爱上海龙凤

China's top internet regulator published a notice on Tuesday, announcing a one-month special campaign to rectify negative content orientation in short videos, in an effort to comprehensively regulate the short video platforms and promote healthy competition within the industry. 

According to the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC), the campaign is targeting three typical problems — the spread of false information, the display of inappropriate content and spread of wrong values. 

The notice listed the example of staged photography and dissemination of rumors related to people's livelihoods, such as fabricating plots of helping disadvantaged groups to exploit public sympathy, or staging fake scenes at the site of emergencies and spreading panic. 

The second example of false information were fake videos generated or edited by technologies such as artificial intelligence, using people's portraits or voices illegally in deepfake or voice cloning. The notice also specified to regulate videos that distorting or interpreting authoritative information released by official sources out of context. 

Display of inappropriate content includes deliberately showcasing actions with sexual implications, and marketing with such contents; and intentionally using special effects and props to deliberately create an ugly image to attract attention, or using cross-dressing to create vulgar personas against public aesthetics. 

The notice clarified that videos showing online celebrities' malicious marketing and highly dangerous behaviors, such as suicide, self-harm and animal abuse, as well as parkour and drag racing will be regulated. 

Short videos spreading wrong values include intentionally challenging ethnic and traditional customs, inciting ethnic hatred or regional discrimination, and spreading incorrect views on marriage and relationships, and deliberately creating gender opposition. 

Short videos spreading wrong values, such as boasting for an incorrect career view, unscrupulous means, negative nihilism, flaunting wealth, worshiping materialism, and indulging in extravagance, will be subject to supervision. 

According to the CAC, the recommendation mechanism should be optimized to focus on algorithm orientation and insufficient recommendation of high-quality short videos.  

It is also necessary to address problems such as the review mechanisms lack standards or the standards are not comprehensive. 

The campaign is launched to urge short video platforms to tackle the frequent occurrence of inappropriate contents and values, strengthen their content review mechanisms. It also aimed to create a healthy competition environment for orderly development of the industry, the office said. 

The CAC stated that during the campaign, it will close and penalize a batch of accounts and platforms that have serious violations of laws and regulations. It will also promptly release information to the society, ensure smooth reporting channels, and encourage the public to participate. 

Experts and officials called for enhanced international cooperation and discussed the direction for future policies to promote the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the 4th China and International Development Forum that kicked off Friday in Beijing. A report released at the forum unveiled that only 15 of the 169 SDGs are moving as planned.

The Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

According to the report, titled "China and International Development Report: Insights and Outlooks: 2023-2024" released by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC), among the 169 goals, only 15 are currently progressing according to plan, with nearly half of the goals severely off track.

About 30 percent of the goals have stagnated or even fallen below the 2015 baseline. Over the past three years, approximately 160 million people in 46 of the world's least developed countries have fallen below the poverty line. 

By 2030, the global poverty rate is projected to be around 7 percent, with 575 million people still living in extreme poverty, according to the report the CAITEC shared with the Global Times. 

The report pointed out that, in recent years, global development has faced multiple crises and challenges. The scale of development cooperation funding has reached a historic high, while the development financing gap remains difficult to bridge. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, development financing for developing countries, excluding China, has decreased by 17 percent, while the funding gap has increased by 70 percent. 

The self-interest of Western aid has become more pronounced. In 2022, Western countries' aid to Ukraine increased nearly 20 times from $918 million to $16.1 billion. However, at the same time, official development assistance to over 40 least developed countries decreased to $32 billion, compared to 2021, the report said. 

Data within the report fully illustrates that the current international situation is complex and volatile, with numerous risks and challenges, difficult economic recovery and shifting development issues, Wu Junru, an official from the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said at the forum. 

The implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda has clearly slowed down, and global development is facing multiple and severe challenges. Facing the stagnation of global development, China continues to believe that development should be achieved together, and only sustainable development is good development. China is not only a developing country in its own right but also a natural member of the Global South. China has long attached importance to both our own modernization and global development cooperation, Wu noted.

Two years ago, China proposed the Global Development Initiative, aiming to link and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 agenda, reuniting development consensus and promoting common development. 

China is willing to work together with all development partners, including the institutions present here and high-end think tanks such as the CAITEC, to gather consensus, pool wisdom, and mobilize resources to jointly promote the implementation of the 2030 agenda and inject new momentum into global development, Wu noted.

