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said.
The recalled models include the imported Model S and Model X and domestically made Model 3 and Model Y produced from October 2020 to July 2024, according to a statement on the regulator's website.
Some of the vehicles included in the recall may have a higher risk of software failure to be detected when the bonnet is unlocked. Due to the issue, these vehicles' front trunk covers may spring up and block a driver's view under extreme circumstances leading to a collision on the road, according to the statement.
The issues can be fixed through over-the-air software updates, it said.
The Chinese recall follows the recall of 1.85 million Tesla cars on US roads last month after the US highway safety regulator identified a similar issue. An unlatched hood could fully open and obstruct the driver's view, raising the risk of a crash, Reuters reported earlier, citing US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This is not the first time that Tesla has launched a large-scale recall. In January, Tesla announced a recall involving more than 1.6 million of its vehicles in China due to safety risks.
However, despite the Biden administration's intensifying trade and technology suppression on China in recent years, the US electric vehicle giant has moved toward forming closer business ties with China to bet on the great potential of the Chinese market.
Tesla's financial report for Q2 2024 showed that the annual vehicle capacity of the Shanghai Gigafactory has surpassed 950,000 units, ranking first among its plants, which helped the EV maker significantly increase deliveries in several markets in the world.
According to latest data released by the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla's sales of China-made EVs jumped by 15.3 percent on a yearly basis to reach 74,117 units in July, up 4.4 percent from June.
Recently, Tesla was included within a government procurement list issued by East China's Jiangsu Province, which marked Tesla's entry into a local government purchasing list in China for the first time.
In addition, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he expected China to approve Tesla's driving assistance system, Full Self-Driving (FSD) by the end of the year, CNBC reported earlier.
"Pretty soon, we will ask for regulatory approval of the Tesla-supervised FSD in Europe, China and other countries. And I think we are likely to receive that before the end of the year," Musk said during a second-quarter earnings call in June, the CNBC report said.
China is currently at low risk of a monkeypox outbreak and the authorities will likely adjust prevention measures if the outbreak worsens, a Chinese epidemiologist said, after the head of the World Health Organization said he was considering convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing pox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others, were increasing their response to the outbreak.
"As a deadlier strain of pox spreads to multiple African countries, WHO, Africa CDC, local governments and partners are further scaling up the response to interrupt disease transmission," Tedros said on social media platform X.
"I am considering convening an International Health Regulations emergency committee to advise me on whether the outbreak of pox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern."
African health officials said monkey pox cases have spiked by 160 percent so far this year, warning the risk of further spread is high given the lack of effective treatments or vaccines on the continent, according to AP.
In the past week, Chinese embassies in Central Africa and Rwanda warned Chinese nationals in those countries to take increased caution against monkey pox infection.
At present, China faces a low risk of a monkeypox outbreak due to the virus primarily spreading through close physical contact, making it unlikely to result in a widespread epidemic, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen told the Global Times on Monday.
In June last year, China witnessed a small wave of monkey pox infection. Shi Guoqing, an expert from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention explained that the outbreak of monkeypox in China was mainly transmitted through close contact among male individuals engaging in male-to-male sexual behavior.
Of the 106 cases reported in Chinese mainland in June 2023, all were male, with 101 cases confirmed to be among male individuals engaging in male-to-male sexual behavior. Among them, 96 cases had a history of male-to-male sexual contact within 21 days before the onset of symptoms, Shi noted.
The WHO failed to respond to the Global Times as of press time when pressed as to whether the current monkeypox outbreak in Africa will infect China.
However, Lu noted that Chinese government will likely to take prevention measures if the outbreak worsens.
Large models, robots, intelligent manufacturing, autonomous driving… In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made headlines around the world.
In real life, AI has permeated all aspects of everyday life, helping with scientific research in laboratories, assisting in the restoration of mysterious ancient scrolls at archaeological sites, and helping rescue abducted children in the vast sea of humanity. The development of this technology has also raised a number of ethical and legal challenges. Many experts advocate that humans should see this technology as a tool created for the ultimate purpose of serving humanity, making life and work more efficient and comfortable.
