More than 5,000 Chinese suspects of economic crimes fleeing overseas have been caught and arrested from over 100 countries and regions by the public security organs across the country since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
A symposium on economic crime investigation work was recently held by the MPS in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, to emphasize the improvement of the public security organs’ professional investigative capabilities and outline the modernization of economic crime investigation work, thepaper.cn reported on Monday.
According to the meeting, since the 19th National Congress of the CPC, public security organs across the country have solved 467,000 cases of various economic crimes, recovering direct economic losses of more than 280 billion yuan ($39.28 billion), apprehended more than 5,000 suspects of economic crimes fleeing overseas from more than 100 countries and regions, and collaborated with the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision to apprehend 14 individuals among the 100 fugitives on Interpol’s Red Notice.
According to meeting notes, nationwide public security economic crime investigation work has consolidated outstanding achievements in combatting against crimes, preventing risks, maintaining stability, and serving the development of other sectors.
The meeting urged to further improve the investigation work, improve the quality of the public security investigative teams, enhance investigative efficiency and deepen the understanding of the rules of public security economic crime investigation work in the new era.
The meeting noted that economic crime investigation work has to be further developed with innovation and the help of big data, to improve technical capabilities.
The work has to focus on cracking down on counterfeit currency, cards, invoices, money laundering, tax-related crimes, securities-related crimes, crimes in finance, and other key areas, to continuously improve the fight against crime.
The discipline of the public security investigative team has to be constantly strengthened to improve the professionalism and capability of the team, according to the meeting.
What does it feel like to dive 100 meters deep under the surface of the ocean with one breath? "The hydrostatic pressure will be 11 times than that a person feels on the ground," Xu Tongtong, Chinese freediver and the country's record breaker, told the Global Times in a recent interview.
A person now titled with two record-breaking champions, the 35-year-old Xu is now the first woman of China reaching 100 meters under the sea level in history, after she claimed a gold in Constant weight (CWT) freediving discipline in Asian Freediving Cup in the Philippines in June.
The win of her first 100-meter try gave her courage.
During July, in another competition she participated in AIDA Panglao Depth Championship in Bohol Island, the Philippines, Xu finished her another 100-meter challenge in the Constant weight bi-fins (CWTB) depth discipline, ranking second place in the world.
"If we compare the 100 meters to the height of a building, it means we are about to jump from the 30th floor to the ground and then climb back to the roof top, with one breath," Xu added. "I feel so happy when I touched and grabbed the tab underwater.
This was a goal I set for myself three years ago, and I feel nice that the world can see the efforts we made as Chinese freediving athletes," she told the Global Times in an interview on the phone at her home in the Philippines.
The two records Xu set pushed China to reach the next level: Since then the depth record of Chinese women in freediving has entered the 100-meter level.
'First try'
Xu now lives in Boho Island, an area covering an area of 3,269 kilometers and known as top island in the Philippines.
The Boho Island has been boasting its hospitality of the freediving lovers. And it is also among the most popular freediving destinations in the country where international competitions are often held here.
But for Xu, the place means much more than a freediving heaven, as both of the two competitions she participated in with record breaking also took place here in Boho Island.
June's competition is her first ever try in challenging 100 meters freediving. "I made it," recalled Xu. "That was an unprecedented experience for me as I remembered my smile as I swam up out of the surface."
Before heading to the competition, she undergone a three-month systematic training where her coach developed a training program cut out for her.
"There were different proportions I needed to devote to in including the physical training and muscle training."
Based on her training plan, the last training Xu had the free diving reached 98 meters under the water. "By two meters deeper during each try, I would reach 100 meters by the time of my competition day."
"This needs a stable state of mind. If you're nervous you fail, but if you're not you win," Xu added.
Explaining the trick of the sport, Xu said that it is the opposite of the others as one needs to calm her/him down to be "as stable as possible in order to slow down the heart rate, which is essential to reduce the oxygen consumption."