Following three years of parallel shocks and crises including the pandemic, war and conflicts, most developing countries are faced with increasingly constrained fiscal space and spiraling debt. The combined impact of these challenges has set back global development progress by decades. Furthermore, the climate crisis continues to worsen - threatening humanity's very existence. The year 2023 is set to be the warmest year on record, Beate Trankmann, representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in China, said in her speech at the forum. 

No single country or actor can tackle these challenges alone. Strengthened international development cooperation is essential to driving forward global progress on the SDGs, and maximize effectiveness in light of scarce resources and ever-growing demands, she stressed. 

"The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, and global sustainable development is facing multiple challenges. In this new situation, China is accelerating its transformation towards international development cooperation. In this process, it is necessary for the government, industry, academies and researchers to strengthen collaboration. It is even more important to open up exchanges and deepen cooperation with the international community and jointly build a global development partnership," Gu Xueming, Dean of CAITEC said at the forum. 

Against this background, this year's forum is themed "Jointly Forging Global Development Partnerships to Accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," aiming to build a dialogue platform, jointly explore the concepts, mechanisms, and best practices of international development cooperation in the new situation, and consolidate consensus and contribute wisdom to promote global sustainable development, Gu noted.

A total of 160 guests and representatives from various agencies attended the forum. 

Chinese speed skaters made some breakthroughs at the speed skating World Cup in Beijing over the weekend, as they totaled two silver and four bronze medals in the three-day competition.

Ning Zhongyan has become the marquee name for the Chinese speed skating team this year as he bagged one silver and two bronze medals in all three races he participated in. Female skater Han Mei is also a big contributor as she claimed one silver and one bronze medals. 

The National Speed Skating Oval, replaced its ice for the first time after hosting the Winter Olympics last year, has been dubbed the "fastest ice" as it witnessed the breaking of 10 Olympic records last year. 

"I was a bit nervous when competing at the Olympics here last year, but now I am just enjoying the race," Ning told reporters. "I think I didn't fail to live up to the fans' expectations, but I do hope I can change the color of my medal at the next World Cup event."

In the women's race, Han's result in the 1,500 meters of 1:55.92 was just 0.4 seconds short of Japanese veteran Miho Takagi, who bagged three individual medals at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Han's teammate Li Qishi finished third.

"Different from competing at the Olympics, now we have fans cheering for us, which is a booster for me," Han told reporters, noting she has set herself the goal of stepping onto the podium at the Milan 2026 Olympics.

The last time a Chinese female skater entered the top three in the 1,500 meters event was during the 1999-2000 season, when Song Li achieved third place in the Netherlands. 

Li Yan, head coach of the national speed skating team, said though the team is preparing for its ultimate goal of the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics, participating in the World Cup events has made the goal "clearer."

"Every four years we are preparing for one thing (the Winter Olympics), but this year our goals are clearer, which is to improve our results and rankings," she told reporters. 

"Every athlete, regardless of their current level, is finding their shortcomings and areas to improve. More importantly, we are consolidating the spirit of the entire team, using the team's strength to achieve breakthroughs and support each other."

Compared to speed skating's brother, the discipline short track, which has become a popular event thanks to China's medal haul in the discipline, the oval races are relatively less influential, as it totaled only two gold medals in China's seven entries into Winter Olympics. 

While in recent years China has seen success in shorter distance speed skating, particularly with Zhang Hong and Gao Tingyu winning gold in the 500 meters events at the Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, respectively, the country has struggled in mid-to-long-distance events, which makes breakthroughs like those of Ning and Han more significant.

Despite not participating in the previous season and lacking World Cup ranking points, Gao, who recently returned, finished just a place short for a podium finish in Beijing. But coach Li expressed satisfaction with his recovery. 

"Gao's smooth return is the first step. The fans have high expectations for him, but after all, he hasn't participated in formal competitions for over 20 months," Li told reporters. 

"Being able to move to the top group is a stable first step, and he just needs to do his best."

