Chinese tennis players got off to a strong start at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games as four participants in the women's and men's singles progressed to the third round on Monday. 

There are five golds on offer in the tennis events at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre, attracting 11 Chinese athletes to participate. The winners of the two singles events will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

In the women's singles, top seed Zheng Qinwen breezed past Maralgoo Chogsomjav of Mongolia with a 6-0, 6-0 clean sweep. 

Earlier, second seed Zhu Lin also marched to the third round with a straight-sets victory over Ushna Suhail of Pakistan.Zheng, who made it to the US Open quarterfinal in September, and Zhu were tipped to continue China's grip on the women's singles title since the 2006 Doha Asian Games in Qatar. However, resting only three hours after the singles match, Zheng and Zhu suffered a 6-7, 3-6 defeat to Momoko Kobori and Ayano Shimizu of Japan in the first round of the women's doubles.

In Zhu's third match of the day, she and Buyunchaokete eased past Shakhnoza Marimova and Amir Milushev of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-0 in the mixed doubles in 43 minutes.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times that China has fielded its strongest team for this Asian Games and the top two singles players in the men's and women's singles will fight for a spot at the Paris Olympic Games. 

"Chinese players are a favorite to win the women's singles title. But playing on the home court, our players will be under enormous pressure. It's important for them to forget their world rankings, stay composed and take it one game at a time," she said.

As the women's doubles champion in 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Yang Zhaoxuan will team up with new partner Wang Xinyu to have a crack in the women's doubles this year.

Liu Feng, head coach of the Chinese national women's tennis team, said forging the new partnership is a bold attempt to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games. 

"We want to try and find the best partners for the Paris Games. Wang is skilled in serving and baseline rallies, while Yang is good at attacking the net. The Asian Games is like a trial run for this new pair," said the coach. 

In the men's singles, Zhang Zhizhen coasted to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Faleh Alhogbani of Saudi Arabia. 

Wu Yibing, who won the men's singles silver medal in the Jakarta Games, edged past Justin Barki of Indonesia 7-5, 6-1. The Hangzhou native has set his sights on becoming the first man from the Chinese mainland to win the singles title since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.

Meanwhile in the men's doubles, Zhang and Wu reached the men's doubles quarterfinals after overpowering Mashari Naif and Mubarak Alharrasi of Qatar 6-3, 6-4. The Chinese duo seeks to become the first pair from the Chinese mainland to claim the men's doubles title since China's last triumph in 1990. 

In addition to the men's singles and doubles, Zhang, who reached the third round at this year's French Open and US Open, also competes in the mixed doubles with Yang.

China won two golds and two silvers in tennis events at the Jakarta Games in 2018. 

At the recent 2023 Dalian International Marathon that was recently held in Dalian Northeast China's Liaoning Province, an atypical yet dangerous scene took place when a random pickup truck accidentally ran onto the competition's racetrack.

While no one was physically hurt, the accident had major repercussions for veteran Chinese marathon athlete Yin Shunjin. The pickup truck drove uncontrollably onto the track and blocked Yin's way just as the athlete was heading toward the finish line. 

Yin managed to beat his best personal record despite the accident, finishing with a time of 2 hours and 11 minutes and 50 seconds. Although he did not manage to win the championship, his record was merely 30 seconds behind the competition's gold medal winner. 

Taking into consideration the fact that Yin had to go an "extra mile" to avoid the truck, Xiao Bingxin, a sports expert in Shanghai, told the Global Times that the accident may lead to "a re-evaluation of Yin's record and performance." 

The organizing committee of the current Dalian International Marathon quickly made a public announcement following the incident. It revealed that an investigation found that the accident was caused by the vehicle's driver. The organizing committee also apologized to the runners and guaranteed it would work to prevent similar accidents in the future. 

Following the organizing committee's announcement, a representative of the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), also said that the CAA noticed the incident and has organized meetings aimed at "finding solutions for the accident." 

