Showing posts with label knowledge sharing. Show all posts

Saturday, September 25, 2021

HUAWEI CFO Meng Wanzhou leaves Canada for motherland after sustained efforts by Chinese government

https://youtu.be/NFuqwFcvnco

China Is Greeting Meng Wanzhou As A National Hero. How About Two Michaels?

https://youtu.be/9B7DybgHA1o

Meng Wanzhou Photo:AFP

Huawei's Meng Wanzhou reached a landmark deal with the US Justice Department on Friday that allows her to return to China, under which the senior executive of the Chinese company has not pleaded guilty. It marks the end of Meng's nearly three-year detention in Canada, and may help ease the frozen China-Canada tie and frictions between China and the US, experts said.

Meng has been released after reaching the agreement.

Thanks to sustained efforts by the Chinese government, Meng Wanzhou left Canada on a chartered plane by the Chinese government on Friday local time. She will return to the motherland and reunite with her family, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he welcomes the return of Meng in a post on his personal Weibo account.

In a video footage seen by the Global Times, a GPS tracker ankle bracelet that Meng had worn for over two years has been removed, and she addressed the public after the hearing, expressing gratitude for the Canadian judge and court upholding the rule of law. She also thanked the Chinese embassy in Canada, her defense team and her colleagues. Although it has been a very difficult time, there's always hope, Meng said.

Meng appeared virtually in an American federal courtroom in Brooklyn on Friday, and reached a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in a case of federal charges against her for bank and wire fraud. Under the terms of this agreement, Meng will not be prosecuted further in the US and the extradition proceedings in Canada will be terminated, according to a statement of William Taylor, one of the lawyers who represent Meng.

"She has not pleaded guilty and we fully expect the indictment will be dismissed with prejudice after fourteen months. Now, she will be free to return home to be with her family," he said.

It's exciting news that the US and Meng have finally reached an agreement, which would also be a landmark deal that may help ease frictions in the China-US relations, Chinese experts said.

At the request of the US government, the Canadian government, based on so-called accusations of fraud levelled by the US, on December 1, 2018 illegally detained Meng, who is also the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei.

Meng and her defense team made the final push against extradition to the US, and the legal proceedings ended in mid-August without a decision. The judge was supposed to convene a case management conference on October 21. During the conference, she would indicate a date when the decisions will be given, according to a court note the Global Times obtained at the time.

The earlier-than-expected deal with the US made all the following process "unnecessary." On the same day, the Canadian court also signed off on a discharge order for Meng, withdrawing the US extradition order and allowing her to return to China.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times early Saturday that there are multiple factors driving the US to resolve this issue, including the consistent attitude of the Chinese government in urging the US and Canada to release Meng, and the mounting pressure that Canada has been facing as it clearly knows that if it insists on the extradition of Meng to the US, it would create irretrievable negative consequences on China-Canada relations.

Over the past years, Chinese diplomats and experts have urged the Trudeau administration many times to correct its mistake of serving as Washington's willing accomplice that has dragged China-Canada relations to freezing point.

The souring bilateral relationship has also disrupted the once stable trade relations between the two countries, and some Chinese businesspeople have been looking for a "plan B" over the past two years to diversify their import sources other than Canada.

"Canada has been persuading the US to drop the case. For the Biden administration, it has been evaluating US-China relations from the position of strength over the past eight months, and it understands that if it drops the charges against Meng, such progress would meet the expectation for improving bilateral ties," Lü said.

On the same day Meng flew back home, Canadian media outlets reported that two Canadians - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - left China on a plane back to Canada. Spavor was sentenced in August in China to 11 years in prison after being convicted of spying on China's national secrets. He was ordered to be deported from China.

Although some Western media outlets and politicians claimed the releasing of the two Canadians was an example of "hostage diplomacy," experts said Meng was indeed a "political hostage" taken by the US and Canada, noting that mounting evidence throughout the legal proceedings during Meng's fight against extradition showed she was the victim of political prosecution.

"In Spavor's case, imposing the order of deportation means he may not serve his jailtime in China but will be deported back to Canada. It leaves certain room for indictment while unleashing a gesture of goodwill," Qin Qianhong, a constitutional law professor at Wuhan University, told the Global Times.

Kovrig and Spavor were prosecuted by the Prosecutor General's Office in China for suspected crimes undermining China's national security in June 2020.

Kovrig was accused of using an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig.

