China is ready to maintain a momentum of steady and positive development of China-France relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.
China is willing to work with France to make greater contribution to the sound development of China-Europe relations and world peace and stability, Xi said when meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The urban management authority of Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, has started soliciting public opinions on converting some men’s toilets into unisex toilets to deal with the problem of long queues outside of women’s toilets and the unreasonable ratio of male and female toilets. The plan has drawn a lot of attention from the public.
According to a statement on the website of Guangzhou urban management and comprehensive law enforcement bureau, the city will continue to build more public toilets, rebuild and expand the public toilets, as well as conduct rectification on men’s toilets to cope with the shortage of women’s toilets in some parts of the city, Guangzhou Daily reported on Wednesday.
The public toilet plan wants to transform some public toilets into unisex toilets for either male or female, converting some men’s toilets into gender-neutral toilets to cope with the unreasonable ratio of male to female stalls and low utilization of male stalls. The plan also includes the renovation of some toilets.
According to the draft plan, the demand for the number of public toilets in the city will be estimated between 6,405 and 10,675 during the period from 2024 to 2035. The current number of public toilets meets the standard requirements of three to five toilets in each square kilometer, but there is an issue of uneven distribution, The Paper reported on Wednesday.
In addition, the plan also suggests to build children-friendly toilets to cater to the demands from children and provide children with humanized service facilities.
Meanwhile, the plan in solicitation has aroused heated discussions online with many netizens suggesting to build more toilets for women.
According to an official from the urban management and comprehensive law enforcement bureau, the unisex toilets or the gender-neutral toilets refer to all-gender toilets that can be used by either men or women. When a unisex toilet is locked by the user, the light outside will be turned on to show it is occupied, Nanfang Daily reported on Wednesday.
According to the official, Guangzhou has already set up more than a dozen such toilets to flexibly adjust the allocation of stalls for men and women to accommodate different demands at different times, thereby improving efficiency.
According to the plan, 933 toilets will be newly built or expanded by 2035, with 308 among them completing construction or expansion by 2030.
Following the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that on the question of Palestine, China always stands on the side of fairness and justice, and on the side of international law, opposes all acts that violate international law including international humanitarian law, and condemns all moves against civilians and civil facilities.
Spokesperson Lin Jian said the Gaza conflict is still dragging on and unprecedented humanitarian crisis is unfolding. China supports all effort in the international community conducive to realizing fairness and justice and defending the authority of international law on the question of Palestine.
We hope the International Criminal Court will maintain an objective and just position, lawfully perform its duties, and interpret and apply the Rome Statute and general international law in its entirety, in good faith and in line with uniform standards, Lin said.
The ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza," Reuters reported.
Following the ICC's decision, however, a rift appears to be intensifying between the US and its allies over the Gaza conflict, Chinese observers said.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell said "It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the decision of the court has to be respected and implemented," according to Tehran Times.
Meanwhile, countries including Canada, Australia, Italy, the UK and France have said they are legally obliged to support the ICC ruling, and the Dutch foreign minister even said "The Netherlands is 100% behind the Rome Statute," media reports said.
By contrast, US President Joe Biden said in his first statement, "Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security," responding to the ICC decision, which he denounced as "outrageous," according to Times of Israel.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US would not execute the arrest warrants, and called the ICC move a "flawed process," media reports said.
The US' support for Israel is structural and long-term but in fact, there is a serious political divide on the issue, including within the US. Within the Western camp, due to Israel's policies leading to a severe humanitarian disaster, even Canada and some European countries have begun to express differing opinions, Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
Whether it is regarding the arrest warrants from the ICC or previous condemnations and opposition against Israel, a significant gap has formed between the US and Europe, Liu stated.
Liu said it remains uncertain whether the arrest warrant will actually restrict the travel plans of Netanyahu and Gallant.
The US biased support for Israel has positioned it against the international community, resulting in increased isolation and significant damage to its soft power, Ding Long, a professor with the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
The US on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, drawing criticism against the Biden administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting the war, Reuters reported.
