CiCM 22nd December 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

The “Wolf Clause” a barrier to Space Collaboration says China: The Chinese spokesman Xu Hongliang, in response to the US ambassador to China, Mr. Burns, claimed that China was not keen on cooperating with the USA in the Lunar exploration. Mr. Hongliang told the media that China always wants to explore outer space for peaceful purposes; in this regard, he stated that China would cooperate based on equality, mutual benefit, and inclusive development, which would greatly benefit humanity's shared future. He added that China gives greater importance to international cooperation in the field of space, and China is ready to cooperate with the USA if the criteria mentioned earlier are met. Xu Hongliang also noted the United States' hypocritical behavior as it says it adheres to cooperation on hand. On the other hand, some officials highly respect the "Wolf Clause," which restricts collaboration with China's space industry. This clause, introduced in 2011, limited exchanges between Chinese and American Space agencies. China has no such clause prohibiting cooperation, and there is an increasing demand in the USA to abolish the wolf clause.
Crack down on Internet celebrity influencers spreading rumours and other chaos: The Ministry of Public Security has issued an ultimatum to stop Internet influencers from Spreading rumours and other chaos; it stated that Internet celebrities have significant network influence, which acts as a source of rumours, resulting in social unrest and chaos. It stated that the various public security organs will work to curb the rumours from circulating. These Public Security organs have three significant targets: to carefully observe the rumours, to stop Internet celebrity influencers who propagate false information, and to identify "Online Water Army" gangs that take chances in spreading rumours, diverting traffic for their profits. These public security organs will ban such accounts by laws and regulations. It also asked the enterprises to detect the loopholes in the management of websites. It compelled the enterprises to strengthen norms and promote the establishment of a "Blacklist" system for illegal accounts. These measures are taken to curb the spread of rumours.
Belarusian version of the first volume of "Xi Jinping on Governance" launched in Minsk: The capital city of Belarus, Minsk, has hosted the ceremony of the Belarusian version of the first volume of "Xi Jinping on Governing the Country" and the Sino-Belarusian seminar on Governance. It was noted that more than 500 people attended the event, and they believed that this book was densely packed with information and profoundly insightful in understanding the strategy of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for governing the country and Chinese-style modernisation. The guests believed this book reflected the value orientation of prioritising people, the idea of development grounded in reality, and the spirit of win-win cooperation. The guests opined that China has prospered under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and China's successful experience in Governance is a perfect reference for developing countries. And they also hailed China's Belt and Road initiative as a stabilising factor in the turbulent world order.
China’s Renewable energy capacity surpasses thermal power: As per the latest official data, China's renewable energy capacity has surpassed the thermal power capacity. This happened for the first time in Chinese history. According to the data released by the National Energy Administration, renewable energy's total power generation capacity amounted to 1.45 billion kilowatts this year. Renewable energy power generation in China includes Wind, solar, hydropower and biomass energy. Around 2.9 billion kilowatts of power is generated countrywide, an increase of 12.9% from the previous year. The country's combined Wind and solar power account for one billion kilowatts of power generation. According to the latest estimates, renewable energy accounts for about one-third of the country's power consumption, while Wind and solar power combined occupy more than 15 per cent of the total use.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

A 12-Year old boy was abandoned because of his foot disability leads to dicsussion on Chinese social media: Tan Zonglu, a 12-year-old boy who was born with a Foot disability, was abandoned by his biological parents. He was discovered as an infant by a young girl in Sichuan province in 2011. Luo, the mother of the girl who found Tan Zonglu, in an interview with Star News, Luo said that Tan would not have survived that severe cold if he was not found. As Luo could not raise him, she asked her neighbour, Tan Yuegui, who did not have a family, to adopt this boy, and he took care of Tan; after 11 years of raising him, unfortunately, he died last October, and the child's life became ambiguous again. The netizens expressed their severe concerns about the child's future. Fortunately, Luo has taken responsibility for Tan and arranged for Tan's living and schooling. Tan's story's video has been trending for a few days and attracted many people. one of the viewers, Lv Qiao, expressed his desire to adopt him. With Luo's consent and Child's consent, Lv adopted him. The netizens are showering their blessings to the child on the social media.

INDIA WATCH

China's ambitious lunar program, officially known as the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), aims to systematically explore the Moon's resources for scientific and technological advancement. It has some critical achievements to its name, including the first-ever lunar landing on the Moon's far side. This programme has driven China to progress significantly in space technology. China also aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and establish a research station near the south pole. Like China, India is also pursuing a Moon mission. India's ambitious Lunar Exploration programme is officially known as the "Chandrayaan" programme, aims to unveil the Moon's mysteries to enhance Scientific and Technological Advancements. Similar to China's Moon mission, Chandrayaan also follows a phased approach. India first launched Chandrayan 1 in 2008, which mapped the Moon's surface and analysed its composition, this was followed by Chandrayaan 2 in 2019, an ambitious programme of landing Vikram(Lander) on the Moon, experienced a hard landing, but the orbiter continues to collect data. Chandraayan 3, launched in 2023, successfully landed on the Moon and demonstrated India's capabilities with limited capital investment. India is further also planning to launch Chandrayaan 4 in 2028 to collect Lunar samples to bolster India's understanding of the Moon.

Prepared By

Siva Kumar Nichenakolla

Siva Kumar is a committed and aspiring international relations scholar with a strong desire to know global dynamics. Siva has a strong academic foundation in international relations and has shown a deep interest in understanding the complexities of international relations.