Spavor was found to have taken photos and videos of Chinese military equipment on multiple occasions and illegally provided some of those photos to people outside China, which have been identified as second-tier state secrets, a source close to the matter told the Global Times on September 1.

Chinese officials and diplomats reiterated that the incident of Meng is entirely different from the cases of the two Canadians in nature.

Another factor behind the resolution of the matter is that Canada and the US can't ignore the strong public call to release Meng, experts said. Her release has been widely considered as the best scenario among China, Canada and the US, as the incident of Meng has become a dilemma that froze China-Canada relations and dragged China-US ties into a spiraling downturn over the past few years.

Nearly 15 million netizens from over 100 countries and regions including major allies of the US, such as the UK, Australia and Canada, signed a petition launched by the Global Times on August 18, and an open letter was sent to Canadian Ambassador to China Dominic Barton, demanding Meng's immediate and unconditional release, and protesting the ugly acts of the Canadian government.

On her flight back home, Meng said in a public note that she deeply appreciated the motherland and the leadership of the Communist Party of China, as without them, she would not have been freed. "The color red, symbolizing China, lightens the brightness in my heart," she said.

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China's national power ensures Meng's different outcome from Alstom executive: Global Times editorial

It is China's national power that shaped this final result. A country will be surrounded with more troubles as it gets stronger, but only a strong country can enable us to deal with those troubles with dignity. Whenever we encounter a challenge, we neither have to risk it all in the fight, nor do we need to compromise our dignity.

China Xinhua News

Without a strong motherland, I won't have my freedom today

Huawei's Meng Wanzhou has left Canada, heading back home after sustained efforts by Chinese govt

Huawei's Meng Wanzhou has left Canada, heading back home after sustained efforts by Chinese govt

Chinese people eagerly wait for Meng Wanzhou's return; related topics top social media charts

Huawei's Meng Wanzhou reached a landmark deal with the US Justice Department on Friday that will allow her ...

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Huawei CFO arrest violates human rights as US takes aim at Huawei, the real trade war with China

In custody: A profile of Meng is displayed on a computer at a Huawei store in Beijing. The Chinese government, speaking through its embassy in Canada, strenuously objected to the arrest, and demanded Meng’s immediate release.

— AP

Huawei Surprise goldfish in a bowl

> https://youtu.be/WvrXDbRy8dU https://youtu.be/OzCKON8KT2E https://youtu.be/SaQKhepUEOM https://youtu.be/2KpC1OzIYyM

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Monday, September 20, 2021

China successfully launches Tianzhou-3 for second space station supply mission; to support upcoming six-month Shenzhou-13 manned mission

https://youtu.be/fBlddesm1rQ

Photo:Hu Xujie

Photo:Hu Xujie

Knock knock. This is your delivery-man Tianzhou-3, and please confirm your package receipt and may you have a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Carrying the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, the Long March-7 Y4 rocket lifted off from Wenchang Space Launch Center located in South China's Hainan Province on Monday afternoon, one day ahead of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival - one of the happiest family reunion holidays for the Chinese people.

The lift-off gave the nearby forest of palm trees quite a shake in the Hainan tropical haze, the same way it excited many who came to witness the historic moment at the Wenchang beach on Monday afternoon.

As the fourth of 11 missions scheduled to build China's three-module space station, Tianzhou-3 mission came shortly after the historic Shenzhou-12 mission in which three taikonauts spent a record 90 days in the China's space station core module and safely returned to Earth on Friday.

After a flight time of around 597 seconds, the spacecraft separated with the rocket and entered preset orbit. At 3:22 pm, the solar panels onboard the spacecraft smoothly unfolded, with all functions in normal operating condition, marking the success of the third launch of a spaceship to the space station core cabin, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA.)

The Monday mission is tasked to bring supplies, equipment and propellant to get Tianhe ready for the next three-taikonaut Shenzhou-13 mission in October for their six-month stay. It is the Tianzhou spacecraft series second supply delivery run to the orbiting Tianhe module following a first by the Tianzhou-2 mission launched on May 29.

Although the launch of Tianzhou-2 by Long March-7 Y3 rocket was a successful one, it experienced two delays and met problems of leaking of injected fuels.

The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft was originally slated to be launched at around 1:30 am on May 20 and to head to China's Tianhe space station core cabin, which was launched into orbit on April 29, for a supply run. However, the launch was scrubbed narrowly following an announcement from CMSA on the early morning of May 20 for "technical reasons."