A yearn for ocean
Born in Anhui, a landlocked province in East China, the 35-year-old free diver has a nickname Mutou, translated as wood often known by her friends. She also named her social media atlas after Mutou.
She believed in the flexibility of the wood as "a piece of wood can be carved into anything you want. And I wish I can have the quality just as the wood."
Xu started her swimming training as early as 8. Being a professional swimmer, Xu has participated in a string of competitions nationwide, where she won second place as her best result.
Xu's free diving enlightenment came from a video she accidentally came across on social media. As early as 2012, when she saw the famous French freediving champion Guillaume Néry "flying" in the ocean.
"Normally we swim horizontally, but I never try swimming vertically. And I decided to have a try."
From 2012 to 2017, Xu has traveled to islands across the world for freediving, where she would immerse in the enjoyment the ocean brought her.
"If we carry gas cylinders, the bubbles that pop out will keep those sea creatures from approaching us. We are just 'guests' in the ocean, and in the ocean, we are so small," said Xu.
In the years of her career in ocean, she also received help from Israeli freediving legend Aharon Solomons, who she met in China when the later traveled there for freediving classes.
According to Solomons, freediving is a kind of sport that requires intelligence, commitments and common sense, where he believed that Xu has all of them.
Among many sports, freediving can be dangerous, but "she has been outstanding," Solomons told the Global Times in an interview.
"I also feel honored that he coached me during my entering stage of the sport, and I've never experienced from a single injury," Xu recalled her experience when learning from Solomons.
Now in Israel, Solomons is still preparing for more competitions as he told the Global Times.
China's first naturalized basketball player Li Kai'er, who made a scoreless debut for Team China at the FIBA World Cup on Saturday night in Manila, posted the two lines, coupled with a Chinese national flag icon and heart emojis, on social media on Sunday morning.
Contributing only four rebounds and four assists, the 29-year-old, 2.06-meter-tall Minnesota Timberwolves forward, better known to National Basketball Association (NBA) fans as Kyle Anderson, missed all his nine shot attempts during the World Cup game against Serbia on Saturday. Team China swallowed a tough 105-63 loss with Li struggling to deliver a pace-setting performance.
Disappointed Chinese basketball fans rated Li's debut a meager 4.6 out of 10 points, one of the lowest of the team squad, with some even saying that his "assimilation" to the team should not mean playing at their level.
When asked to comment on Li's first game with Team China in the World Cup, Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Hall of Famer Liu Yudong told media that even in the NBA, Li is not a main scorer.
"It would be difficult to rely on his individual performance to compete in the World Cup. Basketball fans should not overestimate the capability of him or the team."
However, it is still too early to feel deflated or to look down on Team China's recruitment of its first naturalized player since growing pains are inevitable for both the team and its new floor general Li as the young squad goes through a period of adaption and adjustment.
Admittedly, despite having a shining resumé and being active for nine years and counting in the NBA, Li has hit a "rookie wall" in the international game under the FIBA basketball rules, Su Qun, one of the best-known basketball commentators in China, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Li has not played against any European powerhouses as strong as Serbia throughout his decade-long career within the NBA. It is hard for his signature slow-motion game style to cut when facing Serbia's well-disciplined defence, Su said.
Outside failing to score, statistics showed that Li could be considered the worst performing individual in the China-Serbia faceoff - when he was on the court, China was losing 35 points more than when the team was without him.
It also marked the most embarrassing debut at an international basketball game for any naturalized player worldwide so far, which, according to Su, shows that Li has not fully adapted to playing with the rest of the squad and that China's tactics system built around him has not yet been established.
Naturalizing Li so he could play for Team China before the World Cup and Paris 2024 Olympic Games was a carefully considered decision and so there is good reason to believe that Li and Team China can deliver well-engineered games, Wei Qi, a basketball commentator with the Beijing Radio and Television Network, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Also, it would be unrealistic to expect that the young man from New York could instantly adapt himself to the European basketball style that China's new head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, who is from Serbia, is known for, Su noted.
The only nine shot attempts showed that Li has a strong will to better coordinate with Djordjevic's team basketball play style, Wei said.