The 2023 Guilin Festival, came to an end on Sunday in Guilin, a famous tourist destination in South China's Guangxi Province. The ten-day festival had a theme of coexistence, seamlessly integrating art, theater, and the natural splendor of the region, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

The event was hosted by the Guilin Municipal People's Government and the Central Academy of Drama. A total of 140 activities and performances, featuring plays, folk music, operas, and monologues in different languages from 14 countries and regions.

While theater remains at the heart of the festival, the 2023 edition transcended traditional boundaries, allowing audiences to immerse themselves in a rich tapestry of experiences. 

From the grand processions of the Classic of Mountains and Seas to exuberant New Zealand Maori dance performances that captivated throngs of enthusiastic spectators, the festival pulsed with energy. 

Over 80 percent of this year's performances took place outdoors, harmoniously blending with Guilin's natural beauty. Unique venues like the "Mountain Theater," "Water Theater," "Cave Theater," "Grass Theater," and "Island Theater" allowed the landscape to become an integral part of the theatrical experience.

The stunning surroundings have inspired artists. The Russian cast of The Cherry Orchard remarked on the picturesque setting, while the German ensemble performing The Threepenny Opera along the Li River reveled in the unique stage, where the sky served as the backdrop, the earth as the stage, the mountains as scenery, and the water as a mirror.

This year's festival was marked by its youthful spirit. Across seven major sections - drama performances, urban arts, academic forums, children's programs, and more - the themes of "youth," "vitality," "diversity," and "innovation" resonated. 

The opening spectacle, Camel Xiangzi, directed by He Nian of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, reimagines a classic work for modern audiences, inviting them to explore the timeless wisdom embedded in literary masterpieces.

Two productions from the "Global Chinese Youth Theatre Directors Talent Program," namely Huang Ying's new adaptation of Journey to the West (2023) and Zhao Miao's physical theater piece Fearless Mother and Her Children, garnered acclaim from international audiences and received multiple awards from the Scottish Asian Arts Foundation.

Director Wang Xiaoying aptly summarized the festival's essence, saying that the future of theater lies in young talent. Guilin Festival's focus on nurturing young theater professionals infuses it with dynamism. These emerging artists carry the cultural legacy forward, embodying the essence of Chinese artistry.

In August, the festival made history by hosting an international press conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, becoming the first Chinese arts festival to venture beyond its borders for a high-profile promotional event. 

The festival has captured the attention of over 200 domestic and international media outlets, as well as social media influencers. 

Topics related to the festival have been read about more than 900 million times on Sina Weibo, Douyin, life-style platform Xiaohongshu, and the Meitu Xiuxiu platform, the Xinhua report said.

Hao Rong, director of the Festival Organizing Committee, chairman of the Art Committee, and president of the Central Academy of Drama, said that the Guilin Festival is not only a response to the call of historical context, but also an inheritance of traditional literary and artistic spirit. It is also a reflection of the development of literature and art in the new era. 

"We hope to build the Guilin Festival into a 'Chinese-style art festival,' an international people's art festival based on diversity, mutual learning, and inclusive public benefit, based on the subjectivity of Chinese culture," he noted.

The "Out of Africa - Celebrating the Beijing Swifts" seminar was successfully held on Monday evening in the Belgian Residence in Beijing, coinciding with the World Migratory Bird Day to promote the conservation of migratory birds such as the Beijing Swifts and their habitats. 

Ambassador of Belgium to China H.E. Bruno Angelet, deputy director-general of the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau Wang Xiaoping, deputy director of the Wildlife and Wetland Protection Division Ji Jianwei, Beijing Normal University professor Zhao Xinru, professor of Ornithology at the Sun Yat-sen University, Liu Yang and Beijing-based wildlife conservationist Terry Townshend, and several ambassadors attended the event.

Ambassador Angelet, the host of the event delivered a speech. He declared a love for birds, especially the Swifts as they are intelligent, social, gentle and free, adding that he was also a birdwatcher in Belgium and after arriving in Beijing in August, he was pleasantly surprised at the great variety of birds in the city, including sparrows, which have almost disappeared in Belgium, but can be found everywhere in Beijing. 

"I was so excited to discover that European and Chinese scientists have studied specific aspects of their journey. Through this study, we have discovered that the Swifts which nest in Beijing also come every spring from Africa, mostly from Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa," he told the Global Times. 

Ambassador Angelet also expressed his hope that embassies and their Chinese counterparts will join forces to improve bilateral international scientific cooperation.