Research teams were dispatched immediately to check system functions, while the command center prepared for an attempt to recover the mission, which had been set to a day later in the early morning of May 21. However, after liquid oxygen was refueled eight hours before the scheduled launch time, abnormal signals once again occurred.

Drawing lessons from the previous launch, the Long March-7 rocket developer with the China Academy of Launch Vehicles have further optimized the quality examination process before and after the lift-off and make detailed emergency plans. This is to ensure the launch mission is on time with zero errors, the academy told the Global Times on Friday.

Photo:Deng Xiaoci/Global Times

Photo:Deng Xiaoci/Global Times

To sustain Taikonauts' longer stay in space

Global Times learned from the mission insiders that Tianzhou-3 mission will lay ground for the upcoming October Shenzhou-13 mission, just the way Tianzhou-2 mission prepared for the epic Shenzohu-12 manned spaceflight mission. The October mission is expected to last six months, renewing the record of the longest stay in space for a Chinese astronaut in a single mission.

The spacecraft developer China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) told the Global Times in a statement that just like the Tianzhou-2, Tianzhou-3 will carry a range of goods including daily necessities, drinking water, gas supplies, consumables for extravehicular activities [spacewalk,] as well as experiment payloads.

Yang Sheng, Chief designer of the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft system, told the Global Times that "As Tianzhou-3 mission will sustain taikonauts' 6-month-long stay in space, the density of cargo is greater on Tianzhou-3 than on Tianzhou-2, and Tianzhou-3's loading capability is also higher than that of Tianzhou-2. The number of packages onboard Tianzhou-3 is 25 percent more than on Tianzhou-2."

There were 6.8 tons of supplies onboard the Tianzhou-2, including some 160 parcels of goods and two tons of propellants, CAST told the Global Times previously.

One of the most expensive items to be onboard the Tianzhou-3 would be one piece of spacesuit specially designed for spacewalk missions that weighs some 90 kilograms, the CAST highlighted in the Friday statement. Tianzhou-2 had sent two pieces of spacesuits for Taikonauts' spacewalk with each weighing some 100 kilograms.

Also, onboard Tianzhou-3 is the replacement parts of the urine treatment system to ensure the device is in the best condition for the Shenzhou-13 crew, Global Times learned from the system developer 206 Research Institute of the Second Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).

"The system has processed some 600 liters of urine into over 500 liters of water which was used to generate oxygen and for clean-up purpose during the Shenzhou-12 crew's three-month stay. Shenzhou-13 crew will install those parts when moving into the China's space station core module," Cui Guangzhi, the project leader, told the Global Times.

The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft is expected to also execute a fast and automatic rendezvous and docking with the Tianhe core module, just like the Tianzhou-2 spacecraft did in May, which took some eight hours after lift-off,according to Deng Kaiwen, assistant of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft's chief commander from the spacecraft developer

Compared to the Tianzhou-1's rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-2 in 2017, which took about two days, Tianzhou-2 took a mere eight hours to achieve the feat in May.

Tianzhou-3 will dock to the Tianhe module from the rear. Before such development, CMSA updated on Saturday, Tianzhou-2 had flown around Tianhe and conducted an automatic docking to the craft's front, which took four hours.

Shenzhou-13 will later rendezvous with the Tianhe module and conduct a R-Bar or vertical docking with the orbiting craft, which Shenzhou-12 had practiced on Friday before heading back to Earth.

Graphic: Wu Tiantong/GT

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Saturday, September 18, 2021

RM500mil Grant to revive SMEs to be given out from Sept 21, ensure no delays in aid rollout to B40, says PM

Help at hand: The Prime Minister joins in via video conferencing as Tengku Zafrul (second from right) witnesses the first day of BKC payments to recipients at the BSN Putrajaya branch. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The government will channel RM500mil of assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Prihatin Special Grant (GKP) 4.0 beginning Sept 21, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“With this aid, it is hoped that small businesses such as food stalls, barbers, workshops and cake shops will be able to reduce their burden and help in their cash flow,” he said.

Each payment of RM500 will be given out in September and November.

Ismail Sabri said the aid will be channelled directly into the bank accounts registered with the GKP system and that the status of the GKP 4.0 can be checked at gkp.hasil.gov.my.

The Prime Minister said the grant, which is a component of the Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih), will benefit more than one million recipients.

