Full Text: 2023 New Year Address by President Xi Jinping

On New Year’s eve, President Xi Jinping delivered his 2023 New Year Address through China Media Group and the Internet. The following is the full text of the address:

Greetings to you all. The year 2023 is approaching. From Beijing, I extend my best New Year wishes to all of you.

In 2022, we successfully convened the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). An ambitious blueprint has been drawn for building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, sounding a clarion call of the times for us forging ahead on a new journey.

The Chinese economy has remained the second largest in the world and enjoyed sound development. GDP for the whole year is expected to exceed 120 trillion yuan. Despite a global food crisis, we have secured a bumper harvest for the 19th year in a row, putting us in a stronger position to ensure the food supply of the Chinese people. We have consolidated our gains in poverty elimination and advanced rural revitalization across the board. We have introduced tax and fee cuts and other measures to ease the burden on businesses, and made active efforts to solve the most pressing difficulties of high concern to the people.

Since COVID-19 struck, we have put the people first and put life first all along. Following a science-based and targeted approach, we have adapted our COVID response in light of the evolving situation to protect the life and health of the people to the greatest extent possible. Officials and the general public, particularly medical professionals and community workers, have bravely stuck to their posts through it all. With extraordinary efforts, we have prevailed over unprecedented difficulties and challenges, and it has not been an easy journey for anyone. We have now entered a new phase of COVID response where tough challenges remain. Everyone is holding on with great fortitude, and the light of hope is right in front of us. Let’s make an extra effort to pull through, as perseverance and solidarity mean victory.

Comrade Jiang Zemin passed away in 2022. We pay high tribute to his towering achievements and noble demeanor, and cherish the great legacy he left behind. We will honor his last wishes and advance the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Wave upon wave, the mighty river of history surges forward. With the persistent efforts of one generation after another, we have taken China to where it is today.

Today’s China is a country where dreams become reality. The Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games concluded with a resounding success. Chinese winter sports athletes gave their all and achieved extraordinary results. Shenzhou-13, Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 soared into the heavens. China’s space station was fully completed and our “home in space” is roving in the deep-blue sky. The people’s armed forces marked the 95th birthday and all service members are marching confidently on the great journey of building a strong military. China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian was launched. C919, China’s first large passenger aircraft, was delivered. And the Baihetan hydropower station went into full operation… None of these achievements would have been possible without the sweat and toil of the numerous Chinese people. Sparks of talent are coming together, and they are the strength of China!

Today’s China is a country brimming with vigor and vitality. Various pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port are booming, innovations are gushing out in the coastal areas, development is picking up pace in the central and western regions, the momentum for revitalization is building in the northeast, and there is greater development and affluence in the border regions. The Chinese economy enjoys strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality. The fundamentals sustaining its long-term growth have remained strong. As long as we stay confident and strive for progress while maintaining stability, we will realize the goals we have set. On my visit to Hong Kong earlier this year, I was deeply glad to see that Hong Kong has restored order and is set to thrive again. With determined implementation of One Country, Two Systems, Hong Kong and Macao will surely enjoy long-term prosperity and stability.

Today’s China is a country that keeps to its national character. In the course of 2022, we encountered various natural disasters including earthquakes, floods, droughts and wildfires, and experienced some workplace accidents. Amid those disconcerting and heartbreaking scenes, there have emerged numerous touching stories of people sticking together in face of adversity or even sacrificing their lives to help others in distress. Those heroic deeds will be forever etched in our memories. At every turn of the year, we always think of the great character of resilience that the Chinese nation has carried forward through millennia. It gives us still greater confidence as we continue our way forward.

Today’s China is a country closely linked with the world. Over the past year, I have hosted quite a few friends, both old and new, in Beijing; I have also traveled abroad to communicate China’s propositions to the world. Changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace, and the world is not yet a tranquil place. We cherish peace and development and value friends and partners as we have always done. We stand firm on the right side of history and on the side of human civilization and progress. We work hard to contribute China’s wisdom and solutions to the cause of peace and development for all humanity.

After the 20th CPC National Congress, my colleagues and I visited Yan’an. We were there to relive the inspiring episode in which the Party’s central leadership overcame extraordinary difficulties in the 1930s and 1940s, and to draw on the spiritual strength of the older generation of CPC members. I often say, “Just as polishing makes jade finer, adversity makes one stronger.” Over the past 100 years, the CPC has braved wind and rain, and forged ahead against all odds. That is a most difficult yet great journey. Today, we must press on courageously to make tomorrow’s China a better place.

