Team China found itself in a perilous position after an 89-69 defeat to South Sudan in the second round FIBA World Cup Group B game, despite China's first naturalized player Li Kai'er's 22 points leading China's box score, a sharp bounce-back from his scoreless debut.
Having losing two games in Group B, Team China is on the brink of elimination in the tournament held in Manila, the Philippines and even worse, risks losing a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after Japan bagged a victory over Finland coming from 18 points down on Sunday. China needs to be the best-performing Asian team in order to win direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Li, the 206-cm-tall Minnesota Timberwolves forward known to the National Basketball Association (NBA) as Kyle Anderson, broke his scoreless run early in the first quarter, as he drove and banked a floater in his rhythm. He then showed his basketball intelligence by drawing a foul with his shooting form ready. He bagged 22 points, three assists and five rebounds, the all-round player's chemistry with the team was increasingly noticeable.
However, China standing in 27th place in the FIBA ranking, failed to match the firepower of opponent South Sudan, which is ranked a 62nd in the FIBA ranking during the Monday game. Even though China seemed to figure out how to play its game in the right way, South Sudan responded quickly with long shots behind the arc. Led by Carlik Jones, who just had a magnificent finish of 35 points and 11 assists against Puerto Rico, the World Cup debutants nailed a jaw-dropping 15 three-pointers with 50 percent shooting percentage during the whole game.
Team China had its chance to come back and beat the opponent as many would have predicted, and the young squad did force their game within a chasing range almost levelling at 49-50, meaning only one bucket behind in the third quarter.
However, the Chinese squad seemed choked at both offensive and defensive end on the court, making the game end up in a drastic 20 points defeat.
"I wish we could have come out with the win, more importantly than scoring 22 points," Li said during a post-game interview, stressing that the team has to figure it out how to play hard for 40 minutes rather than only 20 minutes in the game.
China would take on the last Group B rival Puerto Rico, only a win of 36 points or more will propel Team China out of the group and enter the next elimination game, a scenario which now seems unlikely.
Following their 20-point loss against South Sudan Monday, China head coach Aleksandar Djordevic said that the goal remains the same for the team to get to the Olympics.
And to win the 2024 Olympic ticket, China would have to hope that none of the other Asian teams makes it to the next elimination stage and China have to win both games in the ranking game after falling out of the group to secure a ticket to Paris.
The team has now lost not only the two games but also its own control of future destiny.
However, we should have faith in the Aleksandar Djordevic, a proven winner in international basketball, Li Kai'er, a veteran NBA player, and more importantly the never-give-up spirit of Team China.
Team China should keep their heads up and keep hold of the good momentum the young squad has built in the second game, just like Zhao Rui, who delivered 13 points on Monday with hot hands, said after the game, "stay focused as a team and we want to play in the Olympic Games."
"I am delighted to once again visit the Inner Mongolia, and witness a group of intelligent people in an intelligent nation utilizing high technology to develop their economy in the desert."
The Ninth Kubuqi International Desert Forum (KIDF) was held from August 25 to 27, in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Bronislaw Komorowski, the former president of Poland who was invited to attend the forum, shared his impressions about the event during an exclusive interview with the Global Times recently.
After listening to domestic and foreign experts' views on China's desertification control measures and experiences at the forum, and conducting field investigations to some ecological photovoltaic sand control areas, Komorowski pointed out that the experience of desert control in Kubuqi is a microcosm of China's ecological civilization construction.
"What impressed me is the increasing greening area of the Kubuqi Desert and the modern technology being applied in energy production. It can be seen that the Chinese government is attaching more importance to the issues of ecological environment protection and sustainable development, which is in line with global environmental protection efforts," he said.
As an important participant in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Komorowski noted that Poland has also actively carried out a green transformation in recent years. The former president said he admired China's continued assistance to other countries' development of ecological and green economies, and that he also saw vast opportunities for cooperation between China and Poland which benefit from the exchange of experiences in ecological environmental protection and the development of green energy. Green miracle in desert
"China's sole emphasis now is no longer fighting desertification, but combines desert control with industrial development to achieve the common development of ecology, industry, and society, which brings new development opportunities to the people in desert areas," said Komorowski, noting that the theme of this year's forum, "Science and Technology Leads Desert Control, Making Deserts Benefit Mankind," aroused his interest and is highly recognized.
Kubuqi Desert is the seventh-largest desert in China, forming a huge yellow sand belt toward the north of the Ordos Plateau, only 800 kilometers away from Beijing. The Kubuqi Desert was once known as "the sea of death."