In light of this, the Global Times has launched the "AI empowers industry, improves people's livelihoods" series, showcasing the tremendous energy and broad prospects that AI brings across every aspect of society.
This is the sixth installment in this series. The installment sets its sights on Paris, where global top athletes are vying for medals or personal bests. Behind Team China is the growing technological force, which helps them fight to win more scientifically and efficiently with AI tech. In China, the rapidly progressing AI not only plays a crucial role in high-level competitive sports, but also contributes significantly to the development of mass sports, and the popularization of sports culture. Having jumped off the starting block and plunged into the water, Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, at La Défense Arena in Paris, won an Olympic gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle on Wednesday local time, breaking the world record amidst loud cheers.
This particular night echoed the past several months, when the Chinese swimmer and his teammates leaped into the water countless times during training sessions back home. At that time, their coaches and technical staffers gathered by the poolside around a screen, which displayed the complete process of a swimmer's start from the block and underwater movements, with data like the swimmer's entry distance and angle.
"Cameron van der Burgh (South African men's 100m breaststroke Olympic champion) made an entry angle of 37 degrees, which we can use as a reference." Fixating on the screen, they discussed the details of the swimmers' movements, probably for the umpteenth time.
They trained with the help of "SUS large sport model," China's first-ever large model designed for professional sports. Team China at the ongoing Paris Olympics is largely benefiting from AI, as the rapidly developing technology is widely used in China's various fields including competitive sports.
The very front line
Jointly developed by the Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) and a Chinese tech company, the SUS large sport model and its related technologies have been serving the daily training and Paris Olympic preparation of China's several national teams, such as diving, swimming, track and field, gymnastics, and rock climbing, according to Li Yongming, a SUS professor and member of the large model team.
With its vertical models that can study global sports literature data and automatically analyze videos and images from sports training and matches, the SUS large sport model assists athletes to better review and understand their performances with quantifiable metrics, and to make targeted training plans based on the metrics, Li told the Global Times.
As the Olympics unrolls in Paris, busy tech support staff are usually seen in venues apart from traditional personnel like coaches and team doctors. Then how much can AI help China's Olympic athletes striving for gold medal glory?
On Wednesday night local time, China pulled off an amazing 21-15 victory over gold medal favorites Serbia in a men's basketball 3x3 game. When the match ended, some Chinese tech support staff hurried away with videos they just shot during the game.
About one hour later, a detailed analysis with almost all the kinematics data relevant to this game came out. From every move of the players to their physical states, these data will effectively contribute to their post-match summary and preparation for the next match, said Zhang Mingxin, who directs the science and technology support team of the Chinese national basketball 3x3 team at Paris Olympics.
Based on a three-dimensional dynamic capture technology and algorithm, the AI system real-time tracks and analyzes the players' motions and the basketball's trajectories, explained Zhang, who is now in Paris. "Then we can obtain useful data, like a player's real-time load intensity and movement path, and AI-generated professional analyses according to the data," Zhang told the Global Times via phone.
All the dynamic capture process is completed without bothering players in the game, Zhang noted. "Comparing with the previous techs that might require players to wear uncomfortable censoring devices, this system does everything in a contactles way," he said.
Moreover, traditional dynamic capture technologies that depend on wearable censoring devices and GPS (Global Position System) usually have 30 to 40 centimeter margin of error, Zhang said. "But our new system has centimeter-level accuracy, leading the world in this (basketball 3x3) field," he told the Global Times.
This AI system is co-invented by SUS, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and a domestic tech firm. It can provide detailed data and analysis on a short turnaround time, helping the team better recover, prepare the next match and adjust tactics according to different opponents in tight schedule, said Zhang.
AI dynamic capture tech is also being used in Olympic preparations of some other Chinese national teams, such as archery. Xiu Yu, who is responsible for motion and technology analysis of the archery team, earlier told media that more than 10,000 data are generated for every arrow shot by the athlete.