Following the arrest warrant, the ICC reached out to member states for cooperation. The court lacks its own police force to carry out arrests and depends on member states to fulfill this responsibility, which they are legally required to do. Israel, like the US, is not a member of the ICC, according to CNN.
When asked how the conflict will be affected following the ICC arrest warrant, Ding believed that despite facing an international outcry, the Israeli prime minister may continue to strike against Hezbollah and Hamas.
Liu said Israel, having already faced severe isolation internationally, is determined to fully implement its policies of eradicating Hamas, as Netanyahu has previously stated.
Pet parking spots have been installed by stores near a shopping mall in Shanghai's Xuhui district to allow customers to shop more freely, with some noting that Shanghai is ahead of the times.
The dog park features a red, apple-shaped structure with three bone-shaped handles for securing leashes, according to the Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet. Dog walkers are provided with the convenience of attaching a leash to the handles to temporarily secure their pets, the Paper said.
A staff member at the store hosting the facility said that the pet parking feature has been available since the store opened to public in August to assist pet owners. "Originally, a feeding bowl was placed next to the facility, but it was later damaged," the sales told the Paper.
The facility quickly generated buzz among netizens. Some praised Xuhui district for its pet-friendly environment and progressive approach. Others expressed concerns about dogs being too close together or the risk of dogs getting lost if not properly secured.
A storekeeper explained that pets are allowed in the store and that the dog park primarily serves to allow customers to shop hands-free. The clerk added that a customer used the facility recently and that staff would help look after pets if requested.
In addition to Xuhui district, other commercial areas in Shanghai, such as Yangpu district that have also set up pet parking spots.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter for the official commissioning of the country's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel Meng Xiang.
A video footage obtained by the Global Times on Monday shows China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have conducted patrol enforcement exercises in formation in the waters of Huangyan Dao recently.
According to the video clip, the drill involved multiple vessels, including large thousand ton-class patrol ships and smaller, more maneuverable hundred ton-class vessels.
The Global Times learned that thousand ton-class law enforcement ships have strong cruising and resupply capabilities, allowing them to stay in the Huangyan Dao waters for extended periods to conduct patrols and law enforcement. Hundred ton-class patrol boats, on the other hand, boast high maneuverability and flexible enforcement tactics, enabling them to pursue and intercept fast-moving targets and carry out boarding inspections.
Huangyan Dao is an inherent territory of China. For a long time, China has continuously, peacefully, and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over the island and its adjacent waters.
On Sunday, China released the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao. The CCG vowed to continuously strengthen patrols and law enforcement in the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao and related maritime areas.
The move came after the Philippines' introduction of the so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act on Friday, for which China has summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China to lodge solemn remonstrations.
The CCG's statement further accuses Philippine authorities of encouraging fishing vessels to illegally operate in Huangyan Dao's lagoon and alleges some Philippine fishermen are engaging in harmful practices like using poison to fish, catching endangered marine species and damaging the fragile ecosystem.
The CCG will continue to strengthen patrols and law enforcement in the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao and related maritime areas in accordance with China's Coast Guard Law, fisheries law, Marine Environmental Protection Law, and other laws and regulations, as well as in reference to international laws such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The CCG will firmly maintain good order in the relevant maritime areas, resolutely protect the ecological environment and biological resources of the relevant maritime areas, and firmly safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, read the CCG statement.
Ding Duo, a deputy director at the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Monday that after delimiting the territorial baselines of Huangyan Dao, the CCG will respond more decisively and specifically to Philippine incursions.
China had previously made temporary arrangements at the operational level for Filipino fishermen in the waters near Huangyan Dao given its friendly relations with the Philippines. However, if the Philippines continues its provocations, China will tighten control over Philippine fishing in the area.
Previously, it is difficult for us to determine where Philippine vessels were violating Chinese waters, now it is clear that whether they have entered exclusive economic zones, territorial waters, or internal waters, Ding noted. "Accordingly, our countermeasures will also be clearer," he said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' pursuit of "Taiwan independence" by aligning with the US "decoupling" agenda will harm local businesses by obstructing cross-Straits cooperation, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council told a press conference on Wednesday.