"The final resolution to the incident will be announced through the official platform of the CAA. The competition's organizing committee will also provide related information to the public," the CAA member said. 

Having its first game organized in 1987, the Dalian International Marathon is one of the most mature marathons in China. The 2023 session has attracted athletes from 25 countries and regions around the world, including Russia, Belgium and Australia. The competition embraces runners of a wide age range, with the oldest competitor 78 years old and the youngest runner just 6 years old. 

Chinese competitor Yin Shunjin is 38 years old. He has won multiple championships at marathons, including the marathon competition at the Jiayuguan Great Wall that was held merely two weeks before the Dalian competition.  

The incident has also sparked criticism from netizens concerning the "professionalism" of the marathon organizers. 

On China's X-like Sina Weibo, some netizens expressed their concern for the runners' safety and more people have said that they 'felt sorry for Yin.'

"The whole thing wasn't a mere accident; it speaks a lot about how professionalism and a good attitude are critical to sports competitions. Athlete don't get a second chance," a netizen posted on Sina Weibo. 

The World Memory, Peaceful Vision - Exhibition on the Historical Facts of the Nanjing Massacre exhibition organized by the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders was held in Madrid, Spain, and Budapest, Hungary, showcasing the atrocities committed by Japanese invaders in Nanjing and an international tribunal's prosecution of Japanese war criminals.

Featuring more than 100 historical pictures and nine replica exhibits, the exhibition consists of three parts: The Calamity in Nanjing, Justice Trial and The City of Peace. 

The exhibition also quotes Western media reports and Western diaries and letters, describing history from a third-party perspective. These include photographs shot by Hungarian-based war photographer Robert Capa during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). These works were published through US magazine Life, which focused on the international community's attention toward the Chinese battlefield.

On May 16, 1938, Life featured a famous cover photo showcasing a young and fearless Chinese soldier taken by Capa in Hankou, Central China's Hubei Province. Capa arrived in China in 1938 and documented the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invasion and the wartime lives of the people.

In addition, on December 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, committing atrocities over the next six weeks that included massacring civilians, looting, sexual violence, and destruction of buildings. These actions resulted in the death of over 300,000 Chinese people. The killing competition carried out by the Japanese army in Nanjing was exposed to the world by Spain's El Diluvio newspaper.

The atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army in China were heinous and exceed the red line of civilized humanity, former Hungarian prime minister Peter Medgyessy said in a speech at the exhibition. "Such an exhibition allows young people to learn about peace and living together," he noted.

"War is like a mirror, allowing people to better understand the value of peace," Zhou Feng, director of the Memorial Hall, said.  

He also expressed the hope that the painful memories of history would evoke people's yearning for peace and inspire them to more firmly defend diverse civilizations and maintain world peace, and work together to create a better future.

The Nanjing Massacre Archives were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World on October 9, 2015. To date, the Memorial Hall has organized exhibitions in cities such as Los Angeles in the US, Moscow in Russia, Florence in Italy, Manila in the Philippines and Aarhus in Denmark.

Immersive cultural tourism has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years. This new form of experiential travel has tapped into the growing consumer demand for interactive and sensory-rich experiences, creating a fresh dynamic in the tourism industry. The success of immersive cultural tourism can be attributed to its ability to meet people's evolving expectations and its capacity to breathe new life into cultural heritage and narratives. 

"Immersive" has become a buzzword in recent years, primarily due to the advancement of technologies such as the internet, big data and virtual reality. At its core, immersion refers to being deeply absorbed or engrossed in a particular environment or activity. 

This concept has been applied in various contexts, encompassing two main forms: one involves constructing real or virtual environments that transport individuals into entirely new worlds, like walking onto a stage as real-life performances are going on, while others utilize online platforms such as livestreaming, videos, and augmented reality (AR) to immerse people in specific scenarios or events.