In a statement yesterday, he said the aid would be transferred directly into bank accounts registered with the GKP system.

The status of the GKP 4.0 can be checked at gkp.hasil.gov.my.

So far, he said RM6.08bil had been channelled to SMEs under the GKP since the pandemic began.

“I hope this aid will be able to revive the SME sector, which is the engine of economic growth for the Malaysian family.”

The government, he said, would give priority to industry players who were among those most affected during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the status of those who applied and then appealed for the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) can be checked at bpr.hasil.gov.my starting today.

This will involve almost 200,000 BPR recipients with an estimated allocation of RM240mil, said Tengku Zafrul, adding that the payments would be credited at the end of this month into accounts registered with the BPR.

The payments, he said, would be credited into bank accounts registered during the BPR appeals at the end of this month, together with the recipients of the third phase of the BPR.

He said in a statement the payout would also be given to recipients of the third phase of the BPR.

Tengku Zafrul said the government had updated the data of the B40 group eligible to receive the BPR after their appeals were submitted from June 15 to June 30.

The appeals were verified by the Inland Revenue Board to ensure that the aid would benefit those who qualified for it.

“The government hopes that this cash assistance totalling RM17.1bil until the end of the year can assist Malaysian families in managing their expenses,” he said.

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Related:

Govt to channel RM500mil aid to SMEs from Sept 21, says PM

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/17/govt-to-channel-rm500mil-aid-to-smes-from-sept-21-says-pm

SMEs in dire need of assistance | The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/09/18/smes-in-dire-need-of-assistance

PM: Ensure no delays in aid rollout

More assistance coming after BKC next month, says Ismail Sabri

Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. - Bernama filepic

PUTRAJAYA: The Special Covid-19 Aid (BKC) cash vouchers prepared by the Finance Ministry must reach the recipients without any delay, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Having witnessed the Phase One payments of the BKC being credited into the accounts of 10 million recipients from yesterday, the Prime Minister also urged the ministry to ensure the smooth running of the BKC payments, especially for recipients residing in rural areas with limited banking access or those without bank accounts.

Data from the ministry shows there are 708,223 eligible BKC recipients who do not have bank accounts.

Ismail Sabri also said the government would be channelling more assistance to the people starting next month.

In a video conference from his residence in Petaling Jaya with Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) staffers to check on the BKC payment process, Ismail Sabri said BKC was among the assistance given to help ease the burden of the people affected by Covid-19.

“Hopefully, nothing untoward happens that can cause delays and so on,” he said.

Ismail Sabri, who initiated the video conference call because he is still undergoing self-quarantine, also advised BSN staffers to ensure BKC recipients who come to collect the aid complied with standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

Joining the video conference call were Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, who was at BSN Putrajaya here, and Deputy Finance Minister Mohd Shahar Abdullah, who was at the BSN branch in Bera, Pahang.

“Hopefully, what the government is giving today (yesterday) – although not much – can at least help reduce the people’s burden,” said Ismail Sabri, who also referred to information from Tengku Zafrul that more assistance was forthcoming for the people.

On Sept 1, Ismail Sabri announced that the BKC would be paid in stages with Phase One payments being credited from Sept 6 to 10.

Funds amounting to RM3.1bil have already been channelled to the relevant banking institutions for BKC payments.

The BKC is paid out to assist the hardcore poor, B40 households with total monthly income of RM5,000 and below and senior citizens as well as singles with a monthly income of RM2,500 and below, based on the eligibility criteria under the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR 2021) aid package.

Those in the M40 group who report income tax with a total household income of RM5,001 to RM9,000 and RM2,501 to RM5,000 for singles are also eligible to receive BKC.

Under the BKC, hardcore poor category households will receive RM1,300; eligible senior citizens and singles (RM500).

For the B40 category, households will receive RM800, eligible senior citizens and singles (RM200); while in the M40 category, households will receive RM250 and qualified senior citizens and singles (RM100).

Details on the BKC, including payment status, can be viewed at https://bkc.hasil.gov.my.Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said the government would distribute various forms of assistance that have been planned until the end of this year.

Among the assistance that will be distributed is Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat phase three amounting to RM2.32bil, which will be channelled at the end of this month, and assistance for the loss of income in October.

In a post on his official Facebook page, Ismail Sabri said he had the opportunity to virtually review the Phase One payment process of BKC which would be implemented in stages through selected financial institutions involving the RM3.1bil allocation.

