Xi Jinping Takes Inspiration from Classic Text in Call for Greater Harmony between Humans, Nature

BEIJING, May 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A report from CCTV+:

Chinese President Xi Jinping has on many occasions stressed the need for greater efforts to protect the ecological environment, with Xi taking his inspiration from classic works and looking to promote the shift towards a greener, low-carbon lifestyle to ensure harmony between humans and nature.

Xi quoted from the ancient Chinese classical text ‘Zi Zhi Tong Jian’, or ‘Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance’, first published almost a millennium ago, in a speech delivered at the opening of the Beijing Horticultural Expo back in April 2019.

During this speech, Xi acknowledged that: “industrialization, while generating unprecedented material wealth, has incurred serious damage to Mother Nature.”

These remarks came against the backdrop of growing concern over the effects of climate change, as well as worries that fossil fuels could soon run out if humans continue to burn at the current rate, while key resources such as land, water and energy are all becoming more limited.

“‘Well-measured use of natural resources’ is the key to ecological conservation,” Xi told the expo.

“We need to promote a simpler, greener, and low-carbon lifestyle, oppose excessiveness and wastefulness, and foster a culture of living green and healthy,” the president said.

“Looking up at night, we are awed by the many stars in the sky. Planet Earth is the only home for mankind. We must protect this planet like our own eyes, and cherish nature the way we cherish life,” Xi said.

China’s latest five-year plan also paves the way for its promise of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) vows to lower energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 13.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, during the next five-year period.

In the past 10 years, China has ranked first globally in terms of the increase in forest resources, with its afforestation area exceeding 70 million hectares. Meanwhile, 90 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types and 85 percent of key wild animal populations are under effective state protection. China has also pledged to increase the forest stock volume by six billion cubic meters by 2030 from the 2005 level and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pbnX22aokU

Video – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1506022/video.mp4

CGTN: How does Xi Jinping express gratitude and love to his mother?

BEIJING, May 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — As International Mother’s Day, an important occasion that falls on the second Sunday of May every year, will be celebrated on May 9 this year, the media started reporting moving stories about mothers and children.

Among the stories, Xi Jinping’s stands out as he is not only a son but also the president of China.

How does the president express gratitude and love to his mother? Xi’s way can be figured out when he stressed the importance of family bonds and family love and emphasized family education on many occasions.

Xi Jinping and his mother Qi Xin

Pass down family tradition

When President Xi delivered his first New Year address in 2013, photos placed on his bookshelves caught the online community’s attention, especially the image of him walking hand in hand with his mother.

Xi is a filial son. He chats with his mother Qi Xin, and takes a walk with her whenever he has time.

While meeting with representatives to the first National Conference of Model Families in December 2016, Xi told a story about family education. The conference was the first of its kind to honor model families selected nationwide. A total of 300 model families were honored.

“When I was a child, my mother gave me a picture-story book series-’The Legend of Yue Fei.’ One of its more than 10 volumes shows Yue Fei’s mother tattooing four characters saying ‘serve the country with the utmost loyalty’ across his back,” Xi said, adding that the story of Yue Fei, a well-known ancient military figure fighting against invasion, deeply impressed him.

Self-discipline

Qi led a simple life, which became a tradition for the family. No matter how painstaking to take care of the family while working, she never compromised her work. Her lifestyle and the family atmosphere guided Xi’s values.

“A person who failed to be incorruptible and self-disciplined will become a person with no guts. Keep in mind that honesty is a blessing and greed is a curse while establishing a correct view of power, status, and interests,” Qi once wrote in a letter to Xi, reminding him of self-discipline. Xi has incorporated these beliefs into his ideology and governance practices.

Calling corruption the “biggest” risk to the Party’s governance, Xi has stressed there is “no alternative” but to fight corruption against all odds and called for rigorous self-discipline within the Party.

While going after corrupt officials, including both high-ranking “tigers” to lower-level “flies” on the domestic front, Beijing has also carried out such operations as “Sky Net” and “Fox Hunt” to hunt down venal officials who have fled abroad.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-08/How-does-Xi-Jinping-express-gratitude-and-love-to-his-mother–10617ntrTAk/index.html

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1506094/Xi_Jinping_mother_Qi_Xin.jpg

Sudan complets second IMF review ahead towards debt relief

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government and an IMF team reached a staff-level agreement on the completion of the second review under the current Staff-Monitored Program (SMP).

On 8 March, the IMF approved the first review of a 12-month SMP, which supports reforms by the Sudanese government to stabilize the economy, enhance social protection, boost the private sector, and strengthening governance.

Endorsed by the IMF in September 2020, Sudan’s SMP, which will establish a strong track record of policy and reform implementation, is a key requirement for eventual debt relief expected in June this year.