The explosive popularity of the immersive trend can be attributed to its inherent interactivity and experiential nature, which cater to the evolving desires of modern-day travelers. Superficial tourism or passive learning experiences have lost their glamour as tourists seek more accurate, deeper and more engaging participation and immersion. In response to this demand, immersive cultural performances, night tours and immersive exhibitions have sprung up, breathing life into cultural and educational experiences. 

Immersive experiences integrate technology, intelligence and creativity. They recreate historical settings, depict fantastical dreamscapes, design experiential spaces for both old and new items, and create real-time interactive platforms. Immersion offers sensory experiences involving sight, sound, touch, and smell, as well as narrative and emotional experiences, along with the pursuit of values, making them multi-dimensional and all-encompassing experiences that affect both body and mind. 

The immersive cultural tourism wave is transforming the essence of travel by offering deeper, more meaningful experiences. It goes beyond the traditional elements of "traveling, shopping and entertainment," and focuses on in-depth exploration and interactive leisure. Recent examples of immersive cultural tourism demonstrate its ability to enrich travel experiences.

In Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the slogan "Xi'an during the day, Chang'an (the ancient name of Xi'an) at night," welcomes visitors to the Tang Dynasty Everbright City, a place that transports tourists to the splendors of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) at its prime. The interactive game Tang Dynasty Treasure Box has also gained immense popularity for its immersive nature. 

In Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, the China Grand Canal Museum offers a lifelike experience, digitally showcasing the history and culture of the Grand Canal in its entirety. Visitors can explore the canal's history and culture from every angle, across all time periods, and from various perspectives. 

In Pingyao, North China's Shanxi Province, a large-scale immersive theater production titled Revisiting Pingyao introduces a unique walk-through viewing experience. The audience is not confined to seats. Instead, they move along with the storyline, witnessing different scenes as the narrative unfolds, making them both spectators and participants in the story.

In Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province, a high-profile immersive cave performance Ancient Sound of Dunhuang offers visitors an opportunity to explore the mural paintings of the Mogao Caves in an immersive manner. Dubbed the "living No.736 cave of the Mogao Caves," it illustrates the story of ancient music through the use of traditional Chinese instruments, injecting new vitality into the city, especially in slack winter seasons.

By adopting immersive experiences, these attractions have unlocked the potential of cultural and tourism resources, reviving traditional culture in the modern era and presenting it in a fresh light. 

In essence, tourism involves temporarily leaving one's usual place of residence and experiencing a change in one's surroundings and relationships. Immersive cultural tourism offers a much more enriching experience, reflecting the integration of culture and tourism.

From a content perspective, immersive cultural tourism caters to a wide range of cultural elements, including historical, revolutionary and ecological themes. These experiences allow tourists to immerse themselves in the past, present, and even the realm of their imagination. 

From a technological perspective, immersive cultural tourism leverages innovations like 5G, ultra-high-definition screens, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and the metaverse. These experiences break free from traditional viewing methods, allowing visitors to walk through and immerse themselves in a storyline.

Immersive cultural tourism is transforming the way people travel by offering in-depth exploration, interactive experiences and meaningful learning opportunities. It elevates tourism from the superficial pursuit of sightseeing to a holistic engagement with culture and history. Additionally, it plays an irreplaceable role in promoting cultural heritage, sharing China's stories, enhancing cultural confidence, and fostering cultural development. 

By offering interactive, sensory-rich experiences that transcend traditional tourism, it has brought new life to cultural heritage and narratives. As travel is no longer just about sightseeing but also about experiencing, learning and connecting with culture and history, immersive cultural tourism has found its place. It has not only enhanced the tourism experience but also contributed to cultural preservation and revitalization. 

The Chinese civilization is the key to keeping people across the Taiwan Straits connected despite certain secessionists political bodies are trying to deny it, Chinese scholars and analysts have stated.

The secessionist forces on the island of Taiwan, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, have continued to pursue an acrimonious path in the development of cross-Straits ties and provocation of the Chinese mainland. This has resulted in the stunting of many aspects of the cross-Straits cooperation and dialogue.