He also said that he was informed that the Finance Ministry would facilitate distribution to the rural community by paying cash to BKC recipients who did not have bank accounts.

“I hope this assistance can alleviate the burden of the ‘Malaysian Family’ affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. — Bernama

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Friday, September 17, 2021

Taikonauts' mission accomplished, safely back on earth from Chinese home in space

Safety prioritized, inclusiveness stressed in China's manned space missions

Photo:Xinhua

Having extended the record of Chinese Taikonauts' longest stay in space in a single flight mission to 90 days, the Shenzhou-12 mission crew returned to Earth at the designated Dongfeng landing site in the Gobi Desert, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, marking a successful conclusion of the first crewed mission at the country's space station building stage.

The Shenzhou-12 return module has separated from the orbiting module at 12:43 pm on Friday, and was then followed by a smooth separation from the propellant, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Carrying the three taikonauts – mission commander Nie Haisheng, and his fellow crew members Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – the return capsule touched down at the landing site as of 1:34 pm.

Photo:Xinhua

The homecoming heroes did not have to wait too long before the search and rescue squad with the Dongfeng landing site reached them after their landing.

They were confirmed in good condition after they touched down safely at the Dongfeng landing site.

The whole process was so smooth that Tang Hongbo was seen playing with a pen during the process of returning Earth.

"Real gold fears no fire," Nie Haisheng joked with his fellow crew, citing a Chinese proverb as they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

It also marked the first time the Dongfeng site has received a returning Shenzhou mission, taking the place of the Siziwang Banner site, the traditional go-to landing site for China's manned space flights.

Photo:Deng Xiaoci/GT

The choice of landing site was based on a number of factors, including climate, topography, returning options, and rescue and search equipment, Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based space expert and retired researcher from the China Academy of Space Technology, told the Global Times on Friday.

This return was more difficult than previous missions, Pang noted, as the previous ones all had fixed returning points in orbit, while that of Shenzhou-12, which was attached to the space station, had a changing orbital altitude. What's more, Shenzhou-12 was to return to a different spot from previous times in order to test the search and rescue capabilities of the Dongfeng landing site.

The site is partly surrounded by desert, with a dry desert climate and little rainfall. "As there are mountains and pitted terrain in the area, the search and rescue work was much more challenging," Pang noted.

The safe landing of the return capsule also marked the successful completion of the Shenzhou-12 mission.

"Shenzhou-12 has demonstrated China's capability to perform prolonged human spaceflight missions, including lengthy and challenging operations like extravehicular activities and providing necessary ground support," Andrew Jones, a Finland-based correspondent for space.com and spacenews.com who closely follows China's space industry, told the Global Times.

Photo:Deng Xiaoci/GT

Upcoming missions

China will carry out two more space launches for the building of its own space station this year - the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft via a Long March-7 carrier rocket from Wenchang spaceport in Hainan and another manned flight on a Shenzhou-13 spacecraft via a Long March-2F rocket from Jiuquan center.

An official update by the CMSA on Thursday said that the combo of Tianzhou-3 and Long March 7 Y4 rocket has rolled out to the launch pad in Wenchang and will take off at a suitable time. The Tianzhou-3 mission will be the second supply shipping mission to the Tianhe core module following the first by the Tianzhou-2 on May 29.

Following the Tianzhou-3 mission, the Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft is expected to send another crew of three taikonauts to China's space station complex, which may include the first female taikonaut in the space station building stage. They will live and work in orbit for an even longer stay of six months.

Wang Yaping, who beamed down live from space to 330 elementary and middle school students in Beijing when she was in space onboard the nation's Tiangong-1 space lab module in 2013 and served as the back-up astronaut for the Shenzhou-12 crew, is widely believed to be among the most likely candidates for the mission.

According to mission insiders, the Shenzhou-13 manned space mission will also conduct an R-Bar, also known as vertical docking, with the space station complex, a first at the space station building stage.

Yao Yuanfu, the chief designer of the rendezvous and docking microwave radar system onboard the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that the spacecraft will face a much more complicated electromagnetic environment than the Shenzhou-12 in its docking mission, as by then the space station complex will have more spacecraft docked than it did before Shenzhou-12's docking and the new docking direction adds to the complexity of the mission.

The institute's radar project has participated in China's heavyweight space programs such as the Chang'e lunar probe as well as Tianwen-1 Mars exploration, and the success of the missions have been a source of confidence for Yao and his team for the Shenzhou-13's successful docking down the road.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft also pulled off a vertical docking experiment shortly after separating from the Tianhe core module on Thursday to verify the capability.