The completion of the second review of SMP was announced by the Sudanese Finance Minister Gerbil Ibrahim in a tweet on Friday.

“Sudan has successfully passed the 2nd IMF Staff Monitored Program (SMP) review. This paves the way for Sudan to reach HIPC Decision Point which will hopefully result in substantial debt relief for Sudan as well as new credit lines,” he said.

For its part, Carol Baker, IMF mission chief for Sudan, commended the progress made by the Sudanese authorities in the implementation of key reforms under the SMP to bring the debt relief closer.

“Despite very challenging conditions which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sudanese authorities continue to make sustained progress on their ambitious reform agenda,” Baker told Reuters.

Sudan seeks relief on at least $50 billion in external debt to international financial institutions.

Sudan foreign debt is estimated at $60 billion.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune

U.S. envoy in Khartoum for talks on GERD, Ethiopia

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Khartoum on Friday for talks with Sudanese officials over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Feltman before arriving in the Sudanese capital was in Cairo where discussed the GERD with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty.

His regional tour from May 4 to May 13 includes Ethiopia and Eritrea as he intends to discuss the situation in the Tigray region.

During his two-day visit, he is expected to hold talks with the head of the Sovereign Council, the Prime Minister, Foreign and Irrigation Ministers.

The visiting diplomat will discuss the stalled GERD and border standoff between Sudan and Ethiopia.

Sudan and Egypt call for a legally binding agreement on the filing and operation of the GERD but Ethiopia rejects their request, saying such a deal will prevent the upstream country from using its water resources.

Khartoum proposes a four-way mediation led by the African Union that Ethiopia rejects. Instead, Assis Ababa calls to continue the direct talks under the auspices of the African Union.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune

UNAMID hands over its headquarters in Central Darfur

May 7, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The former hybrid peacekeeping operation in western Sudan handed over its headquarters in the capital of Central Darfur state.

The United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) completed its mandate on 31 December 2020.

Initially, the closure of the UNAMID team sites was planned to end by 16 June, but it was decided to accelerate the drawdown before the start of the wet season to avoid further complications.

On 6 May, the UNAMID handed over its former headquarters in Zalingei to the governor of West Darfur representing the Sudanese government.

The ceremony was also attended by Zalingei University officials as the compound will host the academic institution.

The handover documents were signed by M’Baye Babacar Cissé, Assistant Secretary-General, on behalf of UNAMID and Adeeb Abdel Rahman, the Governor of Central Darfur State, signed on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Sudan.

The former UNAMID head and his deputy left their roles on 31 January 2021, along with the Force Commander and the Police Commissioner.

In statements to the official news agency SUNA, Abdel Rahman said the UNAMID team site was allocated to the University of Zalinge with the aim that contributes to the peace project in the state.

While the UNAMID drawdown and liquidation processes are in their final stage, the Sudanese government the armed groups signatories of the Juba peace agreement still did not deploy the joint forces in Darfur.

On 15 April 2021, the head of the government negotiating team Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi said that a first batch of the joint forces, between 3000 to 5000 troops, would be deployed in the Darfur region.

Eltaishi at the time attributed the delay to financial difficulties the government has been facing and the delay of the armed groups to hand over the lists of their forces participating in the force.

However, he asserted that the two problems have been solved.

 

Source: Sudan Tribune

‫ CGTN: خذ بقدر واستخدم بحذر

بكين, 8 مايو / أيار 2021 /PRNewswire/ –كلمات شي جين بينغ، الرئيس الصيني:إن عملية التصنيع، مع توليد ثروة مادية غير مسبوقة، تسببت في أضرار جسيمة للطبيعة الأم.

تعتبر الموارد مثل الأرض والمياه والطاقة محدودة. على سبيل المثال، سينفد الوقود الأحفوري في مئات السنين على أبعد تقدير، إذا واصلنا استهلاكه بالمعدل الحالي، فكيف نتعامل مع هذه التحديات؟ طرح الصينيون سؤالا مماثلا قبل ألف عام عندما احتاج إمبراطور أسرة تانغ الإمبراطورية في القرن الثامن إلى السيطرة على الاستخدام المفرط للأرض. وكان الحل هو استخدام الموارد مع القيود والاعتدال.

كلمات شي جين بينغ، الرئيس الصيني

“خذ بقدر واستخدم بحذر”. هو جوهر الحضارة الإيكولوجية. نحن بحاجة إلى تعزيز أسلوب حياة أبسط وأكثر مراعاة للبيئة ومنخفض الكربون، ومعارضة الإفراط والهدر، وتعزيز ثقافة العيش الأخضر والصحي.

لقد تمت وراثة فكرة القدماء للاعتدال حتى يومنا هذا، وحصلت هذه الفكرة على معان جديدة. الآن دعونا نقابل لورانس براهم ونلقى نظرة على مصدر هذه الجملة “تشيوي تشي يو دو، يونغ تشي يو جيه” ودلالاتها الحديثة.