Chinese basketball commentators and fans still have high faith in Li, and there could be a strong rebound in the remaining two games in the World Cup group competitions, where Team China is set to take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico. As they won't be going up against powerful Serbia, that means victory is much closer in reach for the team.
Players with South Sudan who are mostly playing in the development league of the NBA or at that level are entirely different than those with Serbia. Although they also have great physicality, Li may find that kind of game more familiar and there is a great chance Li can deliver a great comeback individual show in the next game on Monday with South Sudan.
The bad performance China had battling Serbia could also be the result of a "strategic retreat" for the sake of better preparation for matchups with more evenly matched rivals, which is quite common in international tournament games, analysts said. Therefore, there is only more hope that China will bounce back with force in the next games.
China aspires to be the best-performing Asian team in order to win direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in 2024. All six Asian teams competing in the World Cup, including tournament hosts Japan and the Philippines, suffered losses in the first round.
The Chinese duo Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping bagged the first gold medal of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou in the women's lightweight double sculls. The pair shared their proud feelings of winning in the hometown and their top goals for the Paris Olympics 2024.
During an interview on Sunday afternoon, the duo shared with the Global Times their shiny gold medals, as well as their calloused and scarred hands.
They said they didn't feel exhausted or laborious because of it. "People in all walks of life have hard times. Since we chose this path, we must strive to be the best we can be," Qiu told the Global Times.
Talking about the match, Qiu said that she was extremely excited when she saw the national flag and heard the national anthem as they rowed past the terminal line.
Zou, a Hangzhou local, was excited over the support she received at her hometown. "Usually, we only hear (spectators cheering) in the last 250 meters of the red buoys, but today we can hear it in the 500 meters, which is quite exciting.
Qiu also shared the excitement over the home crowds. "I would like to thank you all for coming today," she said. "I saw so many people paying attention to rowing today. I am really touched. I hope everyone will pay more attention to rowing in the future."
Speaking of the next goal - Paris 2024, the pair did not hide that they are reaching for the top podium.
"Since we walked off the Hangzhou podium, Paris has become our goal," Qiu said. "We will restart from zero, completing every training session whole heartedly. We wish to go to the top in Paris."
Zou noted that the gold medal in the Asian Games will help them prepare and build self-confidence.
Zou said that she and her partner have developed a tremendous rapport in life. "We eat, live and sleep together, and will get to know each other more and more in life, from every detail, and then bring this tacit understanding to the boat."
In the match on Sunday morning, Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping finished well clear the other rowers, finishing at 7:06.78, about 10 seconds ahead of Team Uzbekistan in second, while Indonesia claimed the bronze medal.
Since joining hands, they have achieved a series of impressive results. In 2022, they finished second in this event at the World Rowing Cup in Belgrade. The pair has already qualified for the Paris Olympics through the 2023 Rowing World Championships.
On Sunday, the first matchday of the Hangzhou Asian Games, China's rowing bagged six gold medals, taking their all-time Asian Games rowing total to 104, including 98 golds, and they are likely to surpass the 100 gold medal-mark on Monday.
Archaeologists will perform desalination on the Nanhai (South China Sea) No.1, the shipwreck of a cargo ship from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and remove caissons for permanent protection, an expert from the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong in Yangjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Starting in 2013, excavation work on the shipwreck was officially finished in November, 2023. The upcoming work marks the beginning of a new phase as the focus of efforts shifts from excavation to overall preservation, research, interpretation, use, exhibition, and academic exchanges, according to a press release the museum sent to the Global Times on Friday.
Chinese archaeological teams have transferred the ship's hull to the museum, the press release said.
After the completion of a long-term support structure for the Nanhai No.1, the plan for the upcoming years involves the removal of a submerged box that has accompanied the ship's hull for many years. This will allow the public to have a closer look at the true appearance of the ship's body, read the release.
Ye Daoyang, deputy director of the museum's Underwater Archaeology and Technology Department, told the Global Times that the National Cultural Heritage Administration initiated the comprehensive protection and excavation project for Nanhai No.1 in November 2013.