Ji Bin, a senior official with the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said that despite the DPP authorities' attempts to undermine the importance of traditional culture on the island, Chinese culture is still the foundation that connects compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

"The national reunification we are pursuing is not only a reunification on paper, but more importantly, a spiritual unity of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits," Ji said at the 9th Forum on Chinese Culture, an annual event hosted by Peking University where over 150 scholars and experts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits gathered.

He also emphasized that the inclusivity of Chinese civilization is the linchpin to achieving a high-quality form of reunification.

"The achievement of this goal cannot be separated from transforming Chinese culture into a spiritual bond for cultural exchanges, and placing Chinese cultural identity at the spiritual core to construct a cross-Straits community of shared destiny," Ji said. Several high-profile cultural exhibitions, led by a 2011 showing of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, a masterpiece by Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) artist Huang Gongwang, at the Palace Museum in Taipei, have been tremendously popular.
The piece, burnt into two pieces in 1650 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was separated during the civil war in the mid-20th century, with one part remaining on the Chinese mainland, which underlines the shared cultural heritage between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, said Feng Ming-chu, former chief of the Palace Museum in Taipei.

"We are all the inheritors of Chinese culture, which is so profound that it is worth our efforts to promote, as it is shared by the two sides of the Taiwan Straits," Feng told the Global Times.

She also noted that the continued inheritance of Chinese culture by both the island of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland underscores an intrinsic connection between the two sides.

"Nobody could erase the fact that we are sharing the same culture," Feng noted.

Wang Zaixi, vice president of the National Society of Taiwan Studies, highlighted the pivotal role that cultural integration has played in the perpetual rise and fall of the Chinese nation over five millennia.

"One of the major reasons why the Chinese nation has been divided and reunited over the last 5,000 years and has always maintained a great unity is the strong cohesion, and centripetal and inspirational power of Chinese culture," Wang said.

Speaking the same language

Yok Mu-ming, former chairman of the New Party in Taiwan, said that the enduring nature of Chinese culture is a testament to the profound value placed by the Chinese people on family.

"The resilience of the Chinese nation lies in its ability to coalesce in the face of external challenges, reinforcing its unity and strength," he told reporters.

Ho Hui-li, an expert on culture from Taiwan at Tianjin University, brought attention to the practical cultural symbols that could bridge the gap between the two sides.

She advocated for the effective utilization of cultural icons such as Mazu within the island of Taiwan.

Mazu culture, which also holds influence in the southeastern coastal regions of the Chinese mainland, promotes a spirit of volunteerism and selfless dedication, according to Ho.

"For people who don't know much about Mazu, excluding the religious perspective, we can interpret her role as a role model for volunteering, which is equally understandable for both sides of the Taiwan Straits," Ho told the Global Times.

Ho believes that this cultural commonality could serve as a foundation for communication and collaboration between the two sides, noting that "we can work on whether people in Taiwan could volunteer to participate in the mainland rural revitalization activities, an act that would add personal value to their held beliefs as an expression of pure goodwill to each other."

Embracing the future

Chang Ching, a senior research fellow with the Society for Strategic Studies in Taiwan, called for the integration of cutting-edge technologies in promoting Chinese culture among the young generation.

"It could be used as a tool to strengthen Chinese education. We can't reject an information society, nor can we reject AI, which has already entered our lives," Chang said.

"If we can master it and turn it into a tool for cultural innovation and inheritance, I think the future is boundless."

The prevailing sentiment at the forum was that cultural understanding and collaboration hold the key to fostering unity and preventing conflicts.

Chi Chun-Chen, a professor with Ming Chuan University in Taiwan, stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen communication among the youth to reduce misunderstandings, break down stereotypes, and foster genuine connections.

He argued that fostering youth exchanges has become even more critical at a time when secessionists are intensifying their separatist campaigns.

"Youth exchanges must be strengthened as it is a prolific way to strengthen communication and reduce misunderstandings," Chi said, emphasizing that "it's even more important when there are people blatantly advocating for Taiwan secessionism."

