International

Curriculum to include household skills

Starting from the upcoming fall semester, students in primary and middle schools will have at least one course every week to learn basic household skills such as cleaning and cooking, plus cutting-edge technology including 3D printing and laser cutting.

The Ministry of Education recently released a new curriculum standard for labor education in compulsory education. The standard has three types of tasks: everyday chores, including cleaning, organizing, cooking, and using and maintaining home appliances; productive labor, including agriculture, making traditional handicrafts, and experience and application of new technologies; and service, including volunteer work.

Primary school students in first and second grades need to do basic cleaning, wash vegetables and peel fruit, and learn to raise one or two kinds of plants or small animals.

Third and fourth graders should clean their classrooms, wash their underwear, socks and shoes, know how to make cold dishes and use home appliances.

Fifth and sixth graders should master the skills of cooking two or three common dishes, such as fried eggs, or scrambled eggs with tomato.

For middle school students, they are encouraged to cook three or four dishes independently, learn how to make one or two kinds of traditional handicrafts, and experience one or two types of industrial labor, new technologies, modern service or volunteer work.

The new curriculum also stipulates the establishment of labor week, which refers to extracurricular, off-campus, continuous and intensive activities that occur every school year.

It calls for the participation of families in students’ labor education. Schools should use various means to help parents realize the importance of labor education and help parents make household lists to improve students’ independence.

The curriculum has been widely discussed on social media and became the top trending topic on Sina Weibo.

Netizens welcomed the inclusion of such courses and said it is necessary to teach young students basic skills. Some have regretted not learning such skills during their school days.

Yang Jianping, mother of a first grader in Beijing, said she strongly supports teaching students such courses so they learn the necessary technical and labor skills in life.

Her son’s head teacher asks the students to clean the classrooms and use disinfecting wipes to clean the desks, chairs and classroom floors, she said.

She also asks him to help make simple dishes and has taken him to plant vegetables at his grandmother’s garden in the countryside during winter vacation, Yang said.

“He is very interested in planting vegetables and asks to video chat with his grandmother to see the plants every day,” she said.

Xiong Bingqi, director of 21st Century Education Research Institute, said more supervision and regulation are needed to ensure local governments and schools allocate enough resources and teachers for labor education and open enough courses.

He said labor education needs family participation, yet many parents only value academic education and overlook other forms of education, he said.

Such forms of family education harm the development of children by taking away opportunities to experience life, develop necessary skills and become independent people, he added.

International

CHINA CELEBRATES ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

China marks National Day with light shows, #fireworks, drone displays #PRC75Years

Fireworks illuminate the sky in Macao, south China on Oct. 1, 2024. Various events and activities were held to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

*Tourists visit the Senado Square in Macao, south China*

International

Wang Yi calls on Global South to jointly advance peace and development

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday called on the Global South to work actively and contribute to building a world of lasting peace and universal security.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a dialogue session between high-ranking officials responsible for security matters and national security advisors from BRICS and Global South countries in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Noting the international security situation is becoming increasingly complex with fierce geopolitical competition and emerging hotspot issues, Wang said the aspiration of people of all countries for peace and security has become stronger and the call for unity and cooperation has become more urgent.

Global peace and development cannot be achieved without the support and participation of all progressive forces, Wang added.

Gaining momentum in the new century, Wang said, the Global South should stand ahead and make positive contributions to building a world of lasting peace and universal security in the face of a turbulent and interwoven world.

Wang called on the Global South countries to adhere to dialogue and cooperation and share the development opportunities and fruits to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, realize common prosperity and gain a greater voice in the international arena.

Wang said, being an ex-officio member of the Global South, China has always stood firm with southern countries to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice and promote world peace and development.

BRICS countries and the Global South share a natural emotional bond and extensive common interests, Wang noted, and China supports BRICS in pursuing development with an open door and promoting cooperation with open arms.

China welcomes more like-minded Global South countries to join the BRICS family and work together as a force for stability and peace, a backbone for open development, a force for global governance and a force for mutual learning among civilizations, so as to build a community with a shared future for mankind, Wang added.

Caption: Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, attends a dialogue session between high-ranking officials responsible for security matters and national security advisors from BRICS and Global South countries in St. Petersburg, Russia, September 11, 2024.

International

The Authority of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 Cannot Be Challenged

Article by H. E. YanXiusheng, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Barbados

The 79th United Nations General Assembly opened on September 10 in New York. At present, there are still a handful forces that have been deliberately distorting and challenging UNGA Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971, trumpeting the notion that Taiwan’s status is undetermined, and advocating support for Taiwan’s participation in UN meetings and activities, in an attempt to challenge the international community’s consensus on the one-China principle. I believe that such actions, which go against the tide of history, will undoubtedly end in failure.

On October 25, 1971, the 26th UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, deciding to “restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it”. The Resolution resolved once and for all politically, legally and procedurally the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the United Nations. The resolution also made clear that there can only be one seat representing China at the UN and precluded the possibility of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

UNGA Resolution 2758 is based on historical facts and has a legal basis. Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. Before the adoption of Resolution 2758, it was already a historical fact and an international consensus that Taiwan is part of China. This was a significant political precondition for the UN General Assembly to adopt Resolution 2758. The 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation clearly stipulated that Taiwan, a Chinese territory stolen by Japan, shall be restored to China. These documents with international legal effect formed an integral part of the post-WWII international order and also established the legal foundation of Taiwan’s status as China’s inalienable territory.

The one-China principle adopted by UNGA Resolution 2758 is a widely accepted international consensus. For over half a century since the resolution’s adoption, the UN system has always observed Resolution 2758 and upheld the one-China principle in dealing with Taiwan-related issues. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly reaffirmed that the UN’s position is very clear, which is to observe the Resolution and uphold the one-China principle, and that all UN actions are based on this. To date, 183 countries, representing over 93% of UN member states, have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. These facts fully demonstrate that the one-China principle reflects the will of the people and represents the trend of the times and the course of history.

Barbados is one of the earliest countries in the eastern Caribbean to establish diplomatic relations with China, and is also a good friend and partner of China in the region. Over the past 47 years, the bilateral relations have steadily advanced based on the one-China principle, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. China highly appreciates Barbados’ firm adherence to the one-China principle and is willing to work with Barbados to continue implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of our two countries, deepen political mutual trust, strengthen cooperation in various fields, continue to understand and support each other on issues concerning our core interests and major concerns, constantly expand and enrich the friendly relations between our two countries, and build a closer China-Barbados community with a shared future.