From 2013 to 2023, Chinese archaeologists have focused on the comprehensive excavation phase after salvaging the entire ship, which involved cleaning the silt and artifacts inside the ship's body, leaving only the ship's structure. The next steps will include mapping the ship's body and performing desalination protection.
According to Ye, protecting and preserving a sunken wooden ship from the sea is a global-level challenge, and the Nanhai No.1, an 800-year-old shipwreck, is entering a critical phase in the long-term protection, research, and restoration of the ship's body and underwater artifacts. Various tasks, including the effective removal of sulfur-iron compounds and soluble salts, and dehydration and shaping, will be undertaken in the coming years to ensure the long-term and safe preservation of the Nanhai No.1 and its underwater artifacts.
In August 2023, archaeologists successfully completed the extraction of artifacts from the ship's hold. Exceeding 180,000 items, the recovered artifacts include various kinds of ceramics, gold, silver, copper, human remains, marine life, and terrestrial plants and animals, as well as glass and other material specimens. The ceramics include products from most of the ceramic kiln sites of the ship's era. The total weight of iron concretions exceeded 130 tons, CCTV reported.
Archaeologists once commented that the Nanhai No.1 archaeological project has set a benchmark for underwater archaeology in China, while providing a Chinese solution for the comprehensive protection of sunken cultural heritage worldwide. This excavation has enriched the historical records of the Maritime Silk Road, offering a clear glimpse into international maritime trade 800 years ago and showcasing the history of this important trade route to the world in the 21st century, according to CCTV.
“One, two, three, post the product links!” “Please press the button and give us a thumb-up” “exactly!” the “vibe group,” which means a group of people who are pumping some life into live-streaming and coordinating with live streamers top help steer customers to buy products. The group also billed as the “E-commerce straight man/crosstalk” by Chinese users has stirred a craze in recent weeks on Chinese media platforms such as Douyin and Sina Weibo.
The “E-commerce crosstalk” is said to earn 8000 yuan ($1,450) per month depending on its wisecrack sentences. “Learning these sentences, you can easily earn over 10,000 yuan ($1,552) per month, quipped by several netizens.”
For the “E-commerce crosstalk” or people who coordinate with live streamers to help sell their merchandise, it is their specialization. However, others believe that this is confusing to consumers.
The “E-commerce crosstalk” is also known as the center control of the live stream. The work of the center control spans across the pre, mid and post-stage of the live stream, and needs to be responsible for equipment debugging, backstage operation, maintenance of the live stream order, data review and other contents.
They usually create a warming vibe to help live streamers sell products such as “I want 100k likes, could you guys help me to get them, please” or “Post product links!” These are normal psychological suggestions for customers which don’t break any of the rules of how to conduct business.
While, the “E-commerce crosstalk” group doesn’t just control the tempo, they also have another important role—they create a sense of urgency for customers, making them buy now, such as “My friends, the last one! Hurry, buy it now! ” “How many left? No, almost out of stock, only 30 left!” “Buy more today! hurry up my friends! Go to the yellow cart, find the 1st link! Great price, great quality!”
“These practices are creating an illusion of inventory constraints to mislead customers,” Fan Xiaolin, a Beijing-based lawyer told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Legally, this is infringement of the consumer’s right by means of crosstalk, bullet chat and false propaganda. And those who bring rhythm to the live stream and cause chaos in the public order of the network will be held criminally liable, he added.
Meanwhile, the law on the protection of the rights of the consumer in China also stipulates that they have the right to be informed, and that consumers have the right to know the truth about the goods they buy, use or services they receive. Operators who provide consumers with information about the quality, performance, and expiration date of goods or services should be truthful and comprehensive, and advertising or marketing should not be false or misleading.
The unrealistic atmosphere created by the “E-commerce crosstalk” can easily mislead consumers, causing them to make irrational purchases. The 2020 China Live E-commerce Industry Research Report shows that the average return rate of live e-commerce is as high as 30 percent to 50 percent, which is much higher than the traditional e-commerce return rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.