When the People's Republic of China was founded, the Kubuqi Desert advanced dozens of meters toward the shore of the Yellow River every year. After dozens of years of painstaking management, a third of the 14,100-square-kilometer Kubuqi Desert is now covered with green vegetation. China's Ministry of Science and Technology has conducted a remote analysis of desert changes over the last 20 years, proving that vegetation cover in the core treatment area of the Kubuqi Desert has reached 65 percent, an increase of more than 30 percent compared with that of 10 years ago.
Komorowski, who participated in the 6th Kubuqi International Desert Forum in 2017, considers himself as a witness to the changes in the Kubuqi Desert.
"What happened in Kubuqi Desert is a typical case of using technology to combat desertification and benefit the people. We can see that under the premise of effective governance and strict protection, China has adopted a market-oriented and industrialized approach, effectively integrating desert prevention and control with local economic development, while increasing the income of local people," he said.
Komorowski also expressed his interest in China's use of technology to develop new energy as an important means of desert control. For example, the Elion Resources Group (Elion)'s Kubuqi Desert Control and Yellow River Protection Project has practiced the ecological photovoltaic desert control and protection system. The company has seized the strategic opportunity of China's carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality goals, investing in the construction of a 3.2GW three-dimensional photovoltaic desert control project in Kubuqi Desert, with an annual power generation capacity of 5.5 billion kilowatt-hours.
At the same time, Elion has built a green ecological agriculture system, planting grass, crops, and medicinal herbs under the photovoltaic panels in 150,000-mu solar farm, while also developing eco-tourism. So far, it has lifted 102,000 people out of poverty in the desert area, leading to accelerated rural revitalization.
"The Chinese government has led enterprises and society to continuously explore technological innovations for desertification, making more people realize that as long as it is used reasonably, the desert can become an opportunity and a valuable resource and source of wealth," he said.
Vast space for cooperation The KIDF is currently the world's only large-scale international forum on desertification control, and has now become an important platform for exchanges on global responses to desertification challenges.
Each country has different ideas and interests, so the international community has some cooperative differences and difficulties in dealing with desertification, which makes it invaluable to carry out dialogues on international cooperation.
Through the forum, more exchanges will be made to find common points of convergence in the interest of many parties, Komorowski said.
Land desertification is a serious challenge facing the whole world. According to United Nations statistics, desertified land area accounts for a quarter of the earth's land surface area, affects a fifth of the world's population, and expands at a rate of 50,000-70,000 square kilometers per year, causing economic losses of up to $42 billion annually.
While over the last decade, China complete the task of sand control and prevention in 282 million mu (18.8 million hectares) of land, reducing the area of sandy land by more than 64.9 million mu, contributing to 25 percent of the world's green increment.
"The increase in forest cover on every inch of China's land is not only a benefit to China, but to human society as a whole," Komorowski said, noting that China, with its vast territory and globally leading economic development, has responded to the trend of the times, consciously assumed the responsibility of a great nation, and demonstrated its ambition to lead the cooperation and development of ecological environmental protection on a global scale.
Komorowski noted that although Poland does not have a desert, it is also active in the area of green transition as a key participant in the BRI. "Poland used to be one of the largest coal producers in Europe and one of the major coal importers. With global energy transition acceleration, Poland is also vigorously laying out the development of new energy, solar, and wind power industries. During the post-epidemic era, the European Union has invested heavily in the new energy industry."
Both China and Poland are facing the important task of deep energy transformation and the development of a green energy economy, and there is a vast space for cooperation in the field of new energy, he stressed.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of China's proposal of building a global community of a shared future and the BRI. China actively promotes international dialogue, alignment between international cooperation on the BRI, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
"China's model of desert management and its achievements in the field of developing new energy have been highly appreciated by the international community. At the same time, China has continued to help other countries develop their ecological and green economies," Komorowski said. "It is believed that more and more countries will benefit from the exchange of experience in this field in the future."
China and Italy are representative of Eastern and Western civilizations. In the eyes of 75-year-old Italian sinologist Pier Francesco Fumagalli (Fumagalli), who has dedicated decades to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Italy, the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China holds great vision for constructing a new global civilization and mobilizing a worldwide renaissance. In a recent interview with the Global Times (GT), Fumagalli shared his story of learning Chinese, his understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the prospects of China-Italy relations.
GT: When did you start learning Chinese? We know that you have also studied various other Eastern languages. In comparison, do you find Chinese difficult to learn? What makes it unique?
