On the 22nd, the Japanese government decided to start the discharge of Fukushima nuclear polluted water into the sea on August 24th, which was strongly criticized and opposed by the international community. People from many countries and the media pointed out that Japan’s actions were extremely irresponsible and harmful, and urged it to immediately withdraw its decision to expel the sea.

　　Democratic Party of Korea

　　Japan should immediately withdraw this decision and formulate a safe disposal plan.

　　On the afternoon of the 22nd, the "National Action to Prevent Japan’s Radioactive Contaminated Water from Discharging into the Sea" and the Common Democratic Party, the largest opposition party in South Korea, held emergency press conferences in front of the Japanese Embassy in South Korea to protest the Japanese government’s decision to start discharging nuclear contaminated water into the sea.

　　The statement on "National Action to Prevent Japan’s Radioactive Contaminated Water from Discharging into the Sea" said that the Japanese government still pushed this plan despite the fact that the safety of Fukushima’s nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea could not be confirmed by experts, which would destroy the marine environment, damage the social economy and bring negative effects to South Korea and the whole world, and urged the Japanese government to immediately withdraw its decision to discharge into the sea.

　　Yu Yuanzhi, an adviser to the Common Democratic Party’s "Countermeasures Committee for Preventing the Pollution Water from Discharging into the Sea" and a member of Parliament, said at the press conference that the ocean is the common resource of mankind, and water is the source of life. The Japanese government finally set a date for the nuclear polluted water to be discharged into the sea, regardless of the losses of other countries and people, only for its own benefit, which is extremely bad.

　　On the same day, the Common Democratic Party also held an emergency meeting of parliamentarians in the South Korean National Assembly and issued a resolution statement entitled "Immediately Stop Terrorist Attacks on Nuclear Contaminated Water around the World", pointing out that "Japan, as a member of the international community, ignored the international laws and standards that should be respected and made a destructive decision, which violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the London Convention on Dumping Waste, and forcibly discharged nuclear contaminated water into the sea". "Japan should immediately withdraw this decision and formulate a safe disposal plan for nuclear polluted water from the perspective of common prosperity of mankind."

　　Russian experts

　　The Japanese government made a wrong decision and violated the human rights of the people in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

　　Valery Kistanov, director of the Japan Research Center of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that it is extremely irresponsible for Japan to plan to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea.

　　Russia’s "Moscow Communist Youth League" reported on the 22nd that the Japanese government "made a wrong decision" and it was an outrageous act to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea, which was a violation of the human rights of people in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

　　Philippine media

　　The Japanese government should listen to the voices of neighboring countries and withdraw this unilateral decision.

　　Li Tianrong, a columnist of Philippine Star, said that the Japanese government’s decision was "disastrous". The Pacific Ocean does not only belong to Japan, but the danger of Japan discharging nuclear polluted water into the sea will last for many years and affect generations. "We must call on the Japanese government to stop this irresponsible, wrong, immoral and dangerous plan."

　　Anna Malinberg-Uy, deputy director of the "Asian Century" Strategic Research Institute in the Philippines, believes that Japan’s unilateral decision to discharge nuclear polluted water into the sea is a disregard for international environmental protection laws and regulations. "This is a very serious problem, which will affect many countries including the Philippines. The Japanese government should listen to the voices of neighboring countries and withdraw this unilateral decision. "

　　In an interview with local media, Kaitan Lal, a member of Fiji Priority Party, condemned the decision of the Japanese government, pointing out that the discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea would threaten the livelihood of islanders in the entire Pacific region, including Fiji.

　　Matai Serimaya, Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, called on the 22nd Melanesian Pioneer Group Leaders’ Meeting held in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, on the 23rd, saying that the Pacific region needs to take strong actions to resist Japan’s actions. "Unless it can be proved beyond dispute that the nuclear polluted water is safe, Japan cannot discharge it into the sea". Serimaya urged Japan to withdraw its decision to discharge nuclear polluted water from Fukushima into the sea and seriously consider other alternatives.

　　Text/Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency/vision china

　　observe

　　No one can accurately predict the consequences.

　　Since the Japanese government announced the Fukushima nuclear pollution water discharge plan in April 2021, the legitimacy, legality, safety and long-term reliability of this plan have always been questioned.

　　The IAEA assessment report carefully arranged by the Japanese government failed to dispel the doubts and worries of the international community and Japan. It is unprecedented to discharge nuclear polluted water into the ocean for a long time, at a high flow rate and in a large scale, and no one can accurately "predict" the consequences. And water under the bridge, once it has serious consequences, I’m afraid it will be too late.

　　As pointed out in the relevant assessment report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the main body responsible for the discharge of nuclear polluted water from Fukushima is the Japanese authorities. On the 22nd, when the meeting of Japanese Cabinet members decided on the date of sea discharge, Japanese Prime Minister kishida fumio claimed that the Japanese government would take responsibility for sea discharge in the next few decades. The Japanese government may want to show a responsible attitude towards its fishermen, but the impact of this behavior of the Japanese government far exceeds the scope of its sovereign exercise.

　　Previous bad records have proved that the credibility of the Japanese government’s "responsible" commitment and Tokyo Electric Power Company’s "safety" guarantee is not high. The Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 can be partly attributed to the "safety myth" created by the Japanese government and TEPCO for a long time.

　　A typical example of Japanese government and TEPCO’s "untrustworthiness" is that in 2015, they explicitly promised to the Japanese fishing industry that they would not dispose of nuclear polluted water at will without the approval of stakeholders. However, on the 21st of this month, the representative of Japanese fishery reiterated his opposition to the discharge of nuclear polluted water into the sea. On the same day, TEPCO announced the numerical target of discharging 31,200 tons of "treated water" in 2023.

