Innehållsförteckning för Vol.68/No.13 från Beijing Review

PALESTINE A man inspects a building damaged by an Israeli airstrike in a residential area of Gaza City on March 18 REPUBLIC OF KOREA Protesters demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol set up tents and stage a sit-in demonstration in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, on March 18 GERMANY Visitors taste wines from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, at the 2025 International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits in Düsseldorf, on March 16 HONDURAS Rescue workers search near the site of a plane crash on Roatán Island on March 17. A small aircraft carrying at least 15 people crashed earlier that same day. The accident claimed six lives UNITED KINGDOM Shi Yuqi of China wins the men’s singles final at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham on March…

He Haiyan, a courier for YTO Express, one of China’s leading logistics and express delivery companies, picked up a package of fresh yak meat from a specialty store in Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, on March 7. After air transport, the meat would reach its destination 2,000 km away in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, within 48 hours. Twelve years ago, He never imagined his career would be closely tied to the development of Xizang’s logistics industry. Today, he skillfully weaves through the streets of Lhasa, greeting locals in fluent Tibetan, connecting recipients thousands of miles away. Service expansion In 2013, He’s family settled in Lhasa when he decided to move there in search of opportunities. Originally from Qingyang in Gansu Province—2,600 km away from Lhasa—he was drawn to the city by its…

Since its inception in 1991, the 315 show, an annual live broadcast on state broadcaster China Central Television, has attracted rapt national attention. The program, with its name in reference to World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, is part of China’s engagement with the global initiative, with the purpose of exposing business activities that infringe on consumer rights and also of promoting market regulation. Over the years, the program has brought to light regulatory violations by many domestic and foreign brands. “After the cases are revealed at the event, brands often face significant public pressure and market losses, which prompt them to quickly implement remedial measures. For example, following the exposure of the pickled vegetable scandal, the involved companies not only removed the shoddy products from shelves but also…

Married at First Sight, The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband, My Death Brings Flames… These, and many more micro drama titles that are wildly popular among viewers, are reshaping China’s entertainment landscape. Last year, micro dramas, once an emerging genre of entertainment riddled with low-budget productions, surpassed films in terms of market value for the first time, generating 50.4 billion yuan ($6.9 billion). Meanwhile, the user base for Chinese micro drama apps had reached 576 million in June 2024, exceeding those of food delivery services, online literature and online car hailing platforms, according to a white paper released by the China Netcasting Services Association in November 2024. The micro drama sector also reportedly offers approximately 648,000 jobs. “Micro dramas feature highly concentrated plots that are rich in twists and…

Reduced Hospital Admissions A study by medical scientists from Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, has shown that China’s air pollution control measures may have averted more than 270,000 hospital admissions linked to heart and psychiatric diseases from 2013 to 2017, Xinhua News Agency reported on March 18. The research analyzed over 48 million hospitalization records across 292 Chinese cities between 2013 and 2017, offering a comprehensive quantification of health benefits from the country’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) launched in 2013. Fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM2.5) and black carbon have long been believed to be associated with infectious and chronic illnesses, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Compared with 2013, the annual average concentrations of PM2.5 and black…

With an average elevation of over 4,500 meters and spanning 2.5 million square km, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is the highest and largest plateau on Earth, earning it the title the “roof of the world.” Unsurprisingly, the plateau is home to exceptional biodiversity, making it one of the most biologically rich geographical regions in the world. It supports nearly 6,000 species of higher plants, with 1,000 of them being endemic. This fertile and enigmatic land has long attracted curious explorers and researchers from home and abroad. Among them is Laqiong, a botanist and professor of botany at the School of Ecology and Environment, Xizang University. With over 30 years of experience in ecological research, he has dedicated himself to preserving the diverse ecosystems of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Over the past decade,…