Professor Zhao and Professor Liu, two of the best-known Chinese scientists who have been studying the bird species shared the results of the citizen science surveys to count the Swifts in Beijing to help understand the bird's population trends.  

The Beijing Swift, as a migratory bird named after "Beijing," is a landmark species and one of the ecological symbols of Beijing. It spends three months a year in Beijing to breed before undertaking an incredible migration to southern Africa in mid-July for the northern hemisphere winter, professor Zhao said at the event.

The Sino-Dutch sports exchanges and reception for the Dutch delegation to the Chengdu World University Games was successfully held on July 29 to celebrate the Sino-Dutch sports relations.

The event, hosted by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chongqing, greeted all the student athletes from the Student Sport Netherlands attending the Games. 

The guests of honor included Rob Cuppen, head of the Dutch delegation to the Chengdu World University Games, Wim Koch, deputy head of the Dutch delegation and more than 60 participants in 11 sports.

Huub Buise, Consul General of the Netherlands in Chongqing, delivered a speech at the event. Buise said that, "After working together for the last three years, we are finally witnessing the opening of the Chengdu Universiade and the competitions being held as scheduled. Everyone has put in a lot of effort in this process, including our head of delegation, official representatives, and all of you here, all working together. I am very happy to be here with all of you and wish you all the best in the competition."

Silke Jonkman, the student athlete representative from the Dutch delegation touched on the feelings and experiences of participating in the Games and expressed the delegation's expectations for Sino-Dutch sports exchanges and friendship. She said that, "I am very grateful for the welcome reception prepared for us. At the same time, we are very happy to be here in China, in Chengdu, where we ate a lot of food, saw pandas, attended the grand opening ceremony, and were deeply impressed by the friendliness, warmth, and helpfulness of the Chinese people."

Buise also stressed that Chengdu is the engine of the entire western economy in China and the world has seen its internationalization. He expressed special thanks to liaisons at the Chengdu Foreign Affairs Office for building a bridge of friendship between China and the Netherlands.

Deepening mutual understanding between Chinese and Grenadian people will be realized through a multifaceted approach, which entails expanding cultural exchanges, promoting educational endeavors, and facilitating direct connections between individuals from both nations, Chad Vincent John, a 34-year-old Grenadian who is currently a kindergarten teacher and has been living in China for more than a decade, told the Global Times in a recent interview. 

By organizing diverse cultural programs, offering language courses, and creating opportunities for personal interactions, we can cultivate stronger bonds, John said. Additionally, leveraging digital platforms and social media will enable the seamless sharing of personal stories, experiences, and cultural insights, ultimately fostering a more profound and lasting connection between our two communities, he noted. 

Learnroom International Kindergarten in Beijing, known for its commitment to fostering cultural understanding, recently hosted a successful Culture Day that had a profound effect on attendees. John, a respected member of the school's management team, spearheaded the event with the generous support of the Grenadian Embassy.

Among the showcases by various countries, the Grenada exhibit stood out, captivating both children and parents with its displays.

"The Chinese audience's response to this event was remarkable. As they entered the exhibition room, they were captivated by the vibrant displays," John said. 

The delightful aroma of Grenadian spices and cocoa intrigued them, sparking their curiosity about our culture. Attendees received goodie bags with Grenadian spices, T-shirts, bandanas, and brochures, enhancing their experience. They also enjoyed seeing their children dressed in carnival costumes, adding to the event's charm, he noted. "Overall, the positive reactions underscored the power of cultural exchange."

The 34-year-old Grenadian who has been working in China for over 10 years, called the country "a second home" to him. "I have found the experience of living and working here to be truly enriching." 

However, it's worth noting that many Chinese people are not familiar with Grenada, he said. "Whenever I'm asked about my origin, I often find myself explaining that Grenada is a beautiful island located in the Caribbean Sea, situated to the south of Cuba, Jamaica, and Haiti, and to the north of South America and Trinidad and Tobago, among others," John said. 

I refer to these nearby countries to provide context and help people understand where Grenada is situated geographically. This interaction provides an opportunity for cultural exchange and helps bridge the gap in understanding between our two nations, he said.