Going forward, China will be a country that performs miracles through hard work. Here I want to quote Su Shi, a renowned Chinese poet, “Charge at the toughest and aim at the farthest.” It means to take on the biggest challenges and go after the most ambitious goals. Long as the journey is, we will reach our destination if we stay the course; difficult as the task is, we will get the job done if we keep working at it. As long as we have the resolve to move mountains and the perseverance to plod on, as long as we keep our feet on the ground and forge ahead with our journey by making steady progress, we will turn our grand goals into reality.

Going forward, China will be a country that draws its strength from unity. Ours is a big country. It is only natural for different people to have different concerns or hold different views on the same issue. What matters is that we build consensus through communication and consultation. When the 1.4 billion Chinese work with one heart and one mind, and stand in unity with a strong will, no task will be impossible and no difficulty insurmountable. The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are members of one and the same family. I sincerely hope that our compatriots on both sides of the Strait will work together with a unity of purpose to jointly foster lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation.

Going forward, China will be a country that has great expectations of its younger generation. A nation will prosper only when its young people thrive. For China to develop further, our young people must step forward and take on their responsibilities. Youth is full of vigor and is a source of hope. Youngsters should keep their country in mind, cultivate keen enterprise, and live youth to the fullest with great drive, to prove worthy of the times and the splendor of youth.

To the many people who are still busy working at this very moment, I salute you all! We are about to ring in the New Year. Let us welcome the first ray of sunshine of 2023 with the best wishes for a brighter future.

May our country enjoy prosperity and our people live in harmony. May the world enjoy peace and people of all countries live in happiness. I wish you all a happy New Year and may all your wishes come true.

Thank you.

Group carpets Obasanjo over endorsement of Obi, describes him as unfit

The Patriotic Youth Front of Nigeria (PYFN) has rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s imposition of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi; his preferred choice for president in next month’s election on Nigerian youths.

Recall that the ex-president in an open letter to young Nigerians on Sunday, urged the youths to vote for Peter Obi whom he described as his “mentee.”

But PYFN in a press statement issued on Monday by its President, Dr. Maxwell Ogar, said that “Obasanjo’s hands are stained with innocent blood, which makes him unfit to advise the Nigerian youth on whom to vote for president.”

The group described the former president as “a habitual rabble-rouser and the precursor of Nigeria’s ongoing challenges – socio-economic, security, and political” who is attempting to rewrite history and beatify himself “as the hero of Nigeria’s eventual triumph when in reality the former president symbolizes everything that ails our dear nation.”

It maintained that “Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi is rather a disservice to the upcoming national politician instead of being a boost because there is ample evidence that whatever this erstwhile civilian dictator lays his hands upon turns to dust. His endorsement of the OBIdient brand has consequently doomed the Peter Obi candidacy as Obasanjo’s track record of satanic evil will haunt the LP candidate’s presidential bid.”

“We find it necessary to call out former President Obasanjo for his devious double standard and attempt to scam Nigerians as to his true identity. The same Obasanjo, who ceremonially shredded his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) membership card as he swore off politics, has now appointed himself the Labour Party’s chief marketer. In his characteristic double-faced penchant, he has joined the political fray while masquerading as an elder statesman whereas the saying in 2 Peter 2:22 “Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud,” is true,” it stated.

Recalling the massacre of defenseless civilians in Odi, Bayelsa State, and Zaki- Biam, Benue State during Obasanjo’s regime, the group insisted that the former president’s hands are stained with innocent blood which makes him unfit to guide the Nigerian youth. It, however, noted that “Odi nor Zaki-Biam committed terrorist acts as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) with its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) is doing today, yet the mass murderer Obasanjo endorsed a Peter Obi, who is a known patron of the murderous group.

“We want to draw Obasanjo’s attention to the fact that his preferred ‘mentee’ Peter Obi is an unrepentant supporter of the irredentist IPOB/ESN whose terrorists are killing innocent Nigerians daily. As someone who wants to be a Nigerian President, Obi has not for once condemned the horrendous activities of IPoB/ESN, instead, he structured his campaign schedule in the southeast to align with a damaging sit-at-home declared by the terrorists. Does Obasanjo not know that Peter Obi is an apologist and patron of Biafra agitation?

“We also wonder if Obasanjo is unaware of Peter Obi’s ethno-sectarian bigotry that saw him only favouring Catholics and his clan members as the governor of Anambra state. If Obasanjo was unaware of this ugly side of his “mentee” then he definitely cannot play the ostrich in the ugly matter of the expose in the Pandora Papers, including how Obi invested Anambra state’s money in his family business. These behaviours certainly are at variance with Nigeria that the youth are yearning for.

