CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, August 2, 2019 | 3 TOP NEWS 7th Military Secessionist Games torch rally lauds activity behind PLA birth By ZHAO LEI solo travel ban [email protected] A torch relay for the upcoming 7th International Military Sports Individual permits to visit Taiwan Council Military World Games first allowed on trial basis in June 2011 began on Thursday in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. The flame was lit at a ceremony on By ZHANG YI “The launch of individual travel Thursday morning in front of a [email protected] permits in 2011 was a positive meas­ sculpture of Communist Party of ure to expand exchanges across the China revolutionaries inside the Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for Straits in the climate of the peaceful The bed of Hongze Lake is exposed as water recedes due to the worst drought in decades in Nanchang August 1st Memorial Hall. the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs development of cross­Straits rela­ Huai’an, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Fang Minglu, the great­grand­ Office, said on Thursday that it is the tions,” Ma said. daughter of Fang Zhimin, a revolu­ island’s ruling Democratic Progres­ For years, mainland residents tionary martyr, lit the torch with a sive Party’s “Taiwan independence” visiting Taiwan played a positive concave mirror using the sun’s rays. secessionist activities that led to the role in promoting the development Business dries up for fishermen, Later, she passed the flame to a PLA suspension of individual travel per­ of Taiwan's tourism and related soldier who transferred it to a carrier. mits to Taiwan from the Chinese industries, he said. Thursday marked the 92nd anni­ mainland. “I believe that compatriots on versary of the founding of the Peo­ The DPP has been promoting “Tai­ both sides hope that cross­Straits ships in drought­parched Hongze ple’s Liberation Army. The Nanchang wan independence” activities, con­ relations return to the right track of Uprising, which was led by the Com­ stantly fomenting hostility toward peaceful development and that By CANG WEI in Nanjing lages of Zhongyang township, munist Party of China, took place on the mainland and creating confron­ mainland residents' travels to Tai­ [email protected] said that the longer­than­expect­ Aug 1, 1927, and is remembered as tation across the Straits, Ma said. wan will resume normal and We didn’t expect ed drought has killed off most the founding of the PLA. “They destroyed the foundation and healthy development as soon as pos­ Hongze Lake in Jiangsu prov­ fish. The torch relay then reached conditions for individual travel.” sible,” he added. ince has been facing its worst that the drought “We didn’t expect that the Bayi Square where Yang Jian, He made the remarks in response Zhang Wensheng, a politics pro­ drought in decades as average would last for drought would last for months, so director of the executive commis­ to the announcement on Wednes­ fessor at Xiamen University, said the precipitation has fallen signifi­ we didn’t catch the fish in time,” sion of the 7th Games, passed the day by the Ministry of Culture and main cause of the suspension is the cantly. months, so we didn’t Sun said. “Now we can do noth­ torch to Dorah Mamby Koita, the Tourism that travel permits to Tai­ island’s leader Tsai Ing­wen and her Precipitation from May to July catch the fish in ing but watch the fish die. The International Military Sports wan by individuals from the main­ administration’s hostility toward in China’s fourth­largest fresh­ loss is enormous for our family.” Council’s secretary­general, who in land will be suspended starting the mainland, and the resulting water lake only amounted to 19.5 time. ... Now we can Water supplies for millions of turn handed it over to Liu Qi, Party Thursday due to the current climate damage this has done to cross­ centimeters, which was less than do nothing but people might be affected if the secretary of Jiangxi province. Liu of cross­Straits relations. Straits relations. half what it was in previous drought continues, said Yin Xiu­ then handed the torch to Olympic Mainland travelers who wish to vis­ The number of mainland tourists years, according to the Jiangsu watch the fish die. qiu, director of a water plant in diver Peng Bo and 2,019 doves were it Taiwan must now join tour groups. to Taiwan is expected to drop in the Water Resources Department. The loss is Sihong county, Suqian. released into the sky. Individual travel to Taiwan was following half year, and tourism and Zhang Jinsong, deputy direct­ “The water level of the lake The torch is 70 centimeters