Author: staff reporter

A passenger train runs on the Tsavo River Super Major Bridge near the Tsavo National Park in Kenya, on July 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Mainga said over the past five years, the freight trains have moved an estimated 20 million tons of bulk cargo. The route came particularly in handy amid the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating transportation of critical medical supplies.

“I must say we are lucky. We are doing more exports and diversification over goods than before. We are seeing a dynamic change on what the SGR is doing in terms of exports,” he said, adding the SGR has enhanced Kenya’s trade with neighboring countries and offered an economic lifeline to member states of the East African Community.

The official mentioned in particular the 120-km Nairobi-Naivasha section of the SGR, which is instrumental in opening northwestern Kenya to trade and investments.

Apart from freight trains along the route, there are also on average six passenger trains operating daily, carrying 7,000-10,000 people per day.

The passenger trains have transported more than 8 million people in the past five years, which shows their popularity, Mainga said.

A freight train runs on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway track bypassing the mangroves in Mombasa, Kenya, on July 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

“It has contributed to the tourism sector of this country, because we take a lot of people to Mombasa to do business, to work, to relax, and to enjoy. So when you see these, you see the Kenyan government and the Chinese government work together. We want to thank both governments for the support they have given us,” he said.

The official said the SGR is also benefiting local people as skills transfer has so far reached 80-90 percent.

“Now our people are able to run the operations, to drive their locomotives, to carry on with signal work, to repair and maintain our wagons,” Mainga said.

The SGR is a successful project, a project with a future, and a project that has transformed the country, he said.  ■

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday firmly refuted a Taiwan-related statement made by the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers.

The ins and outs of the current tension over the Taiwan Strait are crystal clear, so are the rights and wrongs. It is the United States which started the trouble, created the crisis, and continuously escalated the tensions, Wang said on the sidelines of meetings of foreign ministers on East Asia cooperation.

“The flagrant provocation by the United States has set an egregious precedent. If it’s not corrected and countered, will the principle of non-interference in internal affairs still exist? Will the internatioanl law still be upheld? How can the regional peace be safeguarded?” he asked.

Wang stressed that the statement of the G7 foreign ministers distorts facts and confounds right and wrong.

“Where did they get the right to groundlessly criticize China’s reasonable and lawful measures for safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity? Who granted them the authority? Isn’t it absurd that the infringer is shielded whereas the defender is accused?” he asked.

Noting that the G7’s wrongdoing has aroused great indignation among the Chinese people, Wang said the sovereignty and independence of China and other countries were earned through bloody battles fought by the people and should never be infringed upon again.

Today’s China is no longer the China of the 19th century, and history should not and will not repeat itself, he stressed.

The international community should unequivocally oppose any act that challenges the one-China principle and resist all infringements on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Wang said.

Regional countries should be more united against any hegemony bullying the region, he said, adding only in this way can regional countries truly safeguard their own security as well as regional peace and stability. ■

BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Thursday criticized the remarks on Taiwan by an anonymous U.S. State Department official, saying they are a reflection of typical U.S. arrogance and hegemonism.

According to media reports, the U.S. official said China is using Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

The U.S. official was calling black white and acted like “thief crying stop thief,” Hua said.

She asked the U.S. side four questions.

The first is: what is the status quo on the Taiwan question? Hua said it is crystal clear that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, and Taiwan is part of China’s territory.

Although the two sides have been politically against each other for a long time, China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been split. This is the real status quo of the Taiwan question, she added.

The second question is who is creating the crisis across the Taiwan Strait. Hua said the United States has colluded with “Taiwan independence” separatist forces to make provocations, and that is the fundamental reason for tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

In recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities abandoned the 1992 Consensus embodying the one-China principle and solicited U.S. support in seeking “Taiwan independence.” Meanwhile, the U.S. side, in pursuing its strategic aim of containing China’s development, has constantly distorted, obscured and hollowed out the one-China principle, upgraded its level of exchanges with Taiwan, and intensified arms sales to Taiwan.

Hua said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan gravely violated the commitments made by the U.S. government to China on the Taiwan question, violated the basic norms governing international relations and infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Who is responsible for tensions across the Taiwan Strait?” Hua asked. She said China has repeatedly pointed out the severity of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and made it clear that the U.S. must assume full responsibility for any ensuing consequences.

Hua said the U.S. side made provocations first, whereas China has been compelled to act in self-defense. The Chinese government has the right to do everything necessary to firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The fourth question is: who is changing the status quo on the Taiwan question. Hua said the wrongful actions made by the U.S. side 25 years ago do not constitute a precedent to defend Pelosi’s visit, and still less, should it become an excuse for the U.S. to repeat its mistake on the Taiwan question.

China will not allow the United States to continue nibbling at, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle in a gradual way, and will never allow the U.S. side to gradually change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait for any reason or excuse.