“Given Obi’s track record as a serial liar, whose every utterance has to be fact-checked, we now understand that these are ugly traits he picked up from Obasanjo, his mentor. With the experience of how Obasanjo gifted our commonwealth and national assets to himself, family, associates, and cronies, we reject his proxy, Peter Obi, whom he wants to complete the theft of Nigeria and the conversion of the country into a personal estate,” it added.

PYFN advised Obasanjo to first wash his hands clean of the blood of the innocent before attempting to teach the youth how to elect their leaders. “For Peter Obi, we advise that he should seek and learn from a humane mentor before returning to attempt to be Nigeria’s president as the man he currently holds as his mentor is too evil to have any electoral value.”

ITF Boss, Ari, honoured with traditional title, wins multiple awards

The Director General and Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Miskoom Joseph Ari, was on Saturday, December 31, 2022 honoured with a chieftaincy title of the Kurnajam (Minister of Defence) of Gamai land by Long Gamai of Gamai Nation, HRH Miskoom Martin Muduutrie Shaldas III.
At the prestigious Gamai cultural festival, Bit Gamai 2022, the Long Gamai acknowledged the existence of similar title on the recipient from Kwo Chiefdom, but said Ari deserves more, given his services and contributions to his people and Nigeria in general.
In a similar vein, the ITF boss was confirmed with the LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year 2022 as well as a Fellowship Award by a United Kingdom-based Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSH Association UK) for his outstanding qualities in uplifting the Fund to enviable height.
A citation read in honour of Ari said: “For his home-grown initiatives that expanded existing skills acquisition programmes leading to the training and empowerment, in four years, of over 500,000 Nigerians who are today earning sustainable livelihood as paid employers and entrepreneurs, Sir Joseph Ari is the LEADERSHIP Public Servant of the Year 2022.
“As Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Sir Joseph Ari has made his mark as an outstanding public officeholder. Most remarkable of his achievements is the unveiling of the ITF Reviewed Vision: Strategies for Mandate Actualisation. The plan, which was initially slated to terminate in 2022, was, however, reviewed in 2020 to address gaps identified in the course of its implementation, and to appropriately respond to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on numerous clients.
“The plan enabled the ITF to aggressively address service challenges by computerising its operations and tackling infrastructural challenges to expand access to Nigerians desirous of acquiring skills, and generally address a gamut of other structures that were impinging on its ability to effectively discharge its mandate for national economic growth and development and to meet the skills requirement of the nation in line with global best practices”.
Ari was appointed Director- General/chief executive of the Industrial Training Fund in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari, with the mandate to develop a vast pool of skilled manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the public and private sectors of the national economy.
Ari said he believes that until most Nigerians are equipped with competitive technical skills, Nigeria as a nation will continue to fight a losing battle against the blights of poverty and unemployment and their attendant consequences. This belief was inspired by success stories from countries like Japan, Germany, Vietnam, Singapore and Brazil which transformed into industrial power-houses using technical and vocational skills acquisition.
In a related development, Sir Joseph Ntung Ari was voted ‘Plateau Man of the Year 2022’ by Plateau people both within and outside the State.
He emerged first place following his online nomination and voting by members of the general public as monitored and confirmed by the Plateau Man of the Year Awards panel of jury which lasted from the 21st to 31st of December, 2022.
Consequently, this prestigious Award will be presented by the COA Media Group, organizers of the Plateau Man of the Year Awards at a ceremony slated for February 5, 2023 at the Tamarald Event Center, Jos Plateau State.

2022: Stakeholders in disaster management rate NEMA high on interventions

Some stakeholders in disaster management have rated the National Emergency Management Agency highly on interventions.

The stakeholders, under the auspices of Disaster Management Situation Room came to this conclusion after an online appraisal.

In a statement by its President Dr. Maxwell Ogar, the group said NEMA has risen to the occasion with timely, proactive and rapid responses to natural disasters.

Ogar noted that the stakeholders carried out an extensive analysis of humanitarian interventions in the country and found NEMA to have exceeded expectations.

He said the agency has shown a mindful value to life, making “sacrificial efforts to ameliorate the recent devastating effect caused by the flooding”.

Ogar recalled how NEMA aided flood victims across the country with relief materials, providing succor and support to the distressed.

He noted that the Ahmed Habib-led agency has also assisted Nigerians stranded in foreign countries to reunite with their families.

The Disaster Management Situation Room boss added that hundreds of Nigerians voluntarily returned to the country every month.