In response to reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) agreed to halt supplying specific chips to clients on the Chinese mainland starting on Monday, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said that promoting cross-Straits industrial cooperation benefits business development and enhances well-being on both sides of the Straits.
The relevant reports reaffirm that the US is using the "Taiwan card" to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Straits, with the aim of containing China by manipulating the Taiwan question, Zhu said.
The DPP authorities, in their attempt to rely on external forces to seek "Taiwan independence," have blindly followed the US in promoting "decoupling and disconnection" from the mainland, creating additional artificial barriers to cross-Straits industrial cooperation, Zhu noted.
This approach ultimately harms the interests of Taiwan businesses, weakens the competitive edge of Taiwan's related industries and causes the island to miss out on future industrial development opportunities, Zhu added.
The US Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips, of 7 nanometer or more advanced designs, destined for China that power artificial intelligence accelerator and graphics processing units, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an anonymous source.
In a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday, TSMC said that it is a law-abiding company and is committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls.
On November 8, the South China Morning Post reported that TSMC had told clients from the Chinese mainland that it will no longer produce advanced chips for them, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), China's leading tank and armored vehicle manufacturer, unveiled its anti-drone solutions at the Airshow China 2024 after the world witnessed how drones could pose serious threats to ground forces in recent regional conflicts.
The company is displaying anti-drone modules mounted on tanks and armored vehicles, a set of electronic warfare vehicle system and a suite of equipment designed to counter low-altitude, small, and slow-moving drones at the event from November 12 to 17 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.
In line with current trends in military advancements, NORINCO is bringing to the airshow a series of new products, technologies and systems with a focus on distributed combat empowered by intelligent network, demonstrating China's advancements in ground force technology and systems, the Global Times learned from the company at the airshow.
NORINCO is showcasing 225 pieces of equipment, with 68 debuting at the airshow. Featured items include the VT4A main battle tank, VT5U unmanned light tank, VU-T10 unmanned ground combat platform, AR3 and SR5 multiple launch rocket systems, SH15 and SH16A self-propelled howitzers, the Sky Dragon air defense missile system, and Red Arrow anti-tank missiles, along with drones like the BZK005E.
The company has scheduled a product launch event for Wednesday, where it will unveil details about its latest assault vehicle, howitzer, and electronic warfare vehicle.
Cheng Ziheng, a spokesperson at NORINCO, told the Global Times at the airshow that after analyzing recent regional conflicts, it's clear that the nature of warfare has evolved: Large-scale troop battles are now rare, as troops scatter in large areas. Combat has become diversified, as they no longer only feature artillery versus artillery or tank versus tank, as all kinds of elements including electronic warfare and cyber security come into play in dynamic environments. Uncertainty is now central to modern combat.
To tackle these uncertainties, NORINCO is exhibiting a system of hundreds of equipment, named the digitally empowered combined arms brigade combat system.
It has three core qualities: comprehensiveness, resilience and agility, Cheng said. He explained that comprehensiveness provides countermeasures for various threats, resilience ensures the system can withstand attacks without full paralysis, and agility allows for rapid decision-making, command and response.
Cheng emphasized the growing threat of low-altitude, small, slow-moving drones, which increasingly make tanks and armored vehicles vulnerable without adequate countermeasures.
Addressing this concern, NORINCO has outfitted the VT4 tank and similar vehicles with compact anti-drone modules designed to protect individual units. The company is also showcasing electronic warfare vehicles that provide mobile protection for tanks and armored units. Together with radars, drone detection devices and fire units, multiple layers of protection are expected to provide complete defense against not only low altitude, small, slow-flying drones, but also medium-sized drones, according to Cheng.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China to make solemn representations over the introduction of the so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.
A Chinese expert said China will take targeted countermeasures against the Philippines’ move.
The Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday signed two laws – Philippine Maritime Zones (PMZ) Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (PASL) Act, attempting to solidify the illegal ruling of the 2016 arbitration case through domestic legislation, illegally including China's Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) and most of the islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands and their related waters in its maritime zones.
The so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act illegally includes China's Huangyan Dao, most of Nansha Islands and related waters into the maritime zone of the Philippines, and seeks to solidify the illegal award of the South China Sea Arbitration in the form of domestic legislation. The move seriously infringes on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, which China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes, Mao said.
China urges the Philippines to earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, immediately stop taking any unilateral actions that may escalate disputes and complicate the situation, and earnestly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, said Mao, noting China reserves the rights to take necessary measures.
China will not sit idly by the Philippines' escalating provocative measures and will definitely take targeted countermeasures, in order to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, Yang Xiao, deputy director of Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.
Lei Xiaolu, a professor of law with the China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, Wuhan University, told the Global Times that certain provisions of these laws are inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international legal frameworks.
This reveals the Philippine government's strategy to "expand its powers" through domestic legislation. As such laws exceed the authority granted by international law, consequently, they unlawfully restrict the legal rights of other countries, including China, and are not binding on them, according to Yang.
This move undermines regional peace and stability, escalates tensions, and harms the Philippines' own interests, said Yang.
Lei said UNCLOS only grants coastal states sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the construction, use, and authorization of artificial islands within their exclusive economic zones, without specifying ownership of these artificial islands. The third reading of the PMZ draft clearly contradicts the relevant provisions of UNCLOS.
Ironically, the third reading of two laws' draft does not even fully comply with the Philippines-worshiped ruling of the so-called South China Sea Arbitration in 2016, as it exceeds the content of the ruling, which does not classify all low-tide elevations within 200 nautical miles of the baselines of the so-called Philippine archipelago as part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, said the scholar.
Lei further noted that PASL excludes some important routes for international navigation in its archipelagic waters, which is not consistent with Article 53 of the Convention. It also relates the passage rights to a "reciprocal measure" against the so-called activities "in violation of the sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction," clearly ignores the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
Notably, the PMZ seeks to extend Philippine jurisdiction over vast expanses of sea, encroaching on the rights of other nations and intensifying existing conflicts and disputes. The designated sea lanes established by the PASL are situated in close proximity to US military bases in the Philippines, raising concerns about potential collusion between the Philippines and foreign powers to monitor passing vessels, thereby jeopardizing the navigational safety of various countries, Yang told the Global Times.
Even so, the Philippines has still jeopardized its own interests in this move. According to calculations by Chinese expert Hu Bo, director of South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, the newly passed PMZ has reduced the area of the "Kalayaan Island Group," which is claimed by the Philippines, by approximately 70,000 square kilometers compared to Presidential Decree No.1596 signed by former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1978. Meanwhile, the PASL only stipulates a few designated shipping routes. These moves not only undermine the navigation rights of other coastal countries but also adversely affects the Philippines' own interests, said Yang. Harry Roque, a former Philippine congressman and former presidential spokesperson to president Rodrigo Duterte, told the Global Times in April when the Philippine Senate passed the PMZ that this legal provision not only violates the Philippine Constitution, but also fundamentally goes against, and even betrays, the interests of the Philippines, with its effect being more like "killing 1,000 enemy soldiers but losing 800 of your own."
Roque, also a well-known international law professor and the former president of the Asian Society of International Law, believes both laws are unconstitutional and run contrary to Article One of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1310999.shtml
The “South China Sea arbitration” case represents a dual conspiracy orchestrated by external nations, intended to undermine both China and the Philippines. The Philippines has been misled by foreign entities and, in its eagerness to replicate the so-called South China Sea arbitration, has hastily enacted two laws. This not only jeopardizes its relationship with China but also compromises its national interests, Yang noted.
Yang said the two laws of the Philippines also violate the article of the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which the Parties to the declaration agree to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability. “However, these Philippines’ actions are not only unhelpful for resolving disputes but will only further intensify conflicts and exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea,” Yang said.
