PRESIDENT PROMOTES PLA OFFICER TO RANK OF GENERAL

President Xi Jinping promoted Xu Zhongbo, political commissar of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, to the rank of general on Wednesday.

At a promotion ceremony at the Central Military Commission's headquarters in Beijing, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, conferred the promotion order document to Xu.

The ceremony was attended by all members of the top military commission and some senior commanders of the Chinese military.

It is common for the Chinese military to promote commanders to the ranks of general or admiral, the highest ranks currently available to officers, before Aug 1, Army Day, which commemorates the founding of the PLA.

Xu, 59, a native of Shandong province, joined the PLA Ground Force in 1978 and moved up through the ranks.

He spent most of his military career with the 26th Group Army in Shandong and had been political commissar of an artillery brigade and then an armored division under the group.

In 2009, the officer was named head of the group's political department. Four years later, he was promoted to political commissar of the 20th Group Army. In October 2014, Xu was transferred to the 54th Group Army as the political commissar. In February 2016, he was appointed political commissar of the newly formed PLA Western Theater Command's ground force.

In July 2017, Xu was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In December that year, he was named political commissar of the PLA Joint Logistic Support Force.

In another development, Xi signed an order recently to bestow decorations on three units and five researchers inside the PLA, including the PLA Honor Guards and a hospital ship of the PLA Navy.

NIXON'S CHINA POLICY 'MISCHARACTERIZED'

Almost 50 years ago, the world welcomed the end of estrangement between China and the United States when US president Richard Nixon made his historic China visit in 1972. That visit eventually resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1979, and more than 40 years of engagement in many fields.

But on July 23, in a speech delivered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to pronounce the engagement policy initiated by Nixon a dismal failure.

"The kind of engagement we have been pursuing has not brought the kind of change inside of China that President Nixon had hoped to induce," Pompeo told his audience.

The speech also came amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations as the administration of US President Donald Trump ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. China retaliated by shutting down the US consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Now a central figure from Nixon's historic China trip in 1972 says he wants to get the facts straight, dismissing the speech as not one on foreign policy but rather part of the election rhetoric of domestic politics in the US.

"(Pompeo) mischaracterized what Nixon had said in 1967," said veteran US diplomat Charles Freeman Jr, who was the main interpreter for Nixon during his 1972 China visit and has since been devoted to US-China relations.

In an article published by Foreign Affairs in 1967, Nixon declared: "We simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations. The world cannot be safe until China changes. Thus, our aim should be to induce change."

"What he meant by that, very clearly, was the international posture by China. The world had to change to react to Soviet aggression and threats against China and against the world," Freeman told China Daily in an exclusive interview via video link on Friday.

"(Nixon) did not mean that China had to change internally, which Mr. Pompeo is now demanding. He (Pompeo) is in fact calling for regime change in China, which is something very close to a declaration of war," Freeman warned.

In his speech, Pompeo continued to attempt to differentiate the Communist Party of China from the Chinese people, calling on the people to alter the Party's direction.

"It totally misunderstands the relationship between the Party and the public, or the public and the Party, which is not one of antagonism," Freeman said.

"For the most part, Chinese seem to be reasonably content to let the Party run things. Of course, there are people who are not content. Every society has that phenomenon. But to try to aggravate, it's exactly the same as interfering in the democratic elections in the US would be," he said.

Freeman addressed some of the misperceptions about China in the current political environment.

"People say our purpose was to democratize China, but that was never the purpose," Freeman said.

CHINA GIVEN TOP MARKS ON PUBLIC TRUST

Public trust in the Chinese government has risen to 95 percent during the coronavirus pandemic, with citizens' responses to a survey putting the country at the top of the 11 countries covered.

This survey, which was conducted by US-based Edelman Intelligence between April 15 and 23, sampled more than 13,200 respondents in Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The results, which were recently revealed, showed that China is up 5 points from the last survey in January, giving the country its top ranking. India came in second with 87 percent, while the US and Japan finished at the bottom with 48 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

The update titled "The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update: Trust and the COVID-19 Pandemic", was issued in May to analyze the global impact of the pandemic.

Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, said he believed the strong measures taken by the Chinese government to fight COVID-19−including a $2.2 billion appropriation for medical facilities, the dispatching of more than 42,000 medical workers to the most-affected areas and the rapid establishment of two up-to-standard hospitals−strengthened public trust in the government.

Ambassador Zhang, speaking at a May 3 event in Brussels upon the release of the survey, quoted Bruce Aylward, team leader of the joint China-World Health Organization mission on COVID-19, in saying that China's approach probably prevented hundreds of thousands of cases of the virus, Xinhua News Agency said.

More broadly, the survey revealed that amid the pandemic, public trust in government surged to 65 percent in May from 54 percent in January.

That percentage made government the most trusted institution for the first time since 2011, ahead of businesses, the media and nonprofit organizations, said Richard Edelman, chief executive officer of Edelman, a global communications firm.

According to the survey, trust in government had languished globally after gridlock in the European Union over Greek debt and corruption scandals in developing nations eroded trust.

FLASH-CHARGING GAINING GROUND

Chinese smartphone companies are working on flash-charging technologies in the hope of safely solving battery issues for consumers who are spending more time on their handsets.

Smartphone maker Oppo has unveiled its 125W Flash Charge technology, which the company said can charge a 4,000 milliampere hour battery up to 41 percent in just five minutes and fully charge it in 20 minutes.

Despite the fast charging speeds, Oppo claimed its new technology would not affect the battery as its life expectancy had been maintained at 80 percent after 800 charging-discharging cycles.

The move came as Oppo's peers Huawei Technologies Co, Xiaomi Corp and Vivo have also launched similar fast-charging technologies.

Vivo said its latest smartphone powered by 120 watt flash charge technology will be officially unveiled in August.

The competition in flash charging has intensified because the more time people spend on their smartphones, the faster their handsets run out of power.

To combat this, manufacturers are working on fast charging technology to shorten charging times while ensuring safety.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of telecom industry association the Information Consumption Alliance, said fast-charging usually generates a lot of heat and it takes a string of advancements in research and development to ensure the safety of batteries.

Oppo said its new fast-charging technology includes five-fold safety protection measures. The company has designed a customized intelligent chip, 10 new temperature sensors and a 128-bit encryption algorithm to deliver a fast, safe charge.

In order to protect the power cell and the smartphone, the design comes with three parallel charge pumps that split the power. As a result, all the new additions maintain the body temperature of devices under 40 C during the charging process, Oppo added.

Vivo also said it has come up with a liquid cooling system that helps regulate the phone's temperature while fast charging, and its battery cells are lined up in a specific array to ensure safety.

Flash charging's increasing importance also dovetails with the growing popularity of 5G smartphones which consume more power than 4G counterparts.

In the second quarter of this year, one in three smartphones sold in China was a 5G phone, the market research company Counterpoint Research said.

Zhang Mengmeng, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said Chinese smartphone vendors and telecom operators are actively pushing 5G smartphones by lowering prices of 5G devices as well as 5G data plans.

This has increased the adoption of 5G, with 33 percent of total smartphones sold during the quarter being 5G-supported devices, the highest adoption rate in the world.

That was a significant jump from 16 percent in the first quarter. The proportion was even higher in June, where more than 40 percent of smartphones sold were 5G capable, Zhang said.

The 5G smartphones in China are still priced in the mid-to-high price range of $400 and above. But 5G smartphone prices are quickly moving toward lower-tier price bands, Zhang added.

BEIJING PROMOTES NIGHTTIME SPORTS, FITNESS ACTIVITIES

With the gradual reopening of sports and fitness venues, Beijing is encouraging more nighttime fitness activities to further promote the orderly recovery of sports events in the city, Chinanews.com reported on Wednesday.

According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, the city is planning to carry out a series of nighttime sport events and activities including night marathons, longboardings, fluorescent night runs and other events, to enrich the night life of the capital.