He also applauded NEMA for carrying out sensitization campaigns on disasters as well as routine training for staff in line with global best practices.

Ogar, therefore, urged the agency not to rest on its oars in handling disaster related issues through the establishment of concrete structures and measures.

Describing Habib as a patriot, with an unblemished record of integrity and accountability, he said he has ensured strict and prudent utilization of the agency’s resources to meet the needs of the common people.

The stakeholders also charged the Federal Government as well as local and foreign bodies to continue to support the NEMA.

Ogar, however, urged other agencies to follow the NEMA’s example of proper leadership, accountability, and transparency

Intangible cultural heritage contributes to China’s rural vitalization

By Zheng Hai’ou, People’s Daily
Intangible cultural heritage constitutes an important part of the fine traditional Chinese culture and plays a vital role in promoting the market economy, integrating culture and tourism, assisting poverty alleviation and boosting rural vitalization.
Since 2021, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, together with other departments, has worked to assist rural vitalization with intangible cultural heritage.
So far, the country has established over 2,500 intangible cultural heritage workshops that are engaged in more than 1,700 intangible cultural heritage items of different levels. In particular, 1,400 of these workshops are located in regions that have shaken off poverty, helping promote local employment and increase people’s income.
Xiaoshiquan village in Yinping township, Yicheng district, Zaozhuang, east China’s Shandong province has set up an intangible cultural heritage workshop of fenpi, a type of sheet jelly made of sweet potatoes. The typical Chinese food is a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Shandong province.
So far, the workshop has launched over 300 training sessions on fenpi making. With this workshop, villagers are able to make money near their homes while taking care of their families, which not only helps integrate local culture and tourism, but also boosts rural vitalization.
Based on the workshop, the village has also mobilized over 100 local households engaged in fenpi making to produce the food together in accordance with standard procedures. Such a cooperative-like operation allows these households to standardize processing standards by purchasing raw materials and receiving orders together.
By selling the food via both online and offline channels, villagers can have a collective profit of over a million yuan ($143,425) a year, said Sun Zhongkun, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage item of fenpi making.
Intangible cultural heritage workshops around the country are realizing villagers’ dreams of securing a job near their homes and increasing their income.
For instance, Quyang county of north China’s Hebei province has provided over 8,000 jobs for residents from 73 villages at intangible cultural heritage workshops engaged in items such as China’s traditional Ding porcelain and stone carvings.
Relying on local intangible cultural heritage items, Wuzhishan of south China’s Hainan province and Yining of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region established community- and village-based production centers. These production centers, cooperated with workshops and companies, offer skills training for residents and distribute orders to them, so as to help them secure a job at home.
Workshops of intangible cultural heritage items that feature comparative advantages, a large workforce and high market recognition are able to create a number of jobs for the people and inject impetus into rural vitalization, said an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
To expand the market for more inheritors of intangible cultural heritage items, regions across China have mobilized enterprises, e-commerce platforms and industry associations to help with the production and sales of intangible cultural heritage workshops.
Over the recent years, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has worked with other relevant departments to encourage e-commerce platforms to host an intangible cultural heritage-themed shopping festival.
According to statistics, some 150 prefectural-level cities held relevant activities about the festival in 2022, selling intangible cultural heritage products worth over 2 billion yuan. In particular, these activities were joined by over 1,000 intangible cultural heritage workshops in 334 counties that have shaken off poverty, covering 65 key counties to receive assistance in pursuing rural vitalization.
Apart from that, promotional activities have been launched in scenic spots and historical and cultural districts across the country to make intangible cultural heritage workshops’ products more popular. The integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism could further boost rural vitalization.
Sichuan and Guizhou provinces have set up exhibition and sales areas for products of intangible cultural heritage workshops at Class A tourist attractions.
Hebei and Henan provinces have built intangible cultural heritage-themed B&B hotels and featured towns that display items such as traditional Jun porcelain and Ru porcelain, so as to enrich the cultural connotation of tourist attractions and improve local communities’ income.
Xupu county of Hunan province and Huangzhong district of Qinghai province also leveraged local resources of intangible cultural heritage to develop featured tourism and educational tourism, enriching rural tourism.
People are key to rural vitalization and the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. Chinese culture and tourism departments have launched massive training programs to continuously improve the skills, innovation capability, and the awareness of market and copyrights of intangible cultural heritage inheritors.
These inheritors have been invited to attend classes at renowned universities and visit culture and internet enterprises to widen their horizons, which helped increase their designing, producing and marketing ability, as well as the added value of their products.
It is believed that as China continues its efforts to drive rural vitalization with intangible cultural heritage and as the inheritors work to promote innovative development of intangible cultural heritage, Chinese traditional crafts will enjoy stronger vitality, said an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Chinese consumers favor avocadoes imported from Kenya