Although there has been no official announcement, Shenzhou-13 is expected to be launched in a few weeks given that the Tianhe core cabin cannot be left unattended for a long time, observers noted.

Open, inclusive

Space agencies around the world have put more faith in China becoming a strong space power and they hope to collaborate with China on the space station in terms of manned spaceflights and scientific experimental loads, as the space station may be the only operational one in orbit if the International Space Station (ISS) retires after 2024.

“The construction of the space station is a complex and intensive project. Its completion would be a demonstration of China's ability to execute complex, long-term space projects. It will also bring opportunities for science and international collaboration,” Jones commented, “while also posing challenges to some space agencies in terms of determining their priorities and resources for space activities.”

China has been engaged in exchange and cooperation with international space agencies including Russia's Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA), which played a positive role in the construction of China's space station. "We are willing to work with any space institutes that are peace-loving and devoted to the peaceful use of space," said Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Agency.

Hao also disclosed that "there will be foreign astronauts participating in China's manned space flights, and working and staying in China's space station."

"Many of them have been learning Chinese for this purpose. And China will carry out work to select foreign astronauts for joint flight missions as our construction of the space station proceeds," he said.

Compared to the US-dominated ISS, which has been more of a party of powers, China's space station will be more inclusive in getting developing countries involved, and will provide a platform for anyone on the basis of equality, win-win cooperation and mutual respect, space observers noted.

The first batch of a total of nine international scientific experiments from 17 countries and 23 research bodies have been selected to be carried onboard China’s space station, which is expected to be operational by 2022. The first batch includes Gamma-ray burst polarimetry jointly proposed by Switzerland, Poland, Germany and China and a spectroscopic investigation of nebular gas by India and Russia.

Mission review of Taikonauts' 3-month space life Graphic: Wu Tiantong/GT

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Thursday, September 16, 2021

Doctor's orders: Take a hike, you'll feel better

Bukit Jambul, Penang

penang-traveltips.com

While more doctors are looking at using time outside as a medical strategy, park prescription programmes face issues of access. Photo: Unsplash/Jon Flobrant

When Annette Coen went for a health check-up last summer in Washington state, she and her doctor discussed concerns around her weight and asthma. Then her doctor offered a novel prescription: regular hikes in the woods.

He gave Coen a one-year pass to Washington's state park system and told her to "go for walks, go camping, do what you need to do," Coen, now 53, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A year on, she said the park prescription was a "great experience" for her and her whole family. "I have lost 13.6 kg since April this year... just being out and about," she said.

With the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting the health benefits of spending more time outdoors, a growing faction of the US medical community is prescribing time outside the same way they would traditional medication.

The idea of writing out park or nature prescriptions has taken hold particularly among pediatricians.

"It all came together" during the pandemic, said Maya Moody, president-elect of the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), pointing to spikes in childhood anxiety and pediatric obesity since the coronavirus outbreak started.

With lockdowns keeping children indoors, "we were seeing 30-, 50-, 60-pound weight gains," said Moody, who attends to around 3,000 low-income children in the St. Louis area.

This April, she became one of about a dozen pediatricians across the state who have started offering nature prescriptions.

"When I give a prescription, it's

specific, just like an antibiotic. They use it for this many days, and I say go to this park," she explained. Buy-in has differed with different age groups, Moody noted, with younger children and their parents being more open to the approach but teenagers expressing skepticism.

"Sixteen- and 17-year-olds look at me and say, 'You want me to get off TikTok and get an actual tick in the woods?'" she said.

But Moody said the fact that doctors and health experts are now seriously looking at how something as simple as a walk in the park can help patients is exciting.

A spokesperson for the AAP said the group is forming a committee on the issue of nature prescriptions but declined to offer additional details.

Take a walk

Nature prescriptions are still new, so there is little data on their effectiveness, but one 2018 analysis by researchers from Britain's University of East Anglia did find they "may have substantial benefits".

There has been much more research done on the general benefits of being outdoors - in one example, starting next month, a study supported by the Welsh government will look at the benefits of treating hospital patients outside.

In more than 500 scientific studies in recent years, researchers have linked time spent in nature with decreased anxiety, reduced risk of obesity and even reduced overall mortality, said Maryland-based pediatrician Stacy Beller Stryer.