To address these concerns, Fan advised that when consumers find that for the sale of goods they encounter false advertising, violation of rights and interests, they can promptly collect evidence and go to the relevant departments to file a complaint or file a lawsuit. They can also ask the seller to pay compensation.
In September of this year, Bozhou Public Security Bureau, East China's Anhui Province, took down an illegal business criminal gang. They were buying cell phones to build a server room, and organize personnel for an e-commerce platform to provide followers of the live stream interaction. They had been posting fake reviews and a false number of sales to increase the popularity of the merchants and improve their sales.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that the relocation of Gaza residents from the north to the south as ordered by the Israeli military is extremely dangerous.
After days of airstrikes, the Israeli military has ordered the Palestinians in Gaza City and its surroundings to move to the south of the territory, said Guterres. "Moving more than 1 million people across a densely populated warzone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous - and in some cases, simply not possible."
Hospitals in the south of Gaza are already at capacity and will not be able to accept thousands of new patients from the north. The health system is on the brink of collapse. Morgues are overflowing; 11 healthcare staff have been killed while on duty; and there have been 34 attacks on health facilities in the past few days, he said before walking into a Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The entire territory of Gaza faces a water crisis as infrastructure has been damaged and there is no electricity to power pumps and desalination plants, he added.
Guterres said the situation in Gaza has reached a dangerous new low.
The horrific terror attacks by Hamas on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and injured thousands more on Saturday were followed by intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza that has already killed 1,800 people and injured thousands more, he noted.
Guterres called for immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza so that fuel, food and water can be provided to people in need. He called for respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law, and for the protection of civilians. He also called for the immediate release of hostages in Gaza.
"It is imperative that all parties - and those with influence over them - do everything possible to achieve these steps," said Guterres.
The UN chief also warned against hate speech stoked by the conflict - across the Middle East and around the world.
"Dehumanizing language that incites violence is never accepted. I call on all leaders to speak out against Antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and hate speech of all kinds. This is a time for the international community to come together around protecting civilians and finding a lasting solution to this unending cycle of death and destruction," he said.
China's modernization has been an epic journey over past decades. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has become an attractive destination for many foreigners. Many such expats in the country have fulfilled their career aspirations, while some have found love and started families in China.
Why do they choose to live in China? How do expats in China view and interpret China's achievements and persistence as measured from various perspectives? The Global Times interviewed multiple international residents in China from all walks of life, some of whom have made tangible contributions to China's development, to learn about their understanding of the essence of Chinese culture, and gain an insight into how far China has advanced in its pursuit of development and rejuvenation over the last decade. If it were not for appearance, you would easily forget that you are talking to a foreigner.
The fluent Putonghua and the sophisticated understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese society make it more convincing when Forster Asare-Yeboah, a Ghanaian musician, said that he takes it as his career to help build a bridge of communication between China and the world via promoting Chinese-style music.
Dubbed one of the most famous foreigner on Chinese social media platforms, Asare-Yeboah has attracted millions of followers in China - more than 6.6 million as of March 11 on Douyin since 2017, for funny videos showing his daily life in Chengdu and videos of him singing songs infused with Chinese cultural elements.
He impressed Chinese audiences in 2019 when participating in The Rap of China, the first youth rap music reality show in China, with a chant combining English, Chinese, and the Sichuan dialect during the audition. He cooperated with a Chinese rapper later in the competition called Black&Yellow which is themed on the China-Africa friendship.
Before that, he had performed one of his most famous songs Welcome to Chengdu on several Chinese TV shows. A translation of the lyrics reads: "I have seen very many cities and landscapes, from New York to Brazil, [but] I only fell in love with Chengdu."
He, in fact, has never expected to settle down in China when he came to the country for the first time in 2008.
While studying at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, a cultural hub in the country's Southwest Sichuan Province, he gradually fell in love with local culture - which, while being slow-paced, is open and comfortable - and realized that the way people see China from outside of China was very different from the reality on the ground.