By Wan Yu, Yu Limin, People’s Daily

Susan, who works for Kakuzi PLC, an agricultural cultivation and manufacture company in Kenya, finished picking the last batch of avocadoes of 2022 with her colleagues in an orchard in Murang’a county, some 70 kilometers away from Nairobi. These fruits were soon shipped to China.
Kenya is the world’s sixth largest exporter of avocadoes, and the largest in Africa. In January 2022, China and Kenya signed an export agreement for fresh avocado shipment. Five months later, China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) gave nod to allow qualified fresh avocadoes from Kenya to enter the Chinese market. In August, the first batch of fresh avocadoes grown in Kenya hit the Chinese market.
The fresh avocadoes picked by Susan arrived at a port in Shanghai, China after a 20-day voyage. This batch of imports totaled 45 tons.
“Before the avocadoes arrived at the port, we had contacted the importer for the information of the imported fruits, so we could open a green channel for them and ensure that inspection could be carried out at the earliest time possible,” said Luo Kaiming, a customs official in Shanghai.
To ensure the freshness of imported agricultural products, the inspection of the avocadoes was completed in a closed cold-chain facility. After the fruits passed on-site inspection and random samples were qualified in lab tests, the avocadoes soon got a “green light.” They were packed and then shipped to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other Chinese cities.
In the past, the avocadoes on the Chinese market between March and September each year were imported from Peru, Mexico and other Latin American countries. Now with those from Kenya, the choices of Chinese consumers are very much diversified.
So far, the Kenyan government has appointed 15 orchards, nine factories and a fumigation treatment facility in the country as designated organizations for avocado export to China.
The successful entry of Kenyan avocadoes into China will involve more Kenyan farmers in the avocado industry, said Joseph Ongeri, an agronomist from Kenya.
Chris Flowers, Managing Director of Kakuzi PLC, told People’s Daily that the avocadoes from Kenya were quite popular among Chinese consumers and were soon sold out.
He said China’s consumption market is expanding and the country has complete laws and regulations. “Chinese consumers and agents have a high requirement on quality. We are very optimistic about our prospects in China,” Flowers noted.
Strict quarantine and advanced cold-chain technologies make sure that fresh avocadoes from Kenya are of high quality.
According to an official with the GAC, the administration gives priority to the access applications of agricultural products filed by African countries and would quicken the inspection quarantine, so that avocadoes from Africa can get to Chinese consumers in a convenient and safe manner.
Agricultural products from the same country and similarly processed, or those of the same category but from different countries, can go through risk assessment procedures together, so as to accelerate the approval process, the official said.
“The facilitated customs clearance further reinforced our confidence in expanding agricultural imports from Africa,” said Liu Mosu, general manager of a Shanghai-based importer.
According to Liu, the company imported about 200 tons of avocadoes in 2022 and the figure is expected to exceed 9,000 tons in 2023.
Wu Peng, head of the Department of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa has brought important opportunities to African industrial and supply chains over the recent years.
The two sides, overcoming the negative impacts from the external economic situation and COVID-19, have steadily put into practice various measures, such as establishing a “green channel” for African countries’ agricultural products entering China, Wu said, adding that the first batch of exported avocadoes from Africa to China marked phased achievements of China’s imports of fresh fruits from the continent.
Since 2022, China has inked a series of fruits trade agreements with African countries. South Africa has exported its fresh pears to China and Zimbabwe has signed a citrus export deal with China. Besides, China has signed agreements with Malawi and Zambia to legally import bean and candyleaf, respectively.
More quality agricultural products from Africa will hit the Chinese market through the green channel, and the increasingly closer agricultural trade relation between the two sides is expected to grow into a new highlight of China-Africa cooperation in the new era.

Group accuses CBN of plots to disrupts investigation of dubious dubious dealings

As the controversy surrounding the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, a group, Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) has raised alarm over what it described as plot to divert attention from greviius allegations against him.

The CNF, a coalition of over 73 Civil Society Organizations in Northern Nigeria, who are committed to advocating, promoting and defending the interest and values of the people of the north insists that the allegations must be followed to a logical conclusion.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, spokesman of CNF Comrade Abdulsalm Mohammed Kazeem had this to say; “recall that, earlier in November our organization came out to say there were motives behind the redesigning of some denominations of the Nigerian currency, which informed our stand against the policy. Barely a month now, many revelations are beginning to spring up to vindicate us and our earlier claims that the currency redesigning is neither in the interest of Nigeria nor Nigerians but to satisfy the selfish schemes of a few unpatriotic Nigerians”.