Stryer is also associate medical director with Park Rx America, an online platform that helps medical professionals write nature prescriptions.

Using its database of thousands of parks and public lands, prescribers can filter by activity, distance from a patient's home and amenities such as playgrounds.

"Once (the patient) decides on where to go, the prescriber talks about what they should do - maybe walk a dog? And how often - maybe every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 30 minutes?" she said.

Writing out an actual prescription for time in nature gives patients a useful extra push, said Brent A. Bauer, research director of integrative medicine and health at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

"More than half of my patients who receive a 'prescription' for time in nature go ahead and do so successfully," he said.

A census of park prescription programmes last year estimated that there were more than 100 nationwide.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy began a pilot programme in collaboration with the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2016, after a pediatric resident was leading patients in a weight management clinic, said Kathryn Hunninen, a senior manager with the conservancy.

"He wanted to encourage patients to get outside but didn't know where to send them," she said.

"This started with an inquiry from him to the parks system and has blossomed from there."

In a 2018 survey, more than 80% of personnel at participating Pittsburgh clinics said they were frequently recommending that patients visit parks.

Last year, Salt Lake County in Utah offered park prescriptions to its employees "to improve or maintain physical and mental health while building sustainable health behaviors," Sarah Kinnison, who oversaw the programme, said in an email.

That first year, 335 employees participated, and the county is running the program again this fall.

Financial stability

While more doctors are looking at using time outside as a medical strategy, park prescription programmes face issues of access.

In low-income neighborhoods, parks are four times smaller and more crowded on average than parks in high-income areas, said a study released last year by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that analysed government data from 14,000 US towns and cities.

It also remains unclear how to keep the programmes financially sustainable. Currently they have to rely on ad hoc funding, often cobbled together from grants, philanthropy or as publicly funded pilot projects.

The costs involved are not particularly high, but they do exist, said Bradford S. Gentry, co-director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University.

They could include the costs of park passes, the salaries of community health workers and park workers to coordinate and lead programmes, and transportation to and from the green space, he said.

"If there are all of these (health) benefits, how do we move from grant funding or public funding to health systems funding?" asked Gentry, who focuses on the intersection of health and land conservation. "I haven't found an answer yet."

The US Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.

Gentry pointed to Oregon, where work is underway to try to address the funding issue by requesting that certain federal rules be waived involving Medicaid, the US government's health care programme for low-income people.

Every five years states have the opportunity to request such a waiver, if they can show it will result in better care and cost no extra money, said Lori Coyner, who was the state's Medicaid director until July and is now senior Medicaid policy adviser at the Oregon Health Authority.

The state's waiver request is due in December, when it plans to ask for more flexibility in how local organisations address health issues.

"We believe there is real opportunity to use some of these Medicaid dollars... to promote spending more time outdoors," Coyner said. - Thomson Reuters Foundation

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Monday, September 13, 2021

Delta variant threatens Asean-5 recovery

IN the first half of 2021, Asean-5 countries, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines experienced strong, export-driven growth. However, renewed lockdowns amid significant outbreaks of Covid-19 Delta variant cases have dampened business sentiment and consumer spending in this region.

According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), recovery will likely slow markedly in the second half of 2021 for Asean5.

“Given the rising number of Covid-19 infections, renewed pandemic containment measures, and the slow pace of vaccinations, authorities in Asean-5 countries have been revising down official growth forecasts,” IIF said.

The IIF said it would likely cut its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for region.

In May, it forecast a GDP growth of 5.2% for 2021 and 5.4% for 2022.

Against the backdrop of current economic challenges, the IIF said it expected Asean-5 central banks to maintain their accommodative monetary policy stances well into 2022.

“Most of the countries are still experiencing inflation within the respective target ranges, except for the Philippines,” the IIF said.

“Fiscal policy will also continue to be supportive. While Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have announced fiscal consolidation plans, the pace of adjustment will be modest,” it added.

The IIF noted that due to their economic structure, Asean-5 countries benefitted strongly from the global demand recovery, with exports up sharply in the first half of 2021, particularly in the area of electronic appliances (Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand) and commodities (Indonesia and Vietnam).

“Looking ahead, the next stage of the global recovery will likely benefit services rather than goods and, thus, provide less of a boost to Asean-5 economies,” it said.

“Furthermore, the recovery in tourism in the five countries has been slower than our already-cautious forecast in the spring, with the Delta variant posing a new challenge to the sector,” it added

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