"The journey toward peaceful reunification may be long and challenging, but through cultural integration and understanding, the people on both sides can strive toward a harmonious and united future," Chi said.

The US administration has recently wielded its big judicial stick on overseas Chinese again, accusing them of "being an agent of the Chinese government," while the so-called evidences listed in the indictment turn out to be a public group photo and a gift for foreign affairs. Experts said on Tuesday that this is another example of the US trying to fabricate cases accusing China of the so-called "transnational repression" with their common tricks of weaponizing and politicizing laws, and US' law enforcing agencies have turned into "political thugs" of the White House.

People familiar with the matter told the Global Times, Liang Litang, an overseas Chinese who runs a Chinese restaurant in Boston, went to Washington for an event related to the Chinese Association together with two entourages. They contacted the Chinese Embassy in the US in the hope of visiting the Embassy.

The Embassy then registered and approved their request as per the requirements, assigned the police liaison officer in the Embassy to make corresponding arrangement, presented them with gifts after the visit, and took a group photo in front of the Embassy. The gifts were verified to be wooden police badges used for foreign exchanges. And the police liaison officer only accompanied them throughout the whole process without engaging in any official businesses.

However, the US law enforcement agencies forcibly forged Chinese traditional customs as the evidence of "recruiting spies," and Liang was arrested for allegedly serving as an agent of the Chinese government. He was indicted on May 15 for acting as an illegal agent of China.

The charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Experts told the Global Times that the US is trying to fabricate cases accusing China of the so-called transnational repression with their common tricks of weaponizing and politicizing laws. "Would the US administration openly take group photos of their spies or agents to be recruited in front of the US Embassy covered with security cameras?" he asked.

The US Department of Justice, the FBI and other law-enforcing departments have politicized and weaponized legal instruments and already turned into "political thugs" for the White House, abandoning the basic facts and losing their professional ethics, said the source.

However, this is not the first case brought by the US Justice Department against innocent Chinese. On April 17, the FBI arrested two Chinese-American men and accused them of "running a covert station for China's police force in New York." The same day, the US Department of Justice announced charges against 34 Chinese police officers and eight Chinese officials for "their online persecution of Chinese dissidents in the US."

The spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu said the US' prosecution of Chinese citizens under the guise of "transnational repression" is an exercise of long-arm jurisdiction on the basis of fabricated charges, which is purely political manipulation aimed at defaming China's image.

As can be seen from all those cases recently imposed by the US against Chinese, such as accusing them of acting as agents for a foreign government, transnational repression or whatever name it may take, those who are intent on maligning others will easily find a pretext, experts said.

The basic attitude of the US Department of Justice is to demonize people or issues associated with China, and even to hype them by distorting the law, which shows that the US government has no bottom line in the operation of China-related issues and even trample on the spirit of its own laws, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The real purpose of the US administration is to fabricate something out of nothing, manipulate politics and deliberately suppress other countries. But this time, the despicable and absurd nature of the US administration has reached a new peak, which has once again refreshed people's understanding of the hypocrisy of the US judiciary and the bottomless practice of its double standards, experts noted.

Three scientists, Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier, won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics "for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday.

South Africa's mining production, one of the country's pillar industries, decreased by 2.5 percent year on year in August, with diamonds, manganese ore and other metallic minerals being the main contributors, data have shown.

In August, the production of diamonds dropped by 54.6 percent, becoming the largest negative contributor to the country's mining sector, while the production of manganese ore and other metallic minerals went down 7.9 percent and 17.6 percent in August, respectively, according to data released by Statistics South Africa Thursday.

In the three months ended August, seasonally adjusted mining production in South Africa decreased by 2 percent compared with the previous three months, with the largest negative contributors being gold, coal and manganese ore.

Gold production went down 6.5 percent in the three months ended August, and the production of coal and manganese ore dropped by 2.8 percent and 6 percent, respectively, Statistics South Africa said.