"After processing and analyzing the data, [the AI system] will form a report for which is passes to team coaches," Xiu told to People's Daily in April.
Customized training based on intelligent analysis of big data are widely used in the training of Chinese athletes, said Chen Xiaoping, a distinguished research fellow from the China Institute of Sport Science affiliated to the General Administration of Sport of China.
"The overall improvement of scientific training level is an important way to improve [athletes'] performance," People's Daily quoted Chen as saying on April 8. "Behind the competition of competitive sports is a showdown of technological strength and proficiency."
Being part of the pageant
Only being a spectator of the Paris Olympics is somewhat outdated for China's younger generation. Instead of passively sitting in front of the TV, some young Chinese prefer to actively get involved in the Olympics, being a part of this global sports pageant in creative ways.
China AIGC (AI-generated content) Industrial Alliance, for instance, holds a themed event during the Olympics, inviting AIGC lovers to create Olympic-related picture, music, video works with generative AI tools. The event has received more than 70 unique submissions, with most of the participators being millennials and Gen Zers, according to the alliance's initiator Ni Kaoming. Ni shared some of the highlight works they have received, including an interesting AI-generated animated video that tells the magical journey of a panda to the Olympics. "Although there are some limitations on the use of Olympic elements due to copyright concerns, such as the Olympic rings, there are still many high-quality works that well express the Olympic charm and spirit," Ni told the Global Times.
Chinese tech companies are also offering various creative AI products being specifically designed for the Paris Olympics, which have attracted lots of young Chinese users.
Gen Zer Elaine (pseudonym) shared how she enjoys the Olympics in Shanghai through AI tools. While watching a diving match on Wednesday, she interacts with the event with a "virtual diving expert" - an AI agent of renowned former diving Olympic champion Wu Minxia - on her phone. When the event ends, she uploads her profile photo to an AIGC platform, and seconds later she got an AI-generated poster of her "attending" an Olympic diving match as an athlete.
"And before the Olympics began, I had had a virtual tour to Paris last week with the help of an AI large model," she told the Global Times.
AI does benefit the dissemination of the Olympic spirit and sports culture, Ni noted. "With AI technology, people get much closer to the Paris Olympics, its host city and athletes, and thus make them feel more connected with this pageant," he told the Global Times.
Great sporting potential
The AI market in sports industry is expected to grow from $5.93 billion in 2024 to $20.94 billion by 2029, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of greater than 28.69 percent, according to data from market research company Mordor Intelligence.
Apart from the high-level competitive sports, mass sports is becoming a broader stage for AI applications in China. From last year, AI robots are gradually used in post-match rehabilitation of public marathon events across the country. The AI robots, as the robot team's director Li Xiaoning told the media in January, are more helpful and efficient than traditional rehabilitation ways of ice water and manual stretching.
The current 1.0 version of the SUS large sport model mainly focuses on competitive sports. Li said it will definitively cover mass sports in later versions, adding in more content that general public are interested in, such as how to exercise to lose weight.
The AI dynamic capture tech being used for the Chinese basketball 3x3 team has many potential application scenarios in mass spots as well, Zhang said.
He gave an example: the system can be changed into an AI coach that assists beginners of a certain sports to modify their incorrect moves.
"Also, AI tech can mark people's sport performances by evaluating their moves, and that may encourage entertaining competitions and interactions among friends," he added. " In general, AI will bring sports lovers more fun while making them more productive."
Located on the southeastern coast of Haiyan, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, which has the largest number of nuclear power units and the most diverse reactor types in the country, is stationed.
With a total installed capacity of 6.66 million kilowatts from its nine units, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant generates approximately 52 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. It has been operating safely for 33 years and is at the forefront of global nuclear power operation, earning it the title of "national pride."
During a recent visit to Haiyan, Global Times reporters learned from local residents that the construction of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant has not only boosted the rapid economic and social development in the area but it has also brought tangible benefits to their lives.