　　Text/Xinhua News Agency

　　Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, February 21stQuestion: Is the "taste of the year" weak? — — Perspective on the Change and Invariance of Spring Festival Customs

　　Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Zhi, Yuan Junbao and Wang Yang

　　The Spring Festival is a grand and lively traditional festival in Chinese, and it is also an important moment to reunite with relatives and friends. With the development of society and the progress of the times, people’s custom of celebrating the New Year has changed greatly. Experts believe that although the "ritual sense" of the Chinese New Year is weakening now, the New Year custom branded with the new era is passed down in evolution, and the "cultural gene" of the Spring Festival reunion remains unchanged.

　　The change of "smell": the city does not smell firecrackers, and it is green and environmentally friendly to celebrate the New Year.

　　"This year’s New Year’s Eve is quiet, I can’t smell the sultry smell, I can’t see the firecrackers scattered everywhere, I see the blue sky, leaving a comfortable mood." In the early morning of the first day of the first month, Zhao Lijuan, a citizen of Jinan, wrote this feeling of Chinese New Year in his WeChat circle of friends.

　　The sound of firecrackers said goodbye to the old year. During the Spring Festival, people will set off fireworks to welcome the New Year. However, the environmental pollution and safety hazards caused by fireworks and firecrackers have become more and more prominent. It has become people’s common wish to keep green mountains and green waters and blue sky and white clouds.

　　From January 1st this year, Jinan City banned the discharge of fireworks and firecrackers in the core area. At the same time as the ban was issued, Jinan also issued a policy that citizens can replace the remaining fireworks and firecrackers in their homes with daily necessities and souvenirs, and set up special "exchange points" in residential communities.

　　Luo Baoyu, director of the Aolong Community Neighborhood Committee in Shunhua Road, Jinan, said that although setting off firecrackers is a traditional Chinese New Year custom, the centralized discharge produces serious air pollution, leaving debris on the ground and the hard work of thousands of sanitation workers. When the tradition is contrary to the real environment, we should advocate green festivals and civilized festivals.

　　According to the data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the air quality in 338 cities across the country has generally improved on New Year’s Eve this year, and the maximum hourly average concentration of PM2.5 decreased by 22.1% compared with last year’s New Year’s Eve.

　　The change of "human touch": not seeing each other is like meeting each other, but it is more "normal" when it is "light"

　　"In the past, it took more than 20 hours to get on the train from Lanzhou to Xuzhou. Now it takes only more than 7 hours to take the high-speed train." Sun Xia, whose hometown is in Junan County, Shandong Province, said that the train is fast, the plane tickets are relatively cheap, and there are more times to go home, which is not as exciting and exciting as going home once in previous years.

　　The data shows that last year, China’s railways completed 3.039 billion passenger trips, of which 1.713 billion were sent by EMUs. By the end of last year, the number of motor vehicles in China had reached 310 million, about one motor vehicle for every four people.

　　At the same time, with the popularity of communication means such as smart phones and video calls, it is easier to "meet" between relatives and friends. Liu Lifan, a citizen of Jinan, said that although his 70-year-old mother can’t read, she has learned to connect WeChat videos with a tablet computer, and several old brothers and sisters often have video group chats together. "Now there are more interactions between relatives and friends on the phone, WeChat chat and friends circle. Although it is not seen, it is just like meeting each other." Liu Lifan said.

　　According to the data released by China Internet Network Information Center recently, as of December 2017, the number of netizens in China reached 772 million, with a penetration rate of 55.8%, which was 4.1 percentage points higher than the global average (51.7%).

　　Cui Shuyi, director of the Institute of Demography of Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, said that due to the restrictions of transportation and communication conditions, the "homesickness" such as family and friends exchanges was a concentrated release when they returned home during the Spring Festival, but now it is as usual. "It seems to be bleak, but in fact it is more opportunities and times of communication."

　　The change of "taste of the year": the "sense of ceremony" is weakened, and the "cultural gene" of reunion remains unchanged.

　　"Watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV when I was a child", "Waiting to wear new clothes and have a good meal", "kowtowing to the elders on New Year’s Day" and "setting off firecrackers with friends" … … Many people are deeply impressed by these memories.

　　However, with the continuous improvement of the living standards of Chinese residents, the changes in urban and rural population structure and the development of science and technology, people’s participation in the Spring Festival has decreased, and the ways of buying new year’s goods and greeting the New Year have been constantly changing, and the "sense of ceremony" of the New Year has also weakened.

　　"Twenty-three, candied melons are sticky; Twenty-four, sweep the house; … … Twist on the first day of the New Year. " Li Wei, a citizen of Zibo, said that although some traditional Chinese New Year folk customs are less involved, people’s habit of going home for reunion in the New Year remains unchanged.

　　Experts believe that with the development of economy and society, the concept of Chinese New Year is also changing in people’s minds, and the annual customs as a specific form of expression will inevitably change. For example, setting off fewer firecrackers, eating a low-sugar and low-oil diet, and paying New Year greetings online are all changes that have taken place to adapt to the new situation. Professor Sun Yu, Dean of the College of Literature of China Renmin University, believes that the taste of the year is actually the human touch. As long as the human touch remains unchanged, the change of form is the normal state of custom.

　　Song Aijun, deputy director of the China Local Folklore Professional Committee, said that there should be more tolerance for the changes in the form of annual customs. "New life and New Year customs can be regarded as a kind of circulation of annual tastes, from rural folks to urban space, from offline to online."