Collaborating the revelations by Hon. Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure and the Department of State Security (DSS) against the CBN Governor, Mr. Emefiele Godwin, the group said such allegations are grievous and must be logically investigated and prosecuted with all sense of seriousness.

Further alleging financial misappropriation and underhand dealings, CNF queried the rationale behind spending so much money to redesign and print new currency notes with no justifiable reason.

Arguing further that except the CBN is desperate to print money for use in sponsoring nefarious activities as they have always been suspected of, there wouldn’t have been any reason to create this diversionary tactic to have an excuse such outrageous sums when the country is financially crippled literally.

Part of the statement read, “at a time when the country is having financial crisis including spiralling inflation and unemployment, is it not curious that the CBN is accused of spending 58.6 billion naira to print 2.5 billion naira notes? Something is not right and the earlier Emefiele and his co-conspirators are made to face the law and answer to these allegations the better. The cost of printing money can’t be more than the value of the money by almost 500%. Something is not right and must be unraveled. The whole idea of redesigning and reprinting is a hoax to hoard and launder money without alerting Nigerians.

The group lauded the Directorate of State Security (DSS) services for being in the forefront of safeguard national security through topnotch intelligence gathering. The group commended the Secret Police for employing thousands of Nigerians and the constant training and retraining that have made the Service a force to reckon with in intelligence gathering globally.

“It is important we bring to the notice of naysayers criticising the DSS that, apart from being the number one secret police in Africa, the DSS has been in the forefront of the war against terror and other forms of criminality in the country with astonishing results. The service has not just employed more officers but has also ensured that there are training and retraining opportunities to equip them with modern intelligence gathering techniques and know-how. This has drastically curbed the myriad security challenges we are faced with as a nation. We all can bear witness to the reduced spate of kidnappings and terrorist activities in today’s Nigeria”, the statement added.

The group therefore urged the DSS to ignore and immediately appealed the federal high court injunction and go ahead with their planned arrest of Mr Emefiele in the interest of National security. Insisting that those who asking for evidence including the courts should know that security is a discreet affairs and revealing sensitive information will harm the investigation.

According to Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem, “as patriots who wish to always stand on the path of righteousness, we won’t takes sides with those are attacking the DSS but rather ask that the Service should be allowed to carry out its duties without interference.

Those asking the DG to give details of Emefiele’s underhand dealings should know that security is a tactical issues and evidence can’t be made public so that criminals won’t be alerted and made to destroy evidence”.

On allegations of financial crimes, sponsorship of terrorism and the diversion of funds including the stamp duty Nigerians have been paying for years under President Buhari’s regime, CNF insisted on the sack of Mr. Godwin Emefiele especially because of the damning allegations by Hon. Kazaure and several unprofessional acts attributed to the CBN Governor in the last few years.

“Mr. Godwin Emefiele should, as a matter of urgency be relieved of his duties as the Governor of the apex bank (CBN), as his character and integrity is already questioned. He should be investigated accordingly and with immediate effect. His involvement into partisan politics and the spurious investments he has made even in some Nigerian banks makes him unfit to continue as CBN Governor as this contravenes the CBN Act and other extant laws. He should be made to face the charges leveled against him in a competent court of law.

“The allegations by Hon. Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure concerning the misappropriation and diversion of stamp duty funds as well as other financial crimes require in depth investigation. Financial crimes including diversion of public funds as alleged run afoul of President Buhari’s anti-corruption posture and must not be tolerated by his appointee no matter how highly placed. Emefiele can’t be sitting as a CBN Governor while these investigation continue. He needs to step aside to prevent any form of interference and undue influence”, the statement added.

CNF while urging the DSS to be resolute in the task of maintaining national security regardless of sponsored attacks and manipulations by unscrupulous Nigerians, the group insisted that Emefiele should turn himself in and be interrogated if he truly has nothing to fear instead of running from pillar to post hoping to save himself.

“It is our position that the CBN Governor should turn himself in to the DSS for questioning, possible arrest and detention. Failure to do so should be met by a forceful arrest and detention in one of Nigeria’s maximum security prison facility. He should forthwith, stop sponsoring faceless goons against the person of the DG of DSS and the Service in general. The endless media wars and attacks can only elongate his doomsday but will definitely not save from standing trial and answering to the weighty allegations against him”, the statement concluded.

