China’s armed police hold anti-terror exercise in Xinjiang

China’s armed police on Tuesday completed an anti-terror exercise in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The exercise, held simultaneously in several locations including Aksu, Kashgar, Urumqi and Yili over the past three and half days, included more than 10,000 people, according to a military statement.

The exercise examined the force’s ability to carry out missions in complicated environments such as in deserts, plateaus and mountainous regions, as well as nighttime operations, it said.




China’s first commercial quantum private communication network completed

[unable to retrieve full-text content]China’s first commercial quantum private communication network has been completed in Shandong Province, local government said Tuesday.




Taiwan issues sea warning for Typhoon Talim

Taiwan’s weather bureau Tuesday issued a sea warning as Typhoon Talim approached the island.

Talim, this year’s 18th typhoon, was located about 810 kilometers southeast of Taipei, moving northwest toward Taiwan at a speed of up to 21 kilometers per hour, according to latest data of the bureau.

The storm will pose an increasing threat to Taiwan’s northern and eastern waters as it increases in intensity, the bureau said.

It also cautioned people in Taiwan to remain vigilant as heavy rain is likely in northern and eastern areas from Wednesday afternoon.




Irregularities in excavation of playwright Tang’s tomb confirmed

Official confirmation has been given of some issues arising from the excavation of the tomb of ancient playwright Tang Xianzu.

Zhang Ling, deputy head of the archaeology section of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), said the excavation of the main structure of Tang’s tomb had not been approved and that archaeologists and the local cultural heritage agency had failed to report their discoveries to the administration in a timely manner.

Late last month, archeologists in east China’s Jiangxi Province said that they had found a cluster of tombs believed to belong to the playwright and his family.

However, doubts emerged as to whether the excavation had been conducted in a proper manner.

Zhang said that in April the SACH approved a plan to excavate the cluster, but digging was to be limited to annexes and outbuildings only. However, the archaeologists may have misunderstood the SACH instruction and cleaned up the external structure of the tombs.

More importantly, they did not follow the routine practice of promptly reporting any important findings to the SACH, Zhang said. The administration has the right to stop, direct or support any archaeological work to ensure excavation is conducted in an orderly manner.

The SACH has summoned officials from Jiangxi for talks to ensure proper study and preservation of the site.

Best known for “The Peony Pavilion,” the story of the romance between a daughter of a wealthy official and a talented but poor young scholar, Tang is sometimes compared with his contemporaries, William Shakespeare and Cervantes. All three died in the same year.




Public encouraged to purchase honey in quake area

Officials in Sichuan province asked people to purchase tens of thousands of kilograms of unsold honey in Jiuzhaigou county after an earthquake hit the region on Aug 8.

Beekeepers in the quake area have been affected by poor sales of honey since the Jiuzhaigou scenic area stopped accepting tourists, and some roads connecting the area with the outside world were damaged after the quake, according to the Work Committee for Organizations directly under the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee.

“According to statistics, more than 65,000 kilograms of honey across the 17 townships in the county failed to be sold,” said Wang Chengxian, deputy director with the work committee.

Jiuzhaigou is famous for its honey, which has become a major source of income for local residents.

After hearing the news, the work committee along with Sichuan poverty alleviation and relocation bureau encouraged officials and government staff to buy the honey in the quake area.

“When my colleagues and I received a notice, we started purchasing honey. It is what we should do,” said Zhang Yang with Sichuan provincial forestry department.

But the government efforts alone are not enough to help residents in the quake area overcome their difficulties. Zhang said that they hope the public will join them.

A 7.0-magnitude quake rocked Jiuzhaigou county on Aug. 8, leaving 24 dead and hundreds injured.