A traditional Chinese scroll painting depicting prehistoric civilization in Hunan Province was on display at the National Museum of China from February 20 to March 27. Measuring 140 meters in length and 1.8 meters in height, this artwork is the product of two years of collaboration among several contemporary Chinese art masters. It offers a panoramic depiction of Hunan’s prehistoric civilization, spanning 500,000 years of history. The scroll begins with the primal existence of the region’s earliest inhabitants, who migrated across the floodplains and crafted tools by striking stones. It then transitions to portray the transformative shift brought about by rice cultivation and the rise of settled life. Alongside the stunning piece, the exhibition featured 49 sets of prehistoric artifacts, comprising 91 individual pieces. These included stone tools unearthed from…

Robust Growth In the first two months of 2025, China’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, increased 5.9 percent year on year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on March 17. In February, industrial output grew 0.51 percent from January. The country’s fixed assets investment totaled more than 5.26 trillion yuan ($734 billion) during the January-February period. It increased 4.1 percent year on year and was 0.9 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate of 2024. Investment in infrastructure construction during the two months rose 5.6 percent from a year ago, with manufacturing investment increasing 9 percent. The services sector also registered accelerated growth in the period, with its official production index growing 5.6 percent year on year, a rate 0.4 percentage points…

Padma was 17 when the democratic reform was introduced in Xizang in 1959. Before the reform, the region had been ruled by feudal serfdom under a theocracy for centuries. Nearly 1 million serfs were subjected to estate-holders’ cruel exploitation and oppression. Padma was one of them. Born into a serf family in Xainza County, Nagqu, in north Xizang, Padma spent his adolescent years working as a houseboy for “Masters” in a local noble family. “I rarely got enough food to eat,” Padma told Beijing Review. In winter, he was not given warm shoes and the only way to keep his feet warm was to wrap them up in rags. He thought at the time he would serve the noble family for his whole life. A turning point The turning point…

At the No.1 Middle School in Namling County, Xizang Autonomous Region, located at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, students now access video teaching materials through the Xizang Education Zhufeng Qiyun platform. The platform, and the computer-filled classrooms students use to access it, are part of the region’s ongoing efforts to digitalize education. With the rapid advancement of digital technology, the establishment of a “cloud classroom,” which brings together diverse online courses, narrows the educational resource gap between regions, and urban and rural areas. It also offers a model for improving educational equity around the world. Resource sharing The core challenge of educational equity is the spatial imbalance and temporal lag in resource allocation. Under the traditional education model, high-quality teaching staff, curriculum resources and teaching tools are heavily concentrated…

On March 7, the European Union (EU) approved an unprecedented 800-billioneuro ($840 billion) ReArm Europe initiative at a special summit in Brussels, Belgium. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the decision as a “watershed moment,” emphasizing its goal of reducing Europe’s reliance on external powers—particularly the United States—and establishing a more autonomous and resilient defense framework. With shifting geopolitical dynamics and U.S. President Donald Trump reassessing Washington’s stance on global security, European leaders agreed that the continent must take charge of its own defense. According to the EU summit communiqué, the Russia-Ukraine conflict presents an existential challenge, underscoring the urgent need to bolster Europe’s military capabilities, reduce strategic dependencies and close critical defense gaps. The plan aims to strengthen the EU’s defense technology and industrial base. Anxiety and…

Baking bread, pouring milk and retrieving packages… the humanoid robot developed by Shenzhen Dobot Co. Ltd. can do it all. Launched on March 11, Dobot Atom is the world’s first humanoid robot with embodied intelligence, featuring both dexterous manipulation and human-like straight-knee walking. Founded in 2015, Dobot is based in Shenzhen, an economic powerhouse in south China’s Guangdong Province. The company has been developing robotic arms and collaborative robots, or “cobots,” designed to work alongside humans in shared workspaces. Xie Kaixuan, Marketing Director of Dobot, told Beijing Review that Dobot Atom is powered by the company’s self-developed Neural-Driven Dexterous System and Anthropomorphic Walking System. Over 90 percent of the robot’s key components are also developed by the company. “With strong adaptability, Dobot Atom can learn new tasks in less than…