Story behind re-germination of seeds collected on Mount Qomolangma

By Zhang Fan, Yang Wenming, Li Maoying, People’s Daily

In September 2021, Chinese researchers collected the seeds of Desideria himalayensis at an altitude of 6,212 meters at the East Rongbuk Glacier on Mount Qomolangma, setting a new record for plant seed collection at the highest altitude in China.

In July this year, seeds of five species of plants collected during the seed-collection mission on Mount Qomolangma successfully germinated after being preserved in cold storage at minus 20 degrees Celsius for nearly a year.

The success of the germination experiment means that China has collected and preserved the seeds of a plant found at the highest altitude globally so far and laid a foundation for relevant research into germplasm resources in the future.

On Sept. 24, 2021, Guo Yongjie, Zhao Yanhui, and the other six members of the team tasked with the seed-collection mission climbed Mount Qomolangma for the second time, following their first trip in August.

Prior to that, only 15 species of plants were publicly known to have been collected at a height of over 6,100 meters.

In the area referred to as the “forbidden zone of life”, where it is windy, extremely cold, and lacks oxygen, researchers must be very careful with every step they take on their way up the mountain.

The team set off from the transition camp at an altitude of 5,800 meters, and reached a height of around 6,200 meters several hours later.

“Desideria himalayensis,” Guo cried at the sight of the plant that wears camouflage colors. After recognizing the plant growing in a crevice, Guo immediately laid on his stomach to take pictures of it from all angles and recorded the altitude and other information about the spot where the plant was found.

The plant that grew at an altitude of 6,212 meters was the first plant they found at altitudes above 6,000 meters. What made Guo more excited was that some of the siliques of the Desideria himalayensis had split, which meant the team had a chance to collect the seeds of the plant.

Just after Guo collected the Desideria himalayensis, Mount Qomolangma in the distance revealed itself. Seeing the tiny, fragile branches of the plant sway in the wind in stark contrast to the snow-capped mountains in the distance, Guo thought to himself, Mount Qomolangma is awe-inspiring, but the tenacity of life is by no means inferior to it.
　
The seeds collected from Mount Qomolangma were quickly sent to the institute which launched the seed-collection mission – the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species in the Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province.

“Information about the seeds, such as the time when they were collected, the longitude, latitude, and altitude of the spots where they were collected, as well as the species, the initial quality and quantity of the seeds, must all be put into the database in a timely manner, so that it can be useful for future research and ecological restoration efforts,” said Qin Shaofa, head of the seed management team at the seed storage center of the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species.

According to the standards set by the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, a complete seed sample needs to have at least 2,500 seeds, with around 10,000 seeds being the best case. However, since seeds are scarce at high altitudes of Mount Qomolangma, it is hardly possible to collect 2,500 seeds, so researchers can only try to collect and preserve as many seeds as possible first.

Qin and his team members put the seeds of plants including Desideria himalayensis and Saussurea gnaphalodes in the main drying room after counting and weighing them. After being kept in an environment with a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and an air humidity of 15 percent for a month, the water content of the seeds were reduced to around 5 percent.

The precious seeds of plants such as Desideria himalayensis and Saussurea gnaphalodes entered a “dormant period” in a low-temperature and dry environment, and were then sealed up and put in cold storage for long-term preservation.

“It’s possible that these seeds will live several decades and even more than a thousand years in an environment with a constant temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius,” Qin said.

In July this year, the seeds of five species of wild plants collected on Mount Qomolangma, namely Desideria himalayensis, Saussurea gnaphalodes, Pedicularis cheilanthifolia, Oxytropis microphylla, and Hippophae tibetana, were taken out of the cold storage by Yang Juan after being kept there for nearly 10 months.

Yang, a staff member of the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species in charge of seed germination, put the seeds in a drying room to raise their temperature before carefully placing a part of them on agar medium.

“In order to make sure that the seeds stored in the germplasm bank are alive, we test the viability of each seed sample once in a while,” Yang said, adding that the seeds of the five species of wild plants were tested for the first time 10 months after they were collected on Mount Qomolangma.

Within merely nine days, all the seeds had germinated. In particular, the germination of Desideria himalayensis has proven that China has successfully collected and preserved the seeds of a plant found at the highest altitude globally so far.
　
In addition to the seeds of plants collected on Mount Qomolangma, valuable germplasm resources from more than 10,000 species are preserved in the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species.

Since it was put into operation, 87,863 samples of seeds from 10,917 wild plant species in China have been stored in the germplasm bank, and seed samples from 36 percent of China’s flowering plant species are also kept in the facility.

A seed carries the hope of life from the moment it comes into being. The seeds preserved in the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species have without doubt brought more hope to biodiversity protection.