Sometimes it’s surprising to discover how little we know about common plants or animals. Consider the ruby-throated hummingbird. If you live in the eastern half of Canada or the United States and have spotted a hummingbird hovering around a feeder in the backyard in summer, this is the bird you saw. But while scientists have documented many of the feeding and mating behaviors of the birds and that the birds migrate south to Central America and Cuba, there are still plenty of mysteries, such as whether the birds go the long way through Mexico when they migrate or whether they take a shortcut across the Gulf of Mexico.

It turns out that the tiny birds, some of which are small enough to fit in your hand, could easily take the shortcut, even though they’d get no break on the journey. Based on analyses of wing shape, body size and fat reserves, some of these tiny birds could fly more than 2,000 kilometers in the right winds. That’s more than enough to get them the 1,000 kilometers across the Gulf, researchers report March 9 in The Auk.
Theodore Zenzal Jr. and Frank Moore of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg studied ruby-throated hummingbirds at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama, one of the birds’ stopovers on their journey south. From 2010 to 2014, they captured birds in the refuge during late summer and early fall. Birds were weighed, measured, banded and released.

Zenzal and Moore found that older birds tended to arrive at the refuge earlier and stayed for shorter times than younger birds. They also had more fat that could fuel a long voyage, and older males had the most. Based on these fuel loads, the birds could fly for another 2,260 kilometers on average without stopping for food, the team calculates.

That was just the average, though. Some very skinny birds arrived at the refuge, and had enough fat for just a short trip of less than 20 kilometers. This may explain why some hummingbirds stuck around in the refuge for a couple of weeks — they may have needed to bulk up before taking off again. Other birds had plenty of fat, though, enough to go more than 4,000 kilometers.

Hummingbirds’ small size may actually be an advantage when it comes to long-distance flight, the researchers note. These birds are really good at taking in a lot of fuel, and being small means that they can carry a larger percentage of their body weight as fat than can larger birds.

But just because the hummingbirds may be capable of taking the shortcut across the water doesn’t mean they actually do. Weather patterns aren’t favorable for such a flight until late fall, Zenzal and Moore say. So it may make more sense, especially for juveniles, to take the long way around since there are opportunities for pit stops should they be needed.

There’s nothing like a guy doing all the child care to win female favor, even among giant water bugs.

Thumbnail-sized Appasus water bugs have become an exemplar species for studying paternal care. After mating, females lay eggs on a male’s back and leave him to swim around for weeks tending his glued-on load.

For an A. major water bug, lab tests show an egg burden can have the sweet side of attracting more females, researchers in Japan report May 4 in Royal Society Open Science. Given a choice of two males, females strongly favored, and laid more eggs on, the one already hauling around 10 eggs rather than the male that researchers had scraped eggless.

Females still favored a well-egged male even when researchers offered two males that a female had already considered, but with their egg-carrying roles switched from the previous encounter. That formerly spurned suitor this time triumphed.

A similar preference, though not as clear-cut, showed up in the slightly smaller and lighter A. japonicus giant water bug. “We conclude that sexual selection plays an important role in the maintenance of elaborate paternal care,” says study coauthor Shin-ya Ohba of Nagasaki University.

Brain waves during REM sleep solidify memories in mice, scientists report in the May 13 Science.

Scientists suspected that the eye-twitchy, dream-packed slumber known as rapid eye movement sleep was important for memory. But REM sleep’s influence on memory has been hard to study, in part because scientists often resorted to waking people or animals up — a stressful experience that might influence memory in different ways.

Richard Boyce of McGill University in Montreal and colleagues interrupted REM sleep in mice in a more delicate way. Using a technique called optogenetics, the researchers blocked a brain oscillation called theta waves in the hippocampus, a brain structure involved in memory, during REM sleep. This light touch meant that the mice stayed asleep but had fewer REM-related theta waves in their hippocampi.
Usually, post-learning sleep helps strengthen memories. But mice with disturbed REM sleep had memory trouble, the researchers found. Curious mice will spend more time checking out an object that’s been moved to a new spot than an unmoved object. But after the sleep treatment, the mice seemed to not remember objects’ earlier positions, spending equal time exploring an unmoved object as one in a new place. These mice also showed fewer signs of fear in a place where they had previously suffered shocks.

Interfering with theta waves during other stages of sleep didn’t seem to cause memory trouble, suggesting that something special happens during REM sleep.