This is the place Asare-Yeboah thinks he can do some work on.
Chengdu not only has excellent musicians, but also has an inclusive music creation environment. When I heard music made by musicians from Chengdu with its own characteristics and can be accepted by foreigners, I decided to make music in Chengdu, he told the Global Times.
"Maybe I'm doing music, but I'm not just talking about this industry. I feel like every kind of business outside and in China should work on communication because so many things can be done if they really come together to talk and share ideas, because present-day China is not the China from 30 years ago," Asare-Yeboah told the Global Times.
Now he is a rapper, musician, and producer, and has his own studio in Chengdu. He also has a new name: Li Kui, which comes from an ancient martial arts novel about China, to be easier accepted by his Chinese fan base.
As a rapper, he has created Chinese-style songs or remixed some popular ones and posted them on YouTube and Douyin to promote them to a larger audience.
A remix of the Chinese-style song Mang Chung with reworked lyrics combining Chinese and English posted three years ago on his YouTube account has been viewed nearly seven million times so far.
Comical skits and performance videos of him on Douyin have garnered nearly 90 million likes. A song he released in December 2022 containing Peking Opera elements and lyrics written in classic Chinese has gained more than 200,000 likes.
His selection of music video shoot locations also incorporates typical Chinese features or famous scenic spots in China as a strategy to further promote said locations to his audiences. For example, the music video to a song called 11:00, which was inspired by a quarrel between him and his wife before they got married, was filmed at the Qinghai Lake in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, which is China's largest inland salt lake.
As a producer, Asare-Yeboah is scouting for more Chinese talent for the music industry. Nowadays Chinese youth not only understand the foreign market and foreign culture, but also know where they're from. Their music is really good but the biggest problem is the lack of communication, he said.
What Asare-Yeboah is doing now is to try his best, with the connections he has and the experience he has amassed, to find young, talented people and train them to put both cultures together to make something better.
Mostly what I want to do is to find a way to connect the Chinese and African entertainment markets. There are already Chinese people doing business in Africa, but entertainment is still a new market, he said.
There are 56 ethnic groups in China and each group has its unique culture and music. We also have our own culture and music in Africa. I want to combine them together and make great music in the future, he said.
Asare-Yeboah now has lived in China for about 15 years. He is married to a Chengdu local named Zhu Lan and the couple has a daughter who is about four years old.
He said the thing he likes most about Chinese culture is its central focus on family. "It's all about family because no matter what anybody does, the first thing they think about is the family. The biggest change in my life after I came to China is that every time when I think about doing something, I don't just think about myself. I think about the people around me; my wife, my kid, the people I work with, and the people I'm doing business with, because we move together move as a team."
One thing China has really taught me is not to be selfish. That's what I think in China has made me grow up to be a man, he said.
In recent years, Asare-Yeboah witnessed a comeback of Chinese traditional culture, including fashion, dance, and musical instruments, among young Chinese musicians.
His confidence in China and the Chinese musician market's development in the future is consequently growing.
"After all these years of living in Chengdu, I am of the opinion that music in China can be even better because Chengdu people never fail me in music. They always make me feel like Chinese music will always be there because there are always new upcoming artists ready to take Chinese music far beyond China," he said.
The Embassy of Belgium invited Belgians and friends of Belgium in China to the ambassador's residence to celebrate the country's National Day on July 21, which also marked the 10th anniversary of HM King Philippe's accession to the throne. Departing ambassador Jan Hoogmartens gave a speech that concluded his China chapter for himself and four other Belgian diplomats.
The speech was followed by an artistic showcase by Jehanne de Biolley, a Belgian designer that works in fashion, interior design, fragrance and other artistic mediums, and whose ability to weave her Belgian origins into Chinese culture has been recognized by HM King Philippe. For her achievements, she was granted the title of Knight in the Order of Leopold.
Guests enjoyed classic Belgian delicacies such as fries, a selection of exquisite beers and the delicious waffles as well.