Intelligent logistics gives a boost to China’s development

By Liu Leyi

Driven by the development of a new generation of information technology, intelligent logistics is speeding up in China, giving a leg up to the country’s development.

According to statistics, the overall market size of China’s intelligent logistics stood at 35.67 billion yuan ($5.11 billion) in 2020, and the figure surged to 128.05 billion yuan as of October this year, with an average annual compound growth of over 70 percent.

With digitalization, modern warehouses are no longer merely “transfer stations,” but key nodes that offer targeted services. Intelligent warehousing systems now play a crucial role in the logistics sector.

In smart warehouses, cargos are sorted and moved by logistics robots, and real-time information about cargo vehicles is shown on big screens. What’s more, the “last kilometer” problem is now solved by unmanned delivery vehicles that are able to carry all types of parcels.

In the warehouse of an industrial park owned by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com in Yiwu, east China’s Zhejiang province, over 100 automated guided vehicles are employed. Guided by QR codes and an inertial navigation system, these vehicles are able to precisely deliver cargos to staff members of the warehouse.

“Warehousing is becoming smarter and smarter, turning from person-to-goods to goods-to-person,” said Weng Bo, who’s in charge of the warehouse.

Weng told People’s Daily that the warehouse is able to handle 1,500 orders per hour, which is three times more efficient than traditional models, and the whole industrial park can process as many as 70,000 orders on a daily basis.

Resources are integrated for cargo transport, too. For instance, Wellong Etown, a logistics company based in Zhenjiang, east China’s Jiangsu province, has established a smart online cargo dispatching platform that enables shippers and truck drivers to receive freight forwarding solutions on their mobile phones. With a satellite positioning system developed by the company, the departure time, locations, and destinations of delivery vehicles can all be traced.

Automated and intelligent devices are gradually being employed at the delivery end, with contactless delivery becoming “standard configuration.”

In October this year, six smart delivery vehicles of JD Logistics, a supply chain solutions and logistics services provider of JD.com, were put into trial operation in a testing base for autopilot vehicles in Shunyi district, Beijing.

These vehicles, which can recognize traffic lights, detect pedestrians and keep staying in the right lane, have a maximum capacity of 200 kilograms and a range of 100 kilometers. They are able to complete over 200 deliveries per day.

These vehicles can send parcels to service areas that are far from distribution centers and then hand them to couriers for final deliveries.

He Tian, vice president of JD.com and head of JD Logistics AI and Data Science, told People’s Daily that intelligent logistics would enter a new era by 2025, in which artificial intelligence would contribute to the efficient automated development of all logistics links.

“In the future, we’ll keep developing the logistics sector with technologies and constantly improving delivery efficiency and service quality to ensure the safety of all logistics links,” He noted.

UN Security Council ‘Deeply Alarmed’ By Taliban Restrictions On Women

By Olubusi Olakayode Nifemi

The Taliban government’s restriction on Afghan women attending university or working for aid organizations has sparked “deep worry,” according to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.

The Islamist group demanded last week that all national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) stop sending their female staff to work and suspend university education for all female students in the nation, actions that have been roundly denounced by the world community.

The UNSC called for “the full, equitable, and meaningful engagement of women and girls in Afghanistan” in a statement released on Tuesday, expressing its “grave concern.”

The Taliban was encouraged to change its practices, which “reflect an increasing deterioration for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” according to the statement.

Following the Taliban’s harsh crackdown on Afghan women’s freedoms after seizing power in August 2021, the new limitations represent another stage in the Taliban’s campaign.

Despite the Taliban’s frequent claims that it will preserve girls’ and women’s rights, the organization has done the exact opposite, taking away the hard-won liberties that women have battled valiantly for over the past 20 years.

The Taliban imposed some of the most glaring restrictions on society, including the ban on girls returning to secondary schools in March.

Many students and their families were upset by the decision, and many spoke to reporters about their crushed aspirations to become physicians, teachers, or engineers.

Following the restriction on female NGO staff, at least a dozen significant international relief organizations have said they are temporarily stopping their operations in Afghanistan.

The UNSC statement stated that the NGO ban will have an effect on humanitarian efforts in the nation, including those of the UN.

The Taliban’s promises to the Afghan people and the aspirations of the international community are both violated by these restrictions, the UNSC continued.

Writing on Twitter Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, stated on Tuesday that the limits “must be abolished” because they constitute unacceptable abuses of human rights.

The potential of the Afghan people continues to suffer greatly as a result of efforts to exclude and silence women and girls, he claimed.