Fumagalli: I wanted to learn Chinese when I was studying at the University of Milan in the 1970s, but there weren't as many opportunities to learn Chinese back then. I remember that the Israeli government provided me with a scholarship, so I went to Jerusalem to study Hebrew and Arabic. After a year, I returned to Milan and studied Eastern languages and ancient Indian languages at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. After graduating, I pursued a doctoral degree at the Biblioteca?Ambrosiana. The librarian at the time hoped I could engage in Sinology research. He not only introduced the library's collection of ancient Chinese books to me but also gave me a Chinese dictionary that was over a hundred years old. I truly began learning Chinese in 1994 at the Istituto Italo Cinese Vittorino Colombo and went to China for the first time in 1995 to study Chinese at the School of International Cultural Exchange (predecessor of the School of International Education) of Northwest University in Xi'an.
Since I have dabbled in many languages in the Eastern region, I find learning Chinese not too difficult, but mastering it requires a great deal of effort. In my opinion, each language has its own difficulties. For example, Chinese characters and pronunciation are relatively challenging, so one needs to practice writing and speaking more. However, the grammar is relatively easy. Most other Eastern languages are spelled using alphabets, which makes writing easier, but the grammar is more difficult.
GT: Besides Chinese, what else do you need to study and understand to become a sinologist?
Fumagalli: As a sinologist from a European country, I believe that besides learning Chinese, one should also understand various fields such as China's history, art, technology, culture, economy, politics, etc. If conditions permit, one should also learn Go and calligraphy. Of course, it is also important to understand the culture of ethnic minority regions in China and neighboring countries. As Confucius said, "Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned"?
GT: From your first visit to China until now, what changes in China have impressed you the most?
Fumagalli: The scene of my first visit to China is still fresh in my memory. I flew from Milan to Beijing and then to Xi'an. The plane was brand new, with few passengers, and the flight attendants were very friendly. After arriving in Xi'an, I was picked up by a special car from Northwest University to the campus. The teachers and classmates at the International Cultural Exchange School were very polite to me, and the learning atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant. I also made many friends. This experience left a good impression on me. I am still in contact with many teachers and classmates, and in 2003, Professor Zhou Jiaxiang from Northwest University published a monograph on ancient Chinese literature at the Braidense National Library. Every time I go to Xi'an, I visit them.
From 1995 to 2019, I visited China more than 30 times, sometimes three times in a year. I think China has changed a lot! In 1995, there were many bicycles on the streets of Xi'an, but few cars. I remember some villages in Shaanxi were still using oxen to plow the fields. On Wangfujing Avenue in Beijing, I experienced riding a "huangbaoche" (a type of traditional Chinese taxi) for the first time. When I visited a friend's house, they lived in a 60-square-meter house with four people, but now it is 160 square meters!
GT: Has your interest and research in Chinese culture also influenced your family?
Fumagalli: My family also loves Chinese culture. My nephew also studied in China. Every time my Chinese friends come to Italy, I invite them to my home. My family is very happy, and both sides are very enthusiastic when they meet.
GT: You have published Biblioteca Ambrosiana with Sino-Western Cultural Exchange, could you talk about the original intention of publishing this book? What kind of cooperation does Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the oldest library in Milan, have with China? What Chinese books or artworks are collected?
Fumagalli: This book was published in 2008 and was a 60th birthday gift from Zhejiang University and Zhejiang International Cultural Exchange Association. It brings together my speeches and papers from Northwest University, Zhejiang University, Chongqing University, and the University of Hong Kong over the years. The purpose is to let Chinese students understand Western culture and carry out exchanges and cooperation with Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana was established in the early 17th century and includes academies, library, art gallery, and museum, all of which are closely related to the Renaissance. The academy collaborates with universities around the world to study global cultures, technologies, arts, religions, and philosophy. The library is open to students and professors from all over the world, providing free access to classical and modern materials. The art gallery and museum collect artworks and manuscripts from many Renaissance masters such as Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Caravaggio.
In addition, we also collect ancient books and cultural artifacts from around the world, such as ancient Indian artifacts, feather cloaks made by the Tupinambá people in South America, and the Arabic Koran. The collection related to China includes classic works on the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy, the Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth during the Ming Dynasty, and a table said to be brought back from China by Italian voyager Marco Polo.
GT: One time you saw the painting Taipingtu created by Chinese freehand flower and bird painter He Shuifa in 2010. The painting's juicy and vibrant apples quickly inspired you to invite him to speak at an academic festival in Italy. What attempts have you made to promote communication between contemporary art fields in Italy and China? What special feelings do you have? What is the perception of Italian audiences or readers toward art and artists from the East?