"Safety is best ensured when all levels of design and operation have taken sufficient precautions," said Wu Bingquan, a deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Base. For example, at the design stage, the Qinshan base development teams have set significant safety margins. Additionally, they have set a single-failure criterion, meaning that any equipment failure will not compromise overall safety. Furthermore, the plant has set multiple layers of defense in case of any accidents.
"Moreover, multiple regulatory bodies have their personnel stationed at our plant around the clock, monitoring operations and maintenance activities. They have access to all the data and files, providing absolute transparency," Wu noted. He added that operators of the Qinshan plant have also been constantly drawing lessons from nuclear safety accidents that have happened around the world, including the Fukushima nuclear accident.
The average capacity factor of the nine nuclear power units at the Qinshan base reached 96.8 percent in 2023, ranking No.1 globally, and set a new record for the safe and stable operation of similar bases, the Global Times learned from the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Since the 1980s, Qinshan nuclear power plant's construction has followed a policy of "self-reliance with international cooperation." However, due to changes in the international environment, the joint design and development of the plant gradually became unfeasible.
"If joint design doesn't work, we can do it ourselves. If others impose sanctions, we won't back down," Ye Qizhen, chief designer of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Phase II project, said.
Greener and healthier
At the beginning stage of Qinshan's construction, locals had expressed concerns about nuclear power harming the surrounding environment. Decades later, the local residents no longer have these concerns.
Zhu Xuwei, Director of Haiyan's Economic and Information Bureau, said that comprehensive monitoring results over the years have shown that the operation of Qinshan plant has not had a noticeable impact on the surrounding environment. "Instead, both biodiversity and average life expectancy in Haiyan has increased in recent years, with the average life expectancy growing from around 80.6 in 2017 to 82.76 by 2022, ranking among the top in Zhejiang Province."
Adhering to green development, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant has a cumulative power generation exceeding 820 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to reducing 750 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Moreover, it constructed China's first nuclear-powered heating demonstration project.
Nuclear energy is considered an ideal alternative energy to solving the heating bottleneck in southern parts of China and achieving clean heating.
On December 15, 2022, China's first nuclear-powered heating project was completed and put into operation. "I just paid the heating bill last year, it's nearly 2,000 yuan ($275.39) cheaper than before, and more economical and environmentally friendly!" a local resident in Haiyan told the Global Times.
Currently, the project has achieved stable heating for three residential areas in Haiyan as well as some care homes for the elderly, covering an area of nearly 460,000 square meters and benefiting nearly 4,000 households.
Another major use of Qinshan's nuclear power that is closely connected to people's lives is the application of isotopes.
China's production of medical isotopes has been heavily reliant on imports, but the international market's supply capacity cannot meet the growing health needs of the people.
In 2010, Qinshan achieved domestic production of cobalt-60 radiation sources, breaking the long-term foreign monopoly. In 2018, cobalt-60 achieved large-scale exports, enhancing international recognition and influence of China's nuclear technology application industry.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the homemade cobalt source for irradiation was used for sterilizing medical supplies in various locations across the country, which made it possible for China to quickly alleviate the shortage of epidemic prevention materials at the beginning stage of the pandemic. While conventional sterilization of medical supplies takes seven to 14 days, irradiation sterilization by cobalt-60 only required one day.
Currently, Qinshan's annual production of cobalt-60 can meet around 70 percent of the domestic market demand, and some have already been exported to countries such as Thailand and Canada, the Global Times learned from CNNC.
Meanwhile, on April 20, Qinshan achieved the mass production of carbon-14 isotopes by using a commercial nuclear reactor. The carbon-14 isotopes can be widely used for agriculture, chemistry, medicine and other sectors, as well as in detecting helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer.
Before, China's supply of carbon-14 isotopes relied almost entirely on imports, leading to high prices and an unreliable supply, which severely constrained the development of related industries, Fan Shen, a representative from the power plant, told the Global Times.
After the mass production of carbon-14 isotopes, the annual production capacity can meet domestic demand and even allow for partial exports, Fan said.