Physical fitness and sports competitions such as basketball, soccer and diabolo will be held around the city's landmarks and major commercial districts, to help boost the nighttime consumption.

To better promote the integration of sports and tourism, Beijing also launched 16 cycling routes in three categories covering both the urban and rural areas, so as to meet the different needs of local residents.

This year, Beijing is opening more public sports facilities to meet people's fitness demand, as well as to further improve the public service system. Under a plan by the city's sports bureau, it will build 20 public fitness demonstration streets and soccer-themed characteristic towns, as well as about 300 sports venues and 650 football fields access to the public.

Besides, the city will hold a first-ever sports-themed consumption-boosting campaign via internet, including selling sports gears and providing workout guides through livestreaming, inviting consumers to participate in various online physical activities.

HONG KONG POLICE ARREST 4 PEOPLE ON SUSPICION OF BREACH OF NATIONAL SECURITY LAW

Hong Kong police said on late Wednesday that they had arrested four people on suspicion of breach of the national security law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force arrested three males and one female on Wednesday afternoon in different districts including Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin, Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the National Security Department told a media briefing Wednesday night.

The four people, aged between 16 and 21 and claiming to be students, were arrested on suspicion of violating Article 20 and 21 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, Li said.

Intelligence and investigation showed that a group recently announced on social media the establishment of an organization advocating "Hong Kong independence," and incited others to join them, he added.

This is the first law enforcement operation launched by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force in accordance with the national security law in Hong Kong.

The national security law in Hong Kong clearly defines offences endangering national security, the Hong Kong police pointed out, urging people not to defy the law and emphasizing that those who commit relevant crimes online will also be held liable.

The police did not disclose the identity of the arrested. Local media said one of them is Tony Chung Hon-lam, the former convener of a student organization advocating "Hong Kong independence."

CHINA TO DOLE OUT FINANCIAL AID TO JOBLESS DUE TO VIRUS EPIDEMIC

China has decided to hand out financial aid to jobless rural workers and other unemployed groups not covered by unemployment insurance, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Wednesday.

It was part of an aid package recently unveiled by the ministry alongside the Ministry of Finance.

The ministries have jointly issued a circular on reinforcing the safety net for people suffering from financial woes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Chinese mainland.

The "temporary assistance allowance" would be distributed in a lump sum to migrant workers and other jobless groups who apply to local authorities, Ministry of Civil Affairs official Jiang Wei told a news conference in Beijing.

Jiang, deputy head of the ministry's social assistance department, said the move is meant to provide basic income to workers who were made idle amid the national outbreak but were not covered by unemployment insurance policies.

"The allowance was a highlight of the circular," she said.

The amount varies from place to place. In a localized circular in Shandong province, for example, authorities decided that the amount should be no more than three times the local low-income allowance level and would be distributed to migrant workers who have been idle for more than three months.

Tens of millions of migrant workers-who leave their rural home provinces for factory or construction jobs in nearby cities or in metropolises dotting the affluent coastline-were among the most affected groups amid the domestic outbreak.

The epidemic kept factories and the hospitality sector shuttered nationwide earlier this year, forcing many migrants to sit idle without pay. The outbreak also triggered widespread travel bans, stranding many jobless migrants in cities where life is more expensive.

To add to the woes, large numbers of migrant workers were not given unemployment insurance, which would allow jobless workers to claim monthly payment equivalent to the local minimum wage for up to two years.

Because the cost of such insurance was shared among workers, employers and fiscal authorities, many choose not to participate so they can avoid the deduction from their already meager wages.

As out-of-towners, migrants were also excluded from low-income allowances, which were reserved for holders of local hukou, or household registration documents.

Jiang said the lump-sum allowance was intended to fix the problem and was a wholesome attempt by safety net policymakers in the face of a major national emergency.

In addition, the circular also decided to improve financial support for poor families with disabled or sick members by allowing such members to claim an extra low-income allowance on their own. Typically, the allowance is allocated by household.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't. – Anonymous