long first permitted on a trial basis in related industries in Taiwan will be or of the department, said that enormous for our drops by about 4 cm each day,” he and weighs 780 grams. June 2011 for travelers from the cit­ affected, he said. the area witnessed the lowest family.” said. “The factory could function Twenty torchbearers participated ies of Beijing, Shanghai and Xia­ The number of mainland travel­ amount of precipitation since normally for no longer than 15 in the relay at the ceremony, many men, Fujian province. This was ers to Taiwan fell in 2017 to about 2.7 1949. Sun Hua, a local fisherman days if it keeps dropping at this of them having served in the army expanded to 47 cities, including million, from 3.5 million in 2016, “About 3.94 billion cubic rate.” and winning military honors Tianjin, Chongqing and Nanjing, according to the 2019 Green Book of meters of water from the Yang­ He said that an outbreak of including Qiu Eguo, a police officer; Jiangsu province, over the following China’s Tourism by the Chinese tze River has been pumped into tributaries dried up. The algae may occur if the drought Xiao Qun, a medical worker award­ three years. Academy of Social Sciences. the lake so far this summer,” Huai’an section of the Beijing­ continues, as has been forecast by ed the United Nations Peacekeeping Zhang said. “The lake has Hangzhou Grand Canal is now the Jiangsu Meteorological Medal, and Hu Minhua, recipient of received a total of 11.2 billion closed after some 3,000 ships Bureau. The bureau said on the Florence Nightingale Medal. Treacherous commute cubic meters of water from other ran aground in shallow waters. Thursday that Jiangsu will have The last torchbearer was Wang waters to guarantee local peo­ By Tuesday, the drought had no heavy rain for 10 days. Zhizhi, head coach of professional ple’s livelihoods and maintain affected the lives of more than “The water quality will be basketball team, the Bayi Rockets. agricultural and industrial pro­ 1,000 fishermen, costing them worse with the death of aquatic A total of 2,019 torchbearers, duction.” more than 97 million yuan ($14 plants and fish,” Yin said. “But including 70 foreigners, will carry The lake has shrunk by almost million), according to the Jiangsu people don’t need to worry the torch in 27 cities and 16 military half, from 1,780 to 900 square Fisheries Management Office. about tap water because the sites across the country from kilometers, the department said. Sun Hua, a fisherman living in water resources department will Thursday to Oct 18, when the A lack of rain has left the lake’s one of the drought­stricken vil­ use water from other rivers.” 10­day 7th Games will begin in Wuhan, Hubei province. Nearly 11,000 athletes from more than 100 International Military Bank Sports Council member states have : Adjustments possible later registered to take part in the games. Chinese participants will take part From page 1 to change the interest rate level. one­month lows on Thursday after in all sports except golf. They are It is possible that the Chinese the US central bank dampened undertaking intensive training for stressed that market­set interest monetary authority could follow hopes for a long rate­cutting cam­ the event, said the Chinese military. rates would be free of side effects in the next Fed move or rate cut, if paign. The games are an important order to avoid a massive stimulus. any, later this year in order to join Emerging market shares fell 0.8 international sports event and Commuters navigate through high waters in Haikou, Hainan prov­ China will continue to imple­ the global monetary easing cycle, percent, while currencies that had Wuhan is committed to making ince, on Thursday. Typhoon Wipha made landfall on the island prov­ ment a prudent monetary policy in Ming said. rallied in anticipation of a more them memorable, according to Hu ince around 1:50 am on the same day. LUO YUNFEI / CHINA NEWS SERVICE the second half of the year, accord­ The highly expected Fed interest supportive stance by the Fed fell, as Yabo, executive vice­mayor of ing to a meeting of the Political rate cut on Wednesday was the the dollar index rose to a two­year Wuhan and deputy head of the Bureau of the Communist Party of first time the US Federal Open peak. games’ executive commission. China Central Committee on Tues­ Market Committee cut the federal After the Fed’s announcement, All of the 35 venues for the games day. funds rate since 2008, when the the dollar index saw a steep climb have either been built or refurbished Key factors that could influence subprime mortgage crisis threat­ of 0.8 percent and reached its high­ in preparation for the event.