The current tensions across the Taiwan Strait, as a result of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, are entirely of the U.S.’ own making, the spokesperson said, adding that if the U.S. side truly wants to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the most important point is to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, both in words and deeds. 

BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — China’s eight non-Communist Party of China (CPC) political parties on Thursday released a joint statement expressing their strong opposition to, indignation at and condemnation of the recent visit of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to China’s Taiwan region.

There is only one China, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, said the statement jointly released by the central committees of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the China Democratic League, the China National Democratic Construction Association, the China Association for Promoting Democracy, the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, the China Zhi Gong Party, the Jiusan Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.

Taiwan affairs fall under the scope of China’s internal affairs and allow no external interference, and Pelosi’s Taiwan visit was a major political provocation aimed at upgrading official U.S. exchanges with Taiwan, the statement said.

“We strongly oppose any attempt or act to split China, any external meddling in China’s peaceful reunification, and any interference in the Taiwan question by any country in any form,” it said.

As participants in the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the eight political parties have long patriotic and peace-loving traditions, and have actively promoted the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait while firmly defending the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests, the statement said.

“We resolutely support all necessary measures the Chinese government has to take to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.

China should be reunited, and it surely will be, the statement said, adding that any attempt to reverse this historical trend or hinder China’s reunification and national rejuvenation is doomed to fail.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi further expounded here Thursday on China’s stance on U.S. act of provocation against China’s sovereignty.

Speaking on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Wang said the U.S. side trampled on the international law, breached bilateral commitments, sabotaged peace across the Taiwan Strait, supported separatism, advocated confrontation between blocs, which is a blatant provocation against the Chinese people and the peace-loving people in all countries in the region, and a political gamble with an odious impact.

He said the performance of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has caused the U.S. politics, foreign diplomacy and credibility to go bankrupt again, proving the United States is the biggest destroyer of peace across the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker of regional stability.

Her performance also proved the extremely confrontational and harmful nature of the U.S. “Indo-Pacific strategy,” as well as the U.S. hypocrisy and double standards when dealing with international rules, Wang noted.

If the Chinese side doesn’t firmly reject the manic, irresponsible and extremely irrational behavior of the United States, the principle of international relations on respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity will become a mere scrap of paper, various kinds of separatists and extremist forces will intensify their activities, and the hard-won peace and stability in the region will be severely damaged, he stressed.

Wang stressed that this incident was orchestrated and incited single-handedly by the United States, as the causes and consequences are clear, and so are the rights and wrongs.

To avoid this crisis being forced on China, Wang said, China made the greatest diplomatic efforts, but at the same time it would never allow its core interests and the process of national rejuvenation to be jeopardized.

He said China would not sit back watching the United States play the “Taiwan card” to serve its domestic politics and the selfish desires of its politicians, nor would China ever tolerate deeds to create tension, stoke confrontation and instigate secession in the region.

Wang said the comprehensive measures China is currently taking and will take in the future are necessary and timely defensive counterattacks, which have been carefully considered and evaluated with an aim to safeguard national sovereignty and security.

These measures are in line with international and domestic laws, serve as a warning to provocateurs, and will maintain regional stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait, he added.

Wang called on all parties to see through the cause and essence of the current crisis, jointly oppose the U.S. side’s risky adventures and provocations, continue to support China’s legitimate position and measures, and jointly maintain regional peace and peace across the Taiwan Strait. ■

A missile is launched by the rocket force of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), targeting designated maritime areas to the east of the Taiwan Island, Aug. 4, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command on Thursday conducted joint combat exercises and training around the Taiwan Island on an unprecedented scale. (Photo by Li Youzhi/Xinhua)

NANJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday conducted joint combat exercises and training around the Taiwan Island on an unprecedented scale.

In the long-range live-fire drills held at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, new models of rockets were fired by the theater command’s army, hitting targets with precision in the eastern part of the Taiwan Strait. Desired results have been achieved.

On Thursday afternoon, strikes involving various types of conventional missiles were launched by the theater command’s rocket force, targeting designated maritime areas to the east of the Taiwan Island. All the missiles hit targets with great precision. The force’s ability to launch precision strikes and perform area-denial tasks was tested.

The theater command’s air force and naval aviation corps flew more than 100 warplanes including fighters and bombers to conduct combat training exercises such as joint reconnaissance, aerial refueling, airspace control, and strikes on ground targets.

Over 10 destroyers and frigates from the navy of the theater command conducted joint blockade operations in waters off the Taiwan Island.

Liu Dongkun, a senior officer of the theater command, said the forces have demonstrated their brave and invincible fighting spirit.

Liu said the forces will firmly fulfill their tasks entrusted by the Party and the people and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. ■

Video screenshot shows a missile launched by the rocket force of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), targeting designated maritime areas to the east of the Taiwan Island, Aug. 4, 2022. The Eastern Theater Command on Thursday conducted joint combat exercises and training around the Taiwan Island on an unprecedented scale. (Xinhua)