"The International Cultural Festival facilitates cross-cultural exchanges and mutual understanding among young people from different countries, allowing them to explore core values in different cultural contexts," Georgian Ambassador to China Archil Kalandia said at the opening ceremony of 2023 Peking University International Culture Festival. 

The festival successfully kicked off on October 21 in Beijing, titled "Meet the World at PKU," and included participation from students from more than 100 countries and regions. Ambassadors from Jordan, Venezuela, Grenada, Cuba, Thailand, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Mexico also attended the opening ceremony.

Ambassador Kalandia expressed a belief that cooperation in the field of higher education is an important direction to promote international exchanges and cooperation. He encouraged teachers and students from the two countries to participate in a variety of international exchange programs to promote mutual exchanges and mutual understanding, and hoped that Peking University would play a more active role in strengthening educational cooperation between the two countries.

This year's festival featured a number of activities, including a themed garden tour, an international food festival at the world food court, and a chess tour of Yanyuan in Peking University. 

Among them, the "Meet the World at PKU" theme garden set up more than 50 booths covering 47 countries and regions from five continents. At the booths, international students from different countries elaborately displayed their unique histories and cultures, allowing teachers and students to appreciate the social customs of different countries. 

Launched in 2004, the Peking University International Culture Festival will hold a series of activities from October to December, such as a singing contest to feature the top 10 singers among international students, international youth speeches, the Chinese speech contest for international students, a movie view party, and a photography exhibition.

"We are disappointed that Japan still wants to go ahead and dump the nuclear polluted water into the Pacific, because we are not convinced by the scientific reports that it will be safe for marine life, or for communities who are going to be affected," former prime minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

He told the Global Times that efforts will continue to ask international agencies including the United Nations to attend to the concerns of people in the Pacific region.

On July 4, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and announced the final safety review report for the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The report stated that Japan's plan for dumping the nuclear-contaminated wastewater "meets safety standards," but it also emphasizes that the report cannot serve as the standard for Japan's approval of the policy.

Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater has been met with strong protests and concerns from the international community since it was first proposed in 2021. According to the plan, Japan intends to discharge 1.3 million tons of treated nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 to 40 years.

In addition to neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, many Pacific island nations, which are ecologically vulnerable and heavily reliant on ocean fisheries, are also affected. Earlier this year, the Pacific Island Forum collectively opposed Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean and sent a delegation to Japan for talks on the issue.

O'Neill was talking to the Global Times after attending an event organized by the think tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG). He said Japan owes it to the international community and to the Pacific to take the issue seriously, adding that they should not dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater and should find other ways of trying to treat the water or to manage the problem.

He stressed that it isn't the Pacific that started the problem of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater in Japan.

"It is their own issue and they need to manage it better. Many countries in the Pacific are very disappointed. They do not support Japan in doing this," he said.

"We all know from experience that for nuclear waste of any form, it takes time, it takes years, it takes decades [to resolve]. It's not resolved in a few years. Over time you will still have the presence of nuclear content within the waste that has been disposed of," he said.

As Japan continues with its plan despite the protests from Pacific Island countries, O'Neill told the Global Times that they will raise their questions to international organizations including the UN.

"Is this water safe? Will this water affect marine life? Is this water not going to affect individuals who have to drink water in the Pacific? These are questions that need to be answered," he said.

On the IAEA's release of a comprehensive report on the dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the report "failed to fully reflect views from experts that participated in the review." Also, "the conclusion was not shared by all experts. The Chinese side regrets the hasty release of the report," the spokesperson said.

"We believe that the IAEA report should not be a 'shield' or 'greenlight' for Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Due to its limited mandate, the IAEA failed to review the justification and legitimacy of Japan's ocean discharge plan, assess the long-term effectiveness of Japan's purification facility and corroborate the authenticity and accuracy of Japan's nuclear-contaminated water data. Therefore, the conclusion is largely limited and incomplete. We noted that Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the IAEA conducted the review at the request of the Japanese government and the report is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of Japan's ocean discharge policy," said the spokesperson.