China

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months aboard their country’s newest orbital station in the longest crewed mission to date for China’s ambitious space program.

The Shenzhou 13 space capsule landed in the Gobi desert in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, shown live on state TV.

During the mission, astronaut Wang Yaping carried out the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman. Wang and crewmates Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu beamed back physics lessons for high school students.

BEIJING, Apr 15 (APP): Smart Classrooms, a project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is growing vigorously in 50 universities across Pakistan, which may inject new life into Pakistan’s education system in the near future.

According to Chen Chun, project manager from China Railway Signal and Communication Shanghai Engineering Bureau Group Co. Ltd , in the smart classrooms, teaching can be realized both offline and online at the same time, overstepping the boundaries of time and space, and interaction between teachers and students will be much more enhanced.

BEIJING, April 15 (Reuters) - Sun Jian, a 37-year-old master's degree student in the Chinese city of Yantai, for months staged a solo campaign against his university's COVID-19 prevention measures, including blistering criticism on social media.

The last straw for authorities came on March 27, when Sun walked around his campus carrying a placard that read "lift the lockdown on Ludong".

Police detained him and on April 1 Ludong University expelled him, according to a letter from the university seen by Reuters.

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes any form of official exchange between the United States and Taiwan, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday, adding that China will continue to take effective measures to resolutely protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks in response to a question regarding the visit to Taiwan by certain U.S. lawmakers including Senator Lindsey Graham.

BEIJING, Apr 14 (APP): China would continue to work with the new Pakistani administration led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to have close communication at different levels and add new impetus to bilateral cooperation between two all-weather friends and strategic cooperative partners, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

BEIJING, April 14. /TASS/: Chinese authorities will take measures due to increasing pressure on Chinese companies by some foreign partners amid anti-Russian sanctions, an official spokesperson of the Commerce Ministry, Shu Jueteng, said on Thursday.

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government should earnestly protect the equal and lawful rights of African Americans and other ethnic minorities, and turn rhetoric about human rights and equality into reality, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the 2022 State of Black America report.

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) is asking the public to contribute opinions on its 20th national congress to be held in the second half of 2022.

The CPC will receive public opinions and suggestions on the full and strict Party governance, high-quality development, comprehensive reform and opening-up, whole-process people's democracy, law-based state governance, socialist cultural advancement, people's livelihoods and ecological progress.

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan continued to push forward with its plan to discharge radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea despite a host of local and international opposition.

"The contaminated water released into the ocean will spread across the entire Pacific Ocean in 10 years and affect almost all of our sea," said South Korean Rep. Seo Sam-seok at a forum on Monday to seek ways of cooperating with neighboring countries to tackle Japan's plan to dump the nuclear wastewater next spring.

BEIJING, April 13 (APP): The Pakistani and Chinese experts discussed practical challenges in water governance at an online international conference titled Understanding Water Governance and Management Strategies: Finding Solutions for Common Challenges.

The conference was aimed at providing a premier interdisciplinary platform for relevant stakeholders and experts to discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and practical challenges in water governance in Pakistan and China.