اليوم أريد أن أتحدث معك عن اقتباس استخدمه الرئيس الصيني شي جين بينغ في خطاباته عن التوازن بين الطبيعة والبشر. تم أخذه من كتاب اسمه “تسي تشي تونغ جيان” (مرآة شاملة لمساعدة الحكم).

أعتقد أن هذا الكتاب تم تأليفه في عهد أسرة سونغ (960-1279) ويغطي تاريخ 16 أسرة ملكية وإمبراطورية مختلفة. إنه حقا دليل إرشادي يمكنك أن ترى فيه فلسفة القيادة المبنية على العناصر الثقافية والتقليدية وكيفية قيادة دولة من خلال هذا الكتاب.

والاقتباس نفسه يعني أنه يجب ألا تندفع ضد الطبيعة بشدة. بل عليك استخدام الموارد مع القيود والاعتدال.

هذا هو جوهر الثقافة الصينية، أي “تيان رن خه يي” باللغة الصينية.

الوئام بين الطبيعة والبشرية.

بالضبط. نحن البشرية مجرد قناة بين الأرض والسماء.

إذا فكرنا في السياسات الاقتصادية فقط. هذا نتيجة لذلك: استخدمنا الكثير من الموارد، طلبنا الكثير من الطبيعة. ثم فقدنا أرضنا وبركنا وبحيراتنا.

أعتقد أن ما يحدث الآن على المستوى الوطني في الصين هو أن هناك اعتبارا كاملا لما نحتاج إليه لإعادة التوازن إلى الاقتصاد. وهنا، يمكن أن نرى أنه في ظل بناء الحضارة الإيكولوجية التي أكد الرئيس شي عليها، هناك قدر هائل من الاستثمارات تذهب الآن إلى إعادة ربط الشبكة والتحول من الوقود الأحفوري إلى الطاقة الخضراء خلال وقت قصير جدا. وإنه قرار ضخم ويتحلى بالإرادة السياسية لإعادة التوازن إلى البيئة.

مقارنة بين سياق الكلام الصيني وسياق الكلام الغربي، ما هو الفرق فيما وراء أنظمة التفكير والقيم بين الطبيعة والإنسان؟

أعتقد أن ما نحتاج إلى النظر إليه هو الاختلاف الأساسي بين التفكير الغربي والتفكير الآسيوي حول قضية القيمة هذه. منذ العصور الوسطى تقريبا، اعتمد التفكير الغربي على الازدواجية. وأعتقد أن التفكير الآسيوي يعمل بشكل تقليدي حول مفهوم الين واليانغ. إن الين واليانغ ليسا نقيضين، لأن الأمر يتعلق بالتوازن في نهاية المطاف. وإنه يتعلق بطريقة وسطية بحيث تتطور كل الأشياء حسب قانونها حتى يحقق التوازن مع الطبيعة.

عندما يتعلق الأمر بالسياسة، فإنه لا يزال بحاجة إلى دعم الناس للحكومة بشأن إعادة التوازن بين الاقتصاد والحضارة الإيكولوجية. هل تعتقد أن هذا ممكن؟ هل يوجد هناك توازن بين الاثنين؟

هذا جانب مهم للغاية في سياسة الحضارة الإيكولوجية. أولا وقبل كل شيء، إذا كنا سنذهب إلى عصر جديد من الطاقة الخضراء، من القانون إلى الهندسة وتخطيط المدينة والاستخدام الصناعي حتى إدارة النفايات، كل شيء يحتاج إلى إعادة التفكير من منظور التنمية الخضراء، ويجب أن يدخل ذلك النظام التعليمي. وتم تنفيذ هذا المفهوم بالفعل على مستوى المجتمع السكني، وبالطبع، تم تحسين وعي الناس في هذا الصدد. ولحسن الحظ، تؤمن الحضارة الصينية الممتدة لأكثر من 5000 عام دائما بأن البشر جزء من الطبيعة، ومع هذا الفهم، ليس من الصعب على الجميع التوصل إلى توافق.

شكرا جزيلا لك يا لورانس.

تردد صدى فلسفة ضبط النفس والاعتدال عبر التاريخ الصيني.

كلمات شي جين بينغ، الرئيس الصيني:

عند النظر في السماء ليلا، نرى كثيرا من النجوم اللامعة. ولكن كوكب الأرض هو الموطن الوحيد للبشرية. فيجب أن نحمي هذا الكوكب مثل أعيننا، ونتعامل مع الطبيعة بالطريقة التي نتعامل بها مع الحياة.

https://arabic.cgtn.com/n/BfJEA-BEA-BcA/FcIdAA/index.html

فيديو – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKhBGofvl8E