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Chinese UN envoy welcomes Ukraine peace efforts and talks: Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations said on Monday that China welcomes all efforts to bring peace in Ukraine, including the recent agreements between Russia and the United States. Fu reaffirmed China's commitment to resolving global conflicts through dialogue and political consultation in keeping with the United Nations’ Charter. He further highlighted that China has been advocating to solve the crisis through dialogue and political consultation between Ukraine and Russia. Fu Cong mentioned that China will follow the existing four-point proposal on the Ukraine conflict – respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries, observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, appreciate the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and support all efforts for peaceful settlement of the crisis. He further pointed out that the Ukraine issue is about to reach a critical point on the negotiation front and the ultimate resolution of any conflict lies at the negotiation table, and history will undoubtedly deliver a just outcome." Fu further stated that the conflict has been unfolding on European soil, and it is imperative for Europe to work for peace. “We hope the parties will jointly address the root causes of the crisis through negotiation and find a balanced, effective, and sustainable security framework for lasting stability in the region," he said.  

Hong Kong’s political advisor to submit proposal on combatting cross-border telecom fraud: Johnny Ng Kitchong a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a local lawmaker in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is set to submit four proposals, one of which aims to advance collaborative governance mechanisms to tackle cross-border telecom fraud. He outlined a series of measures – the establishment of a multi-party coordination mechanism, enhance cross-border judicial cooperation, implementation of blockchain technology to develop encrypted information systems and encouraging enterprises to invest in anti-fraud initiatives. Cross border telecom frauds involve various industries, including finance, telecommunications, storge and internet services. Ng stated that government departments need to collaborate with these institutions and establish a coordinated governance mechanism. "We should also strengthen judicial cooperation by fully leveraging the role of Interpol, working closely in cross-border evidence collection, arrests and asset recovery," he said. He further proposed that an extradition treaty should be enhanced to ensure that Chinese citizens involved in crimes can be brought back to China for legal prosecution, while improving relevant work regulations.  

China soon to implement tagging system for ancient and notable trees: China is set to launch a nationwide initiative to tag and protect ancient and notable trees, reclaiming their status as "green national treasures" and "living cultural relics," according to a senior official of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA). The enactment of China’s first national-level regulations to protect ancient and notable trees, which will come into effect on March 15 has prompted this move said Zhang Liming, director of the NFGA's ecological protection and restoration department. He further said that the regulations align with China’s larger goals of building an "ecological civilization and preserving cultural identity.” The regulations lay out legal frameworks for resource surveys, conservation and cultural preservation and addresses gaps in existing laws. Beyond that, the regulations target trees that are over a hundred years old, while giving limited permits to use for the scientific and cultural utilization of these trees and resources such as eco-tourism and genetic studies as long as the trees’ health is not compromised. 

High-temperature superconductivity in nickel oxide materials achieved by Chinese scientists: Chinese scientists have successfully achieved high-temperature superconductivity in nickel oxide materials, under ambient pressure conditions. This discovery places nickel-based materials at the third position in terms of high-temperature superconducting material systems followed by copper-based and iron materials. When chilled below a threshold temperature, some materials display perfect diamagnetism and zero electrical resistance, a scientific phenomenon known as superconductivity. This is promising for applications in fields like energy transmission and storage, transportation, medical imaging and so on. This milestone was possible due to unceasing efforts of the research team co-led by Xue Qikun, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Chen Zhuoyu, associate professor from the Department of Physics of SUSTech. Chen told the Global Times on Tuesday that previously high-temperature superconductivity in nickel oxide materials was possible only at extremely high pressures, up to several hundred thousand barometric pressure, equivalent to the conditions inside the Earth. But this breakthrough in superconducting mechanisms is expected to further transformative advancements in energy, medicine and information technology according to Chen. Further, Xue also mentioned that the research was conducted solely using domestically developed equipment signifying a significant advancement in China's capacity for autonomous experimentation.