FumagalliIn May 2008, I went to Hangzhou and Beijing and invited scholars such as Ren Yanli, Chen Cunfu, Huang Shijian, who study Western religion, philosophy, and engage in cultural communication between China and the West, as well as painter He Shuifa, to join the newly established Chinese Cultural Research Center in the Ambrosiana Academy under the Biblioteca Ambrosiana. The center has become a new bridge for cultural communication and cooperation between Italy and China, serving the peoples of both countries. We introduce our cooperation in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana Yearbook "Asiatica Ambrosiana" every year.
Currently, our Academy has established cooperative relationships with 500 professors, scholars, and artists from around the world, including Wang Meixiu, who studies world religions, Wang Xiaochao, who studies foreign philosophy and religion, and artist Cui Ruzhuo. In 2022, we invited Professor Zhao Tingyang from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to introduce his "Tianxia System" in Milan, which I believe is a very important event.
GT: China and Italy are outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations. China has held many exhibitions of Chinese-Italian cultural exchanges in recent years, such as the "Tota Italia - Origins of a Nation," held at the National Museum of China in 2022, which was well received by the audience. The leaders of both countries also attach great importance to such communication. What is your opinion on the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China?
Fumagalli: The Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China is an important initiative and shows great foresight in building a new global civilization. This initiative will help realize the Chinese Dream and promote world peace and human development, leading to a new renaissance in the world.
GT: China and Italy are respectively the starting point and endpoint of the ancient Silk Road. Over the years, you have been studying the cultural heritage cooperation and exchanges under the BRI. Since China proposed the BRI 10 years ago, it has not only made significant contributions to the world economy and the development of participating countries but also promoted cultural and people-to-people exchanges with relevant countries and regions. How do you view the cooperation between China and Italy, as well as China and Europe, over the past 10 years?
Fumagalli: The BRI involves numerous countries and regions as well as various aspects, including culture, economy and trade, infrastructure construction, art, science and technology, and politics, among others. From the collection of the Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, I can see that the China-proposed BRI can also be called the "Ten Thousand Belts and Roads of the Ten Thousand Countries" (or "Multiple Belts and Roads of the World)". In addition to the trade-oriented "Belt and Road," the high-speed rail construction-oriented "Belt and Road," there are also the education-oriented "Belt and Road," the culture-oriented "Belt and Road," the science and technology-oriented "Belt and Road," the art-oriented "Belt and Road," and so on.
Both China and Europe have rich and ancient cultures and histories. China has 56 ethnic groups, while EU has nearly 30 countries. In terms of the prospects for cooperation between Europe and China under the BRI, I believe our cooperation is very significant!
GT: Like you, many senior Italian sinologists mostly have the experience of studying in China in the 1980s and 1990s. What advice do you have for the new generation of sinologists emerging in Italy or Europe, or for young people who are particularly interested in Chinese culture?
Fumagalli: My dream is for young Italian and European sinologists to collaborate more with young Asian sinologists and young scholars from China to promote sinological research worldwide. These collaborations can take place through various research institutions, such as universities, technology companies, and medical institutes.
I hope that Italian sinologists can work together with Chinese experts to translate and publish Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, a manuscript consisting of 12 volumes and 1,119 pages. This would be a collaboration that could last for many years.
GT: What are your expectations and suggestions for strengthening people-to-people exchanges between China and Italy?
Fumagalli: I hope that communication among the public becomes more diversified, for example, by strengthening communication through news media, sports, music, and art. Even in Italy, clubs can be established for traditional Chinese culture and activities such as Go and Tai Chi.
In recent years, we have collaborated with the Italy-China Association to organize exhibitions of Leonardo da Vinci in Beijing, Hong Kong, and other places. This December, thanks to the cooperation with the Italo-Chinese Institute of Milan, an exhibition about Leonardo da Vinci is planned to be held in Shanghai, while an exhibition featuring contemporary Chinese painter Zeng Fanzhi will be held in Milan.
GT: Finally, I'd like to ask you about China-Italy relations. How do you evaluate the cooperation between China and Italy in recent years in politics, economics, and other fields? What are your expectations for the future of the relationship between the two countries?
Fumagalli: My new book, Estetica, Scienza e Fede: 400 anni dell 'esplorazione della Biblioteca Ambrosiana (Aesthetics, Science and Faith: 400 Years of Exploration of the Ambrosian Library), has just been published by Zhejiang University Press, and it contains my suggestions and expectations. In short, I hope that the friendship between Italy and China will deepen as major cities of both countries and friendly organizations continue to exchange in various fields. The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and the Italy-China Association will also be involved. Although the road ahead is long, I would like to use Chairman Mao Zedong's poem, "when the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she will smile mingling in their midst," to express my optimism about the further development of the relationship between the two countries.
On Sep. 21st, in the hometown of Confucius, Qufu, Jining, Shandong Province, the staff workers from State Grid Jining Power Supply Company are inspecting the power operation data of the scenic spot through the smart power preservation application in front of the computer, to ensure safe and reliable power supply.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day rapidly approaching, the 19th Nishan World Civilization Forum and 2023 China (Qufu) International Confucius Culture Festival are about to be held, and Qufu "Three holes", Nishan Holy Land and other scenic spots have an endless stream of tourists, ushering in the peak of electricity consumption. State Grid Jining Power Supply Company applies multiple means such as unmanned aerial vehicle autonomous inspection, remote camera monitoring, infrared temperature measurement, etc., to carry out inspections of power facilities, do a good job in the operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging piles, and ensure reliable power supply in scenic spots and comfortable power consumption for tourists.
China's first sea-spanning high-speed railway capable of a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour is expected to start service in East China's Fujian Province on Thursday. The line shortens the travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen to at most 55 minutes in a bid to enhance the connectivity between the two major cities in the province, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
With a total length of 277 kilometers, the railway starts from Fuzhou, passes through Putian, Quanzhou and Xiamen and ends in Zhangzhou.
The high-speed railway is yet another intelligent railway route to enter commercial service following the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway and Beijing-Xiong'an high-speed railway, demonstrating new progress in the intelligentization of China's high-speed railway technology.
The railway was designed using the latest modeling technology based on digital information, which realized the integrated management of high-speed railway's design, construction and operation.
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, intelligent robots and environmentally friendly materials were adopted to facilitate the construction of cross-sea bridges. An intelligent command and dispatch system is used to ensure trains stay on schedule and operate efficiently. A big data analysts system can monitor and report all potential weather disasters, ensuring the safe operation of each train on the route.
The opening of the railway connects multiple cities along Southeast China's coast and forms a belt full of tourism sites. It will also form a high-quality traffic channel connecting Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang Province and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province with other high-speed railway routes that have already been completed or are still under construction.
Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University in Fujian Province, told the Global Times that the opening of the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway shows China has the technological ability to build a cross-Straits railway.
"What's more, it also offers expectations for people on the both sides of the Straits that the railway will be the foundation of a cross-Straits railway in the future," said Wang.
Beijing municipal health authorities have started soliciting public opinions on a set of trial measures aimed at regulating online diagnosis and treatment. The trial measures require medical institutions to strengthen drug management and prohibit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate prescriptions automatically, the Beijing Daily reported on Monday. It is a move to further improve and regulate online medical services in the face of growing demand.
The public can give feedback to the Beijing municipal health commission before September 16.
Based on the trial measures, medical institutions shall conduct real-name certification of medical personnel who carry out online medical services. Doctors who conduct internet medical services should obtain the corresponding qualification, as well as possess more than three years of independent clinical work experience and the consent of their registered medical institutions.
Other personnel or AI software shall not be falsely used or replace a doctor in providing diagnosis and treatment services, according to the trial regulations.
In a bid to promote the sound development of the AI sector and safeguard national security and public interest, China's internet watchdog and several other authorities issued temporary rules for managing generative AI services in July.
Additionally, online diagnosis and treatment must be implemented under a real-name mechanism. This requires patients to provide their real identity and basic information. They should also provide medical records with a clear diagnosis, such as outpatient medical records before receiving online medical services.
The Beijing municipal health commission will establish a platform to supervise medical institutions that carry out internet diagnosis and treatment. Medical institutions should upload and update relevant practice information in a timely manner and undergo supervision.
More and more people have become interested in remote medical services due to the convenience they provide. Local authorities are also promoting internet-based digital medical services to provide better services to the public. For instance, in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, a citywide health platform has connected with 10 districts and 3,498 medical institutions, according to Qingdao health authorities on Saturday.
However, more regulations are needed in the rapidly developing online medical services industry as some platforms lack pricing standards or internet diagnosis and treatment qualifications, according to media reports.
According to the Digital China Development Report 2022 released in May, by October 2022, more than 2,700 internet hospitals had been set up across the country, providing online medical services to more than 25.9 million people.
In March 2022, the country's health authorities released a trial guideline on internet-based diagnosis and treatment. Similar to the Beijing measures, doctors are required to conduct real-name certification before providing medical services. Other personnel or AI software shall not be falsely used or replace a doctor in providing diagnosis